RaceTrac transforms store operations with cloud and AI rollout
A regional Southeastern convenience chain is modernizing its in-store customer experience.
RaceTrac, which recently deployed autonomous floor scrubbers from ICE Cobotics to streamline repetitive cleaning tasks and free store associates to serve better customers, is now implementing Hewlett Packard Enterprises (HPE) ProLiant servers in every store.
The retailer is also utilizing HPE Alletra Storage, a cloud-native data infrastructure, to boost storage capacity and simplify its data management. RaceTrac’s new compute environment supports customer-facing workloads including self-pumping gas stations, credit card and payment processing, and a customer loyalty platform.
RaceTrac will also apply HPE compute and storage technology in an effort to improve overall store management programs such as camera surveillance, employee digital timecards to clock-in and clock-out, daily accounting summaries, staff scheduling, and inventory order placements.
“HPE compute and storage solutions provide retailers a unique foundation to fuel seamless customer experiences and optimized operations,” said Neil MacDonald, executive VP and GM, Compute, at HPE. “RaceTrac is a powerful example of a retail organization embracing data-first modernization to power new applications and drive better business outcomes. We had the pleasure of teaming up with RaceTrac to support them on this journey to unlock greater value for their customers and boost competitiveness.”
“The average time spent by a RaceTrac customer is approximately two and a half minutes, and our goal is to offer a frictionless experience during every visit,” said Tyler Grubbs, executive director, store systems and technologies, at RaceTrac. “We chose HPE because they entered the trenches with our IT team to understand our needs and how to support our organization’s mission. In addition to making our customers’ experience simpler and more enjoyable, the new compute environment will enable us with capabilities to harness the power of data to make better business decisions.”
RaceTrac is also exploring future use cases for HPE technology in other areas, such as increasing fraud prevention and detection with video surveillance and analytics, and real-time inventory tracking using computer vision.
[Read more: RaceTrac making largest acquisition in its history: Gulf Oil LLC]
Headquartered in Atlanta, family-owned RaceTrac operates over 570 convenience store locations in Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and Tennessee.