Based on Scott and Prof Venkat’s comments, I have expanded my thinking away from the consumer a bit to include other ways a grocery chain can adopt its business model. Although I still think technological changes at the consumer level could have a greater immediate impact to Shaw’s profitability, it’s true that utilizing technology to develop new ways to expand the normal “sell food” business model of grocery stores has very significant longer term potential as well.
I plan to discuss what Shaws can do on a consumer level to get up to speed and even push boundaries in terms of technology, while also exploring what B2B side services can be enabled by technology improvements throughout the value chain.
I've previously mentioned many consumer technology related ideas. On the business side, I have a number of ideas related to Shaw's role of data capturere and retailer of other's goods.
For example, take the shopping data that Shaw's collects. if Shaws were to open or sell access to real-time customer shopping data, companies could add extra value to the shopping experience through coupons and suggestions that influence other products to be purchased. This would give the food suppliers a truly dynamic way to interact with customers and is an example of one of the ancillary revenue streams that Scott and Prof Venkat suggested. Additional examples could include allowing other retail partners access to information such as letting Weber cross sell grill equipment to people who buy lots of hamburgers, etc... At the core, Shaws knows food and retail, and should not deviate too far from their strength, however, creating value through the data they already collect (or will collect once their technology is updated) could be an intersting way to expand the business model. There is one example - I'm working on developing other ideas and ways they can expand their B2B offerings and create value.
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Yes, you should focus on an area that goes beyond what may be tried out today. The idea of supermarket as a market with real-time access to the producers to change their offering is an interesting one to pursue. At the core, they are the captains of the channel and control/influence the moment of purchase. The question is -- are they passive conduits for producers to distribute their goods or active champions of consumer data and preferences and create customer engagement through customization?
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