When Technology Isn't Enough

Reflect. Artificial intelligence has moved from experimentation into everyday applications, but the industry’s technology transformation is much broader. POS systems are finally changing. Fueling, payments, and security continue to evolve. Customers don’t compare convenience stores only with other convenience stores; their expectations are continually shaped by experiences across retail. And in some areas, our industry still has catching up to do.

Yet as technology advances, familiar obstacles remain.

Our September CTVG discussion brought that contrast into focus. Matt Pereira of Seurat Analytics observed that technology will increasingly look similar across retail chains. Technology can still differentiate when used in ways competitors haven’t discovered, but access to the same capabilities alone won’t create an advantage. Execution will.

Rethink. One of the most revealing aspects of CTVG has been hearing similar concerns from retailers of different sizes and operating models, alongside the Ally Supporters who serve them. Integration remains difficult, trusted data and security demand continuing attention, and implementing technology successfully across stores remains challenging.

When these problems persist despite advances in technology, shouldn’t we be questioning how we organize, make decisions, and hold ourselves accountable for results?

Technology professionals increasingly need to understand business operations, collaborate across functions, and help select and rapidly implement solutions. Leadership must establish priorities, build adaptability into the organization, and ensure someone owns the business outcome, not just the technology implementation.

Paul Kern of Invenco by GVR captured the intended result: “You try to make the technology sort of blend into the background and just enable what the folks are doing.”

Reimagine. What if we judge technology investments less by the features and functions they deliver and more by the experiences they enable?

Ant Raimato of Wawa described how customers at some of its oldest stores make daily visits a ritual, welcomed by associates who know their names and families. Those relationships are a competitive advantage that newer facilities or technology alone cannot reproduce.

So, as we pursue greater efficiency through technology, are we also giving employees the tools, training, and freedom to deliver experiences that exceed customers’ expectations?

Our September discussion also helped shape three questions I’ve been considering as we prepare for VGN’s Global Summit: How do we make technology simpler? How do we turn information into useful action? And where do people become even more important as automation advances?

Four years of CTVG have shown how quickly technology can change. The opportunity ahead is to change how effectively our organizations put it to work.

The question isn’t simply what technology retailers will need next. It’s whether they’re building organizations capable of making the most of it.

Ed Collupy, president at Collupy System Solutions, LLC can be reached at ed@edcollupy.com. Collupy served as the Convenience Technology Vision Group’s facilitator. He provides strategic, operational and project leadership to groups and organizations through a variety of engagement formats, along with retailers, emerging businesses and technology companies.