Google Cloud and Deloitte Boost Worker Productivity at Kroger
Google Cloud and Deloitte are collaborating with Kroger to help the grocery chain use cloud technologies to increase worker productivity across nearly 2,800 stores nationwide. A variety of new tools—consisting of Google Cloud data analytics, AI, and machine learning (ML) under an application framework co-developed by Deloitte and Kroger—enable Kroger store leaders and associates to make real-time operational decisions as they aim to deliver a better shopping experience for the nearly 11 million customers served by Kroger every day.
Kroger worked with Google Cloud and Deloitte to create two purpose-built applications to enhance worker productivity. The first, a new task management application, provides Kroger’s night crew managers with greater visibility into the volume and type of merchandise arriving on a given day, store staffing information, and stocking needs. The system then prioritizes team activities on an Android device, with associates quickly informed of inventory or delivery changes in real time.
The second, Kroger’s new store management application, empowers store leaders to be less dependent on paper tools. The app provides a standardized audit checklist for store managers and department leaders, helping ensure a high-quality shopping experience for customers.
Underpinning Kroger’s new applications are several Google Cloud technologies used by Deloitte to build a modern, event-driven architecture for the retailer, including AIand ML, whichoptimize the task lists for Kroger workers based on inbound signals, such as goods delivery data and staff availability; Spanner, which enables Kroger to spur greater worker productivity; and Dataflow, Google’s data-processing service for capturing and analyzing data from different sources.
UKG Helps Canada’s TravelBrands Achieve Substantive Cost Savings
UKG, the Florida-based provider of human resources (HR), payroll, and workforce management solutions, is helping Canadian company TravelBrands achieve significant time and cost savings.
Offering flights, hotels, cruises, and vacation packages as well as access to travel agents worldwide through its wholesale and retail divisions, TravelBrands went live on a full suite of UKG solutions in 2021 in search of a seamless human capital management (HCM) and workforce management experience. Prior to choosing UKG, TravelBrands had gone through a merger and acquisition that resulted in a fragmented HR system.
Related Article: UKG: US Retailers Hesitate to Hire More People for Busy Holiday Season
In its first 12 months with UKG, however, Montreal-based TravelBrands experienced a 10% reduction in turnover, a 25% decrease in the amount of time to resolve HR and payroll issues, and a 50% reduction in time spent generating weekly and monthly financial reports. All told, the efficiencies achieved led to cost savings of $150,000 in the first year alone.
Using UKG has also made the travel company more responsive, automating and streamlining HR, administrative, and payroll processes, resulting in lower overhead costs and reducing turnover. UKG executives say the administrative improvements have enhanced the overall employee experience, including recruiting, with employees now feeling part of the company as a result of stronger communications, better onboarding, and easier access to information.
Deeper insight into employees and their preferences is also helping the organization attract and retain a more diverse workforce and conduct more meaningful conversations around diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in the workplace, company officials declare.
Sprinklr Helps Ferrara Candy Sweeten the CX Pot
Unified CXM platform provider Sprinklr says its solutions are helping Ferrara Candy Company achieve performance-driven social customer service, understand real-time conversations around products, and manage engagement across more than 40 different social accounts. The candy manufacturer of more than 25 popular brands like NERDS and SweeTARTS, Ferrara is using Sprinklr’s Modern Care, Modern Research, and Social Engagement & Sales solutions to drive efficient operations and engaging CX.
Prior to Sprinklr, Ferrara had deployed an ineffective social media content management system (CMS) that made it difficult for the company to have full visibility into online conversations about its products. Ferrara also found it hard to create brand-approved social content, track social customer service goals, and connect social customer service to sales opportunities.
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Since 2019, however, Ferrara has been using Sprinklr’s unified CXM platform to improve the efficiency of its social customer service agents by tracking or setting goals and seeing progress in real time. Sprinklr has also expanded Ferrara’s social customer service to support brand growth and connect service inquiries to sales opportunities, while managing and publishing content for more than 40 social accounts. Moreover, Ferrara has been able to monitor social conversations relevant to its 28 brands for omnichannel marketing strategies.
All told, the sea change brought about by the partnership has enabled Ferrara to manage its end-to-end brand experience on social media. “With Sprinklr, we can easily reach out and build a relationship with those who are vocal about their love for our brands,” says Brian Camen, senior director of media, content, and public service at Ferrara. “And we can understand how effective we are with our social customer service.”
GoHappy Teams Up with Distinctive Living
GoHappy, a provider of frontline communication software, is partnering with Distinctive Living to boost employee engagement at the boutique senior care company. Operating in both the US and Canada, goHappy is at the forefront of calling on companies to improve how they communicate with frontline hires and make them feel valued.
Through goHappy’s app-free technology, Distinctive Living seeks to increase engagement with its frontline employees and expand the company’s ability to gather insightful feedback on employee onboarding. The process would also enable Distinctive Living to discover areas where training and engagement could be improved for frontline employees. In partnership with goHappy, Distinctive Living can then develop and launch actionable strategies to continue growing its already notable employee engagement and retention efforts.
New Jersey-based Distinctive Living is a national senior living management provider in the active adult, independent living, assisted living, and memory care sectors. Currently operating 26 communities with another 19 under development, the company aims to deliver best-in-industry care via a holistic approach for residents of the communities that it manages.
Medallia is the Choice of SelectBlinds
Experience management firm Medallia says it has been chosen as the platform of choice by online window treatment company SelectBlinds. With the partnership, SelectBlinds hopes to ensure that its customer interactions will uphold the high standards of service set by Medallia.
“Through continuous customer feedback, we look forward to celebrating every success story and correcting any mistakes we make along the way,” says Simas Tamosaitis, director of customer care at SelectBlinds. “Happy customers won’t happen by chance… they will come from the commitment SelectBlinds has made to provide the best experience in the industry.”
SelectBlinds is said to be the highest rated, most reviewed online window treatment company in the US, with more than 300,000 customer reviews. The company says it takes pride in providing high-quality, custom-made window coverings at competitive prices, in line with its vision of creating an exceptional CX for consumers.
Author Information
Alex is responsible for writing about trends and changes that are impacting the customer experience market. He had served as Principal Editor at Village Intelligence, a Los Angeles-based consultancy on technology impacting healthcare and healthcare-related industries. Alex was also Associate Director for Content Management at Omdia and Informa Tech, where he produced white papers, executive summaries, market insights, blogs, and other key content assets. His areas of coverage spanned the sectors grouped under the technology vertical, including semiconductors, smart technologies, enterprise & IT, media, displays, mobile, power, healthcare, China research, industrial and IoT, automotive, and transformative technologies.
At IHS Markit, he was Managing Editor of the company’s flagship IHS Quarterly, covering aerospace & defense, economics & country risk, chemicals, oil & gas, and other IHS verticals. He was Principal Editor of analyst output at iSuppli Corp. and Managing Editor of Market Watch, a fortnightly newsletter highlighting significant analyst report findings for pitching to the media. He started his career in writing as an Editor-Reporter for The Associated Press.
