WEBVTT - How Integrated Technologies and a Startup Mentality are Delivering on the Promise of Omnichannel Retail: A Conversation with Seemantini Godbole 0:00:03.000 --> 0:00:07.039 Hey, everyone, Welcome to the Restless Ones. I'm Jonathan Strickland. 0:00:07.320 --> 0:00:10.719 As always, my focus is on exploring the intersection of 0:00:10.720 --> 0:00:14.440 technology and business by having conversations with the most forward 0:00:14.480 --> 0:00:19.200 thinking leaders. Throughout my career, I've covered everything from massive 0:00:19.239 --> 0:00:24.319 parallel processing to advanced robotics, but what truly inspires me 0:00:24.680 --> 0:00:31.280 are the stories of innovation and transformation. Today, I have 0:00:31.360 --> 0:00:34.720 the pleasure of speaking with Simontany Goadbolet, the chief Digital 0:00:34.760 --> 0:00:39.080 and Information Officer at Low's. Simontani's background is in mathematics 0:00:39.120 --> 0:00:42.760 and engineering, and we hit it off right away. I 0:00:42.880 --> 0:00:46.319 quickly learned about both her perspective on technological innovation and 0:00:46.479 --> 0:00:51.080 on business leadership. When presented with a challenge, Simontani begins 0:00:51.200 --> 0:00:55.680 exploring solutions through collaboration and thinking outside the box, all 0:00:55.680 --> 0:00:59.480 while maintaining an enthusiasm around her work. And Simontany has 0:00:59.520 --> 0:01:02.880 played a pivotal role in guiding decisions and strategies at 0:01:02.920 --> 0:01:07.120 Low's as the company has embraced digitalization to improve the 0:01:07.160 --> 0:01:11.600 experiences of customers, partners, and associates alike. But before we 0:01:11.720 --> 0:01:14.120 dive into all the work she's doing at Low's, I 0:01:14.160 --> 0:01:16.280 wanted to take a little time to learn more about 0:01:16.360 --> 0:01:25.080 Samontany herself. Simontani, thank you so much for joining us 0:01:25.160 --> 0:01:28.800 on the Restless Ones. I'm extremely excited to have this conversation. 0:01:28.400 --> 0:01:29.960 With you today, Jonathan. 0:01:30.080 --> 0:01:33.840 Great to be here. I'm really looking forward to this conversation. 0:01:33.959 --> 0:01:36.360 Before we jump into all the amazing work done over 0:01:36.400 --> 0:01:38.399 at Low's. I always like to get to know my 0:01:38.480 --> 0:01:40.880 guests a little bit better. I'm very curious how you 0:01:40.959 --> 0:01:45.120 first got interested in engineering and technology. 0:01:45.120 --> 0:01:47.640 You know, I think, Jonathan, I grew up in India 0:01:47.680 --> 0:01:50.440 and did my undergrad in India, and then I came 0:01:50.520 --> 0:01:54.080 here to do my graduate school. And from the very beginning, 0:01:54.120 --> 0:01:57.160 I feel like I was interested in math and science, 0:01:57.200 --> 0:01:59.480 and I wish I could come up with a much 0:01:59.640 --> 0:02:04.120 smart reason. But I figured out that math problems, if 0:02:04.160 --> 0:02:07.600 you just solve them on a consistent basis, you didn't 0:02:07.640 --> 0:02:11.520 have to study too much just before the exams. If 0:02:11.520 --> 0:02:14.480 you do a bunch of mathematical problems, then you're always 0:02:14.480 --> 0:02:16.280 ready for a test and you don't have to do 0:02:16.320 --> 0:02:19.639 anything special. On a more serious note, I think scientific 0:02:19.960 --> 0:02:24.280 experiments hands on learning. I just feel like it interested 0:02:24.320 --> 0:02:26.920 me much more. What I would say is the more 0:02:27.000 --> 0:02:29.440 you do it, the better you get. At it and 0:02:29.480 --> 0:02:31.800 then it becomes a bit of a virtuous cycle. And 0:02:31.840 --> 0:02:33.919 that's what happened to me, Jonathan. And by the time 0:02:33.960 --> 0:02:35.880 then I have completed my high school, I was very 0:02:35.880 --> 0:02:39.080 clear that I wanted to pursue engineering. My dad was 0:02:39.080 --> 0:02:42.600 an engineer, so I'm sure that had a tremendous influence. 0:02:43.480 --> 0:02:46.520 That's great. It resonates with me because I often saw 0:02:46.639 --> 0:02:49.160 math as sort of like a series of puzzles, and 0:02:49.240 --> 0:02:52.079 solving puzzles with something I always love to do. And 0:02:52.240 --> 0:02:55.600 certain types of math, like trigonometry just sang to me, 0:02:56.160 --> 0:02:59.920 and physics sang to me. And it's because it may 0:03:00.080 --> 0:03:03.359 made sense, and once you grasped it, everything starts to 0:03:03.440 --> 0:03:05.520 kind of fall into line, and I get a little 0:03:05.600 --> 0:03:08.040 hint of what it must be like to be an engineer. 0:03:08.080 --> 0:03:11.000 Not that I would ever suggest I am as lofty 0:03:11.480 --> 0:03:14.720 as an engineer, but Samantani, you've of course had lots 0:03:14.760 --> 0:03:17.560 of experience as both a technical lead and an engineer. 0:03:17.600 --> 0:03:22.679 I'm curious how those experiences in those roles shaped your 0:03:22.760 --> 0:03:24.560 approach to leadership. 0:03:25.160 --> 0:03:27.400 Yeah, and I think the biggest thing that happened to 0:03:27.440 --> 0:03:32.400 me was, even to this day, I truly appreciate what 0:03:32.520 --> 0:03:36.600 engineers do for us, and not just engineers, but ux designers, 0:03:36.720 --> 0:03:39.800 data scientist, infrastructure engineers. I mean, we could go on 0:03:39.880 --> 0:03:43.960 and on, but maybe because I did that work myself, 0:03:44.800 --> 0:03:48.560 I have a huge appreciation for how much dedication it needs, 0:03:48.600 --> 0:03:52.040 how much you have to keep yourself up with new technology, 0:03:52.120 --> 0:03:56.480 keep learning. Jonathan, you said something which so resonated with me, 0:03:56.560 --> 0:04:00.200 which is solving a puzzle. Right, So, if you're after 0:04:00.280 --> 0:04:02.720 an engineer and you're writing cops and gops of code 0:04:02.760 --> 0:04:06.960 on an everyday basis, you're solving puzzles continuously, and then 0:04:07.000 --> 0:04:09.200 there are many evenings you go home and you haven't 0:04:09.240 --> 0:04:13.160 quite solved something and it's bothering you, and you come 0:04:13.200 --> 0:04:15.080 in the next morning, and then suddenly you have a 0:04:15.120 --> 0:04:20.160 breakthrough and things change overnight, like something that seemed completely 0:04:20.279 --> 0:04:24.479 unsolvable yesterday suddenly today you have had a breakthrough. So 0:04:25.200 --> 0:04:28.040 I just feel like living that life gave me tremendous 0:04:28.120 --> 0:04:31.560 appreciation for what our teams do, And to this day, 0:04:32.240 --> 0:04:35.120 when we are having a whiteboard discussions, those that are actually, 0:04:35.120 --> 0:04:39.200 by the way, my best hours, I tremendously enjoy working 0:04:39.240 --> 0:04:40.240 with the teams that way. 0:04:40.839 --> 0:04:44.000 Anytime you get a chance to share ideas with people 0:04:44.000 --> 0:04:46.040 who might be looking at things from a slightly different 0:04:46.080 --> 0:04:49.080 perspective and perhaps see something that you missed. To me, 0:04:49.160 --> 0:04:51.599 that's one of the great joys. I don't get frustrated 0:04:51.600 --> 0:04:54.039 that I missed it. I take joy that someone else 0:04:54.080 --> 0:04:56.760 saw something that just because the angle I was looking 0:04:56.800 --> 0:04:58.200 at I could not see. 0:04:58.600 --> 0:04:59.040 Jonathan. 0:04:59.080 --> 0:05:01.520 One of the big things is every day I realized 0:05:01.560 --> 0:05:05.040 that how much my team knows and how good they 0:05:05.040 --> 0:05:08.080 are at what they do, and it's humbling. It's just 0:05:08.160 --> 0:05:10.920 really awesome to be surrounded by such smart people. 0:05:11.560 --> 0:05:14.760 That's fantastic. What actually brought you to Low's? 0:05:15.279 --> 0:05:18.480 So I was working for another retailer, I was working 0:05:18.480 --> 0:05:20.880 for Target. When I got a call from the team 0:05:20.920 --> 0:05:23.920 at Low's. It was going to be a bigger job. So, 0:05:24.080 --> 0:05:26.400 just to be really frank, I felt like I could 0:05:26.480 --> 0:05:29.040 have more impact. I felt like I was ready. And 0:05:29.120 --> 0:05:31.640 when I came and met with everybody at Low's, my 0:05:31.720 --> 0:05:34.440 future peers, and of course I met with Marvin Ellison 0:05:34.480 --> 0:05:39.440 and our CEO. What was very impressive is, first of all, 0:05:39.480 --> 0:05:42.880 I felt like Low's had a tremendous scale. Also, as 0:05:42.920 --> 0:05:47.000 I was listening from everyone about the home improvement business, 0:05:47.160 --> 0:05:51.080 I felt like that field was ripe for omni channel retail, 0:05:51.480 --> 0:05:55.159 lots of innovation, but here's the most important thing. I 0:05:55.360 --> 0:06:01.080 felt like Marvin was truly interested in transformation led by technology, 0:06:01.760 --> 0:06:05.360 and I felt like this happens very very rarely, where 0:06:05.400 --> 0:06:09.440 the company of scale who wants to transform, a CEO 0:06:09.520 --> 0:06:15.080 who's empathetic and really invested in transformation, and then a 0:06:15.360 --> 0:06:19.640 domain that is so problem rich. All these things don't 0:06:19.640 --> 0:06:23.800 come together often enough. And I was really excited after 0:06:23.880 --> 0:06:25.800 listening to everybody, and I didn't want to pass up 0:06:25.839 --> 0:06:28.040 that chance. So I'm really lucky I got this job 0:06:28.120 --> 0:06:29.360 and I love it every day. 0:06:29.760 --> 0:06:32.560 It sounds like the perfect convergence. It does sound like 0:06:32.640 --> 0:06:35.960 the engineer's dream come true of we're going to give 0:06:35.960 --> 0:06:38.440 you the support you need to be the change that 0:06:38.480 --> 0:06:41.159 we need in order to move into the next era 0:06:41.720 --> 0:06:45.800 of our organization's history. Out of curiosity, when you first 0:06:45.839 --> 0:06:48.359 meet someone, how do you actually describe what your job 0:06:48.560 --> 0:06:49.680 is to them? 0:06:50.160 --> 0:06:53.160 Absolutely, and Jonathan, that's a really good question. All of 0:06:53.240 --> 0:06:55.039 us want to describe our jobs in a way that 0:06:55.080 --> 0:06:58.599 everybody understands. And here is what I do really on 0:06:58.640 --> 0:07:02.480 an everyday basis. My job is to make sure that 0:07:02.839 --> 0:07:06.680 our customers are able to buy everything they want. However, 0:07:06.800 --> 0:07:09.400 whenever wherever they want to buy. So whether they want 0:07:09.440 --> 0:07:11.280 to go to lows dot com, they want to call 0:07:11.320 --> 0:07:14.040 our contact center, they want to come into our stores, 0:07:14.440 --> 0:07:17.600 they should get a really connected and a seamless experience. 0:07:18.360 --> 0:07:20.400 On the other side of a coin, what we are 0:07:20.400 --> 0:07:23.200 doing is for our associates, whether you're working in a 0:07:23.200 --> 0:07:26.880 store behind a register, or you're receiving a truck in 0:07:26.920 --> 0:07:31.240 our receiving doc or you're a supply chain associate moving 0:07:31.240 --> 0:07:34.200 the product through our warehouse, or you're sitting in our 0:07:34.360 --> 0:07:36.600 what we call it as store support center, which is 0:07:36.640 --> 0:07:41.760 basically a headquarter where you're sitting here doing some financial analysis. 0:07:42.240 --> 0:07:45.440 I really want to make sure that our associates are 0:07:45.520 --> 0:07:48.240 able to have the best experience so that they can 0:07:48.320 --> 0:07:51.480 serve our customers. So it really is about all the 0:07:51.560 --> 0:07:55.760 experiences and technology we design for our customers and associates. 0:07:55.840 --> 0:07:58.080 This is how I describe my job, and we are 0:07:58.080 --> 0:08:01.960 on a journey to become the most customer centric omni 0:08:02.080 --> 0:08:06.240 channel retailer, and I feel like technology plays a really 0:08:06.280 --> 0:08:07.200 important role in that. 0:08:07.800 --> 0:08:10.000 I like that description. Being able to do this to 0:08:10.000 --> 0:08:14.520 provide this experience both to the customers, for Low's Lows 0:08:14.520 --> 0:08:17.480 as partners as well as the associates who work at Lows. 0:08:18.280 --> 0:08:21.520 It requires a bedrock that we love to talk about 0:08:21.520 --> 0:08:25.240 on this show, which is, of course connectivity. It is 0:08:25.280 --> 0:08:28.920 my firm belief that connectivity is the technology that enables 0:08:29.440 --> 0:08:32.840 so much more innovation. And while we can focus on 0:08:32.840 --> 0:08:35.600 the innovation and we will talk about it, it never 0:08:35.720 --> 0:08:39.720 escapes me that that connectivity piece is what makes it 0:08:39.800 --> 0:08:42.480 all possible, so that we don't just have silos of 0:08:42.600 --> 0:08:46.120 data that do no good because they're all independent, little 0:08:46.200 --> 0:08:49.320 islands that never have any connection with anything else. So 0:08:50.200 --> 0:08:52.920 can you tell me a bit about what it means 0:08:53.559 --> 0:08:56.680 to build a connected workforce at Low's. 0:08:57.600 --> 0:09:01.480 Absolutely, And Jonathan, when we said home improvement is a 0:09:01.559 --> 0:09:04.960 problem rich space, that this field is right for omni 0:09:05.000 --> 0:09:07.400 channel experiences, I'll tell you what we mean, and that 0:09:07.480 --> 0:09:10.560 goes back to the connectivity you just brought up. So, 0:09:10.640 --> 0:09:13.720 for example, you want to change floors in your house, 0:09:14.040 --> 0:09:16.400 what you generally would do is and there are some 0:09:16.520 --> 0:09:19.120 decisions which are almost like family decisions, because these are 0:09:19.120 --> 0:09:21.960 big decisions you're making not just for yourself, but you're 0:09:22.000 --> 0:09:24.920 making it for the entire family. This is the floor 0:09:24.960 --> 0:09:27.360 you're going to live in every day. This is something 0:09:27.400 --> 0:09:29.480 you're going to wake up every morning and take a look. 0:09:29.920 --> 0:09:31.360 You want to be proud of it, you want to 0:09:31.360 --> 0:09:33.840 feel happy about it. When you invite people over, you 0:09:33.880 --> 0:09:36.560 want them to feel really good about what you've done. 0:09:36.720 --> 0:09:39.280 So there is a lot of pride in this project. 0:09:39.480 --> 0:09:41.320 So what you do generally is what we have seen 0:09:41.320 --> 0:09:43.840 with our customers. You start your journey online and you 0:09:43.880 --> 0:09:46.800 may order samples, you may look at different floors. Now 0:09:46.840 --> 0:09:49.560 we have introduced lots of features where you take a 0:09:49.559 --> 0:09:52.680 picture of your home, upload it. Then you try out 0:09:52.720 --> 0:09:57.439 different floors online from our catalog and you may narrow 0:09:57.480 --> 0:09:59.160 down your choices and you may see, these are the 0:09:59.200 --> 0:10:01.800 three or four things I like. But then generally what 0:10:01.840 --> 0:10:05.000 we have seen is customers then go to the store, 0:10:05.160 --> 0:10:08.360 or they'll go with their contractor we have this huge 0:10:08.400 --> 0:10:13.000 advantage of just really experienced associates, and so when you 0:10:13.000 --> 0:10:16.640 go to the stores, you get tremendous amount of additional information. 0:10:17.200 --> 0:10:19.480 And then what we have seen is generally then people 0:10:20.040 --> 0:10:23.000 sort of complete their transaction. They either complete their right 0:10:23.040 --> 0:10:25.600 there in the stores or they come back and do 0:10:25.679 --> 0:10:28.520 that back online. So that's why it needs to be 0:10:28.640 --> 0:10:31.000 very connected because if it was disconnected, like if you 0:10:31.120 --> 0:10:34.040 zero in on three floors online, but you go to 0:10:34.080 --> 0:10:37.400 the store and then nobody knows what you're talking about, 0:10:37.480 --> 0:10:41.000 it won't work. So there is just a tremendous amount 0:10:41.080 --> 0:10:45.240 of information and connectedness that needs to go back and 0:10:45.280 --> 0:10:49.040 forth between the different channels. For our appliances. For example, 0:10:49.080 --> 0:10:51.520 we started a two way communication where we keep you 0:10:51.559 --> 0:10:56.199 completely updated that Hey, reminding you, Jonathan, your deliveries tomorrow, 0:10:56.360 --> 0:11:00.160 are you still ready for it? Because plans change, And 0:11:00.200 --> 0:11:01.480 then even throughout the day. 0:11:01.360 --> 0:11:02.920 We would keep you updated. 0:11:03.200 --> 0:11:06.800 So I feel like Jonathan, our customers are demanding it 0:11:06.840 --> 0:11:10.160 more and more that it doesn't matter how they buy something, 0:11:10.760 --> 0:11:13.560 but they want it all connected. They want similar and 0:11:13.640 --> 0:11:17.880 consistent experience, and they want it to be really a 0:11:17.920 --> 0:11:22.400 hassle free, fun type of experience when they are doing 0:11:22.400 --> 0:11:24.120 something so exciting in their life. 0:11:24.840 --> 0:11:28.120 Yeah, I've personally had very many of the experiences that 0:11:28.200 --> 0:11:32.160 you've just mentioned, and I think that the connectivity that 0:11:32.200 --> 0:11:35.440 we've seen over the last several years, which enables this 0:11:35.480 --> 0:11:38.440 where you have this real time inventory management system that 0:11:38.520 --> 0:11:43.200 can be reflected on the customer facing side, that's transformative. 0:11:43.280 --> 0:11:46.560 It removes so many pain points and frustrations as someone 0:11:46.559 --> 0:11:51.360 who's actually tackling a DIY project, which can, as I'm 0:11:51.360 --> 0:11:54.640 sure you're aware, Samontane, it can sometimes be a little stressful. 0:11:54.920 --> 0:11:57.760 So to me, those are those connective points that are 0:11:57.840 --> 0:12:02.040 absolutely critical to having a good experience, and it's the 0:12:02.040 --> 0:12:04.480 one that keeps bringing you back to a specific business 0:12:04.520 --> 0:12:09.520 when that sort of representation of making use of data 0:12:09.559 --> 0:12:12.720 in a constructive way has a huge impact on the customer. 0:12:13.400 --> 0:12:14.040 Absolutely. 0:12:14.080 --> 0:12:16.760 And the other thing we have also seen is our 0:12:16.800 --> 0:12:20.800 customers and even associates want our experiences to be very 0:12:20.880 --> 0:12:21.920 context aware. 0:12:22.559 --> 0:12:26.199 So exactly like you said, what is available. 0:12:25.800 --> 0:12:28.880 In the store near you, what is right for you 0:12:29.040 --> 0:12:33.320 if you're living in Miami as opposed to let's say Denver, Right, 0:12:33.480 --> 0:12:37.040 the climate and the requirement of these places are very different. 0:12:37.480 --> 0:12:40.720 If you're living in a very tight urban location, no 0:12:40.840 --> 0:12:43.840 point in showing you an elaborate, big patio set. Maybe 0:12:43.840 --> 0:12:46.640 you're looking for a bistrow table with a couple of chairs, 0:12:47.200 --> 0:12:49.439 and maybe that's what we should show you, whether you 0:12:49.559 --> 0:12:53.040 come online or whether you're coming inside a store. And 0:12:53.080 --> 0:12:55.600 these are the context rich experiences. 0:13:03.800 --> 0:13:05.560 Well, one of the other things we love to talk 0:13:05.559 --> 0:13:09.560 about on this show specifically would be the use of 0:13:09.880 --> 0:13:13.440 wireless technologies like five G and Wi Fi six. So 0:13:13.480 --> 0:13:17.679 I'm very curious, Samontoni, do you see places where the 0:13:17.720 --> 0:13:22.679 retail sector in particular can really leverage these connectivity solutions, 0:13:22.760 --> 0:13:26.119 ones that have the high throughput and the low latency 0:13:26.760 --> 0:13:30.599 that we're seeing developed through these new wireless technologies. 0:13:31.200 --> 0:13:31.560 Yeah. 0:13:31.600 --> 0:13:35.280 Of course, we are tremendous consumers of cloud, and we 0:13:35.320 --> 0:13:38.200 do have our own data centers just given the complexity 0:13:38.280 --> 0:13:41.280 and the reach of LOWS. But then what we have 0:13:41.360 --> 0:13:44.480 done is across our more than seventeen hundred stores, we 0:13:44.600 --> 0:13:49.120 have really created mini are a micro data center in 0:13:49.200 --> 0:13:52.360 each of the stores, so that way we are closest 0:13:52.400 --> 0:13:54.640 to the customer wherever the customer is. So if you 0:13:54.720 --> 0:13:58.200 are online, you're connecting to the cloud. If you walk 0:13:58.240 --> 0:14:00.480 into the store, you're connecting to a cert which is 0:14:00.480 --> 0:14:03.960 in the store itself. And then if you are sitting 0:14:04.040 --> 0:14:06.440 at one of our store support centers, which is like 0:14:06.440 --> 0:14:10.680 a headquarter, and you're let's say a merchandising analyst, you're 0:14:10.679 --> 0:14:13.080 connecting to our data center. So we are trying to 0:14:13.160 --> 0:14:17.280 connect you to the closest location, and then everything you 0:14:17.360 --> 0:14:19.760 mentioned comes into picture in a big way. For example, 0:14:19.760 --> 0:14:21.600 if you're in a store and you are an associate 0:14:21.680 --> 0:14:23.880 or a customer, you're connected to the Wi Fi, you're 0:14:23.880 --> 0:14:26.600 connected to the server which is very close. And what 0:14:26.640 --> 0:14:29.560 we are doing is with our caching strategy and APIs, 0:14:29.600 --> 0:14:33.240 we are making sure that the data is staged closest 0:14:33.280 --> 0:14:35.640 to where you are, and we are trying to reduce 0:14:35.720 --> 0:14:39.520 communication across sites. So, for example, if you are in 0:14:39.560 --> 0:14:41.960 the store, you're trying to keep your communication within the 0:14:41.960 --> 0:14:43.400 stores as much as we can. 0:14:43.840 --> 0:14:44.560 Now there are. 0:14:44.480 --> 0:14:46.920 Times when you are leaving the store, your bits and 0:14:46.960 --> 0:14:51.160 bytes are leaving the stores, going someplace else, collecting answers 0:14:51.160 --> 0:14:54.200 and coming back, and you're absolutely right in those times. 0:14:54.200 --> 0:14:57.480 What we do is use technologies such as five G. 0:14:57.760 --> 0:15:00.360 If you're a customer and there are some calls yours 0:15:00.360 --> 0:15:03.320 which are going outside of the store, or you're an 0:15:03.360 --> 0:15:06.880 associate and you're using a Zebra device, which is basically 0:15:06.880 --> 0:15:10.320 a smartphone device that we issue to all our associates 0:15:10.840 --> 0:15:15.920 to whether find induventor relocations, place an order, get something replenished, 0:15:16.560 --> 0:15:20.640 and so we are making use of wireless technology. Sometimes 0:15:20.640 --> 0:15:25.240 we are using connectivity for tethered servers, but we are 0:15:25.320 --> 0:15:29.880 making sure that the data and the answers are placed 0:15:30.000 --> 0:15:32.520 closest to where the customer is well. 0:15:32.520 --> 0:15:35.720 I imagine that also plays a huge part in logistics 0:15:35.720 --> 0:15:38.040 and things like supply chain as well when you're looking 0:15:38.040 --> 0:15:40.880 at it from the back end. And we've had a 0:15:40.880 --> 0:15:43.320 lot of conversations on this show about supply chain because 0:15:43.360 --> 0:15:47.280 obviously during the pandemic that was first and foremost in 0:15:47.320 --> 0:15:49.680 everyone's minds as we saw all the choke points, and 0:15:49.680 --> 0:15:53.240 people suddenly realized what engineers had known for ages, that 0:15:53.360 --> 0:15:56.840 the supply chain is a delicate system, and that realization, 0:15:57.000 --> 0:16:01.240 paired with our new capacity to collect and analyze information, 0:16:02.000 --> 0:16:04.680 means that the generation of leaders are far more aware 0:16:04.880 --> 0:16:07.720 of the power of data and how you can use 0:16:07.760 --> 0:16:12.600 that information to have as little interruption in business as possible. 0:16:13.280 --> 0:16:16.280 Absolutely, and Jonathan, I mean some of these things came 0:16:16.320 --> 0:16:20.760 to surface during COVID, when suddenly the demand for everything outstripped. 0:16:20.800 --> 0:16:24.560 Supply data, to your point, is really powerful and one 0:16:24.600 --> 0:16:26.600 of the biggest things the customers wanted to know is 0:16:26.680 --> 0:16:31.160 what is available near me in my store. So we 0:16:31.200 --> 0:16:34.680 had by that time actually modernized some of our technology 0:16:34.840 --> 0:16:38.840 around inventory and inventory positioning, so we were able to 0:16:38.880 --> 0:16:42.480 expose that even before COVID hit us, So that was good, 0:16:42.560 --> 0:16:46.120 but we unleashed a lot of different experiences and what 0:16:46.160 --> 0:16:49.800 we did was we literally, you know, curbside experience through 0:16:49.840 --> 0:16:53.640 our app. We rolled that out within six weeks. Inventory 0:16:53.720 --> 0:16:55.960 we started making it more prominent as to what is 0:16:56.000 --> 0:17:01.360 available next to you. But throughout COVID, and even before COVID, 0:17:01.400 --> 0:17:05.880 we continued our transformation and we actually doubled down. It 0:17:05.920 --> 0:17:08.280 was great for our customers because they were relying on 0:17:08.359 --> 0:17:11.200 lows to find the things they needed to keep their 0:17:11.200 --> 0:17:14.640 homes working. And I think it truly showed that our 0:17:14.680 --> 0:17:17.520 team was super resilient in really difficult times. 0:17:18.240 --> 0:17:21.320 And this segue is really well into our next section 0:17:21.400 --> 0:17:24.120 where we were going to talk specifically about e commerce. 0:17:24.160 --> 0:17:28.879 I mean, obviously e commerce became the dominant form of 0:17:28.920 --> 0:17:32.679 the way that customers interacted with businesses, particularly during the 0:17:32.800 --> 0:17:36.080 times of lockdown. What can leaders in the retail sector 0:17:36.160 --> 0:17:40.040 do to sort of anticipate enormous shifts as what we've 0:17:40.240 --> 0:17:43.240 seen with e commerce. What lessons have you learned that 0:17:43.320 --> 0:17:45.399 I think are valuable to your peers. 0:17:45.800 --> 0:17:48.560 I have always looked at e commerce as a really 0:17:48.680 --> 0:17:52.960 important part of total retail equation, and everybody at Loosed 0:17:53.080 --> 0:17:56.240 US so I don't think that was a big surprise. 0:17:56.400 --> 0:18:00.560 I think what Covid did was it just accelerated trend 0:18:00.640 --> 0:18:04.000 which was already in motion, which is, you know, lots 0:18:04.000 --> 0:18:07.880 of people who had never done online grocery shopping started 0:18:07.880 --> 0:18:11.040 doing that, Lots of people who had never thought they 0:18:11.040 --> 0:18:15.440 could get something delivered, you know, restaurant orders. Overall, digitization 0:18:16.359 --> 0:18:20.639 just reached epic proportions. And I think some of those 0:18:20.760 --> 0:18:23.439 changes are permanent. And what I mean by that is 0:18:24.080 --> 0:18:26.680 just your level of comfort. And what we did was 0:18:26.720 --> 0:18:28.399 we looked at it and we said what does it 0:18:28.480 --> 0:18:31.719 mean to our customers and what would be most helpful. So, 0:18:31.800 --> 0:18:36.480 for example, we observed that virtual appointments people are getting 0:18:36.520 --> 0:18:40.760 really comfortable just this new way of conversing with each 0:18:40.760 --> 0:18:44.280 other through cameras and through this new technology. People are 0:18:44.320 --> 0:18:47.159 really good with that. And so what we did was 0:18:47.680 --> 0:18:51.639 for some of our categories like kitchen design, you know, 0:18:51.720 --> 0:18:55.159 countertops and cabinets, what we do is we have a 0:18:55.200 --> 0:18:59.120 centralized selling team and you could go ahead and book 0:18:59.160 --> 0:19:03.240 an appointment virtually and start talking to them. 0:19:03.840 --> 0:19:05.720 You'll still have people from lows. 0:19:05.480 --> 0:19:08.119 Come to your house and take some measurements, but because 0:19:08.160 --> 0:19:10.960 of their virtual appointment. That is happening even before people 0:19:11.000 --> 0:19:13.560 at Low's come into your house, you have done a 0:19:13.560 --> 0:19:17.600 lot of homework. We can actually do our own homework 0:19:17.640 --> 0:19:20.040 before we come to your house, and then that way 0:19:20.080 --> 0:19:23.720 we can get everything done in one appointment, and we're 0:19:23.720 --> 0:19:26.480 giving you all the information and we can always answer 0:19:26.520 --> 0:19:29.800 your questions later through a follow up virtual appointment. So 0:19:29.880 --> 0:19:32.000 these are some of the things we are noticing. People 0:19:32.000 --> 0:19:34.960 are much more comfortable. So what we have done is 0:19:34.960 --> 0:19:39.560 actually we have taken advantage of these accelerating trends and 0:19:39.720 --> 0:19:44.640 brought even more innovative experiences to our customers and associates. 0:19:45.520 --> 0:19:48.639 Well, next up, I've got an interesting question because I 0:19:48.640 --> 0:19:53.160 think of Lows as a truly enormous company, and often 0:19:53.359 --> 0:19:56.640 we can have a prejudice on enormous companies and think 0:19:56.680 --> 0:19:59.920 of them as being unable to be nimble or dexterous 0:20:00.040 --> 0:20:02.720 when conditions change. So what do you think is the 0:20:02.760 --> 0:20:06.919 secret to leaders to being ready to respond to the 0:20:06.960 --> 0:20:07.960 next big thing? 0:20:08.880 --> 0:20:12.520 Jonathan? I think, first of all, irrespective of your size, 0:20:13.080 --> 0:20:15.680 we all need to operate as if we are startup 0:20:16.119 --> 0:20:20.320 and at loads in technology and otherwise, we are always 0:20:20.359 --> 0:20:24.520 thinking about ourselves as a small company really and not 0:20:24.840 --> 0:20:28.680 as this mega corporation that we are, And I think 0:20:28.760 --> 0:20:34.760 that fosters a sense of entrepreneurship and creativity and scrappiness 0:20:35.119 --> 0:20:38.239 that's really needed to solve even the biggest problems. And 0:20:38.280 --> 0:20:41.800 we totally believe in what we call it as MVP 0:20:41.960 --> 0:20:46.000 minimum viable products. We believe in iterative approach. So we 0:20:46.080 --> 0:20:49.080 would kind of publish something in the market Watch, how 0:20:49.080 --> 0:20:52.440 it goes, keep iterating and perfecting it till it comes 0:20:52.440 --> 0:20:55.240 to a stage where it is ready for prime time 0:20:55.359 --> 0:20:58.520 and a national launch. And all these are signs of 0:20:59.080 --> 0:21:03.439 creatively thinking in small teams and taking risks and giving 0:21:03.600 --> 0:21:07.439 license for people do not get it perfectly right the 0:21:07.440 --> 0:21:11.240 first time. I think that's really a key Jonathan, excellent. 0:21:11.400 --> 0:21:14.439 I'm also curious are there any emerging technologies that you 0:21:14.480 --> 0:21:18.200 are particularly interested in exploring. I mean, obviously, right now 0:21:18.440 --> 0:21:22.159 the technology that's all a buzz across multiple sectors is 0:21:22.440 --> 0:21:26.119 artificial intelligence, though I often find that people reduce that 0:21:26.560 --> 0:21:30.920 to specific applications of AI as opposed to artificial intelligence 0:21:30.920 --> 0:21:33.440 as a whole. But are there any that you're particularly 0:21:33.520 --> 0:21:34.240 excited about? 0:21:34.960 --> 0:21:37.480 Yes, absolutely, and we are looking at couple of different 0:21:37.520 --> 0:21:40.399 technologies and We'll absolutely talk about AI before we go 0:21:40.480 --> 0:21:43.880 in there. We are looking at a combination of can 0:21:43.920 --> 0:21:48.240 we use RFID for anti theft? So for example, underston, 0:21:48.280 --> 0:21:50.760 until you pay for your tool, it's not going to work. 0:21:50.880 --> 0:21:53.919 We call it Project Unlock. We are exploring that with 0:21:54.200 --> 0:21:57.280 lots of our vendor partners. We feel that that technology 0:21:57.320 --> 0:21:59.240 and Loso was the first one to come up with 0:21:59.280 --> 0:22:02.360 that is really promising. We are looking at a lot 0:22:02.440 --> 0:22:06.360 of these connected technologies. Is what happens in the stores 0:22:06.520 --> 0:22:09.920 and online and how do we connect it. Lastly, I'll 0:22:09.960 --> 0:22:13.000 also talk about AI. Jonathan, you know before that data 0:22:13.040 --> 0:22:16.959 remains extremely important to us and how can we unlock 0:22:17.000 --> 0:22:19.919 more and more insights for our associates and our customers 0:22:20.440 --> 0:22:22.760 in order to make sure that their shopping experience is 0:22:22.800 --> 0:22:25.840 really enjoyable. The goal is to put all the fun 0:22:25.880 --> 0:22:28.040 in the home improvement in and take all the friction 0:22:28.200 --> 0:22:32.359 out and that has been really important guiding principle for us. 0:22:32.400 --> 0:22:35.920 And then lastly AI. We are absolutely looking at AI 0:22:36.280 --> 0:22:39.199