Ed Wong, SVP CIO, Smart & Final, Named a RIS News Tech Leader for Strategic Impact
October 09 2018 - 9:00AM
Symphony RetailAI, the leading global provider of Artificial
Intelligence-enabled decision platforms, solutions and
customer-centric insights that drive validated growth for retailers
and CPG manufacturers, announced today that Ed Wong, Senior Vice
President, Chief Information Officer of Smart & Final, was
selected as a RIS News Tech Leader for Strategic Impact as part of
the 2018 CIO of the Year Awards. Wong was recognized for his
leadership of a recent supply chain project using Symphony RetailAI
solutions.
To achieve his vision of a data-driven supply chain for Smart
& Final, Wong created a new foundational data integration layer
based on retail master data which allowed the retailer to more
efficiently run all of its downstream ERP applications on one
standard data set. Instead of duplicating data for vendor-managed
replenishment or warehouse buying, under this new model, a single
set of data is now shared with applications based on business
needs.
“I’m honored to be recognized as a RIS News Tech Leader among so
many worthy applicants,” said Wong. “Working with Symphony RetailAI
has enabled Smart & Final to react to the constant changes in
today’s very competitive FMCG market and increase our customer
satisfaction.”
By running a singular data set, Smart & Final has reduced
errors, order-to-shelf time and spoilage, while increasing on-shelf
availability and enabling store-level inventory data for
omnichannel servicing of customer needs.
“Prior to implementing our technology, when Smart & Final
introduced a new product, it would take several days until it could
be ordered from the warehouse,” said Todd Michaud, President and
Chief Customer Officer of the Americas, Symphony RetailAI. “With
the new system, they have cut that time to shelf by 75 percent, so
new items are made available to customers much faster.”
With centralized data, Smart & Final can now manage its
inventory in near real time. The improved monitoring capability
allows Smart & Final to receive immediate feedback such as
forecast accuracy. The company has vastly improved reaction time
and, as a result, can respond much more rapidly, directly impacting
cost in inventory, increased margin and improved customer
satisfaction. Previously, Smart & Final had numerous
applications running simultaneously but now manages fewer than five
integrated platforms. With the new solution set, the company has
achieved operational savings and the total cost of ownership is
much lower. Thanks to Wong’s innovative vision and leadership, the
successful implementation of the Symphony RetailAI supply chain
solutions is delivering real value to Smart & Final.
For the full list of award recipients, click here.
About Smart & Final Smart & Final
Stores, Inc. (NYSE: SFS), is a value-oriented food and everyday
staples retailer, headquartered in Commerce (near Los Angeles),
California. The Company offers quality products in a variety of
sizes, saving household, nonprofit and business customers time and
money. As of June 17, 2018, the Company operated 322 grocery and
foodservice stores under the "Smart & Final," "Smart &
Final Extra!" and "Smart Foodservice Warehouse Stores" banners in
California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Nevada, Idaho, Montana and
Utah, with an additional 15 stores in Northwestern Mexico operated
through a joint venture. In business for over 146 years, the
Company remains committed to giving back to local communities
through employee volunteer opportunities and Company donations to
local nonprofits.
About RIS NewsFor over 25 years RIS News has
provided the retail community with news, trends and breakthroughs,
as well as exclusive research, analysis and bylined stories by the
industry's most respected experts.
About Symphony RetailAISymphony RetailAI is the
leading global provider of Artificial Intelligence-enabled decision
platforms, solutions and customer-centric insights that drive
validated growth for retailers and CPG manufacturers, from customer
intelligence to personalized marketing, and merchandising and
category management, to supply chain and retail operations.
Symphony RetailAI is innovating rapidly to drive faster, more
profitable decisions through AI, machine learning and voice
technologies. We are trusted by over 1,200 organizations including
15 of the world’s 25 largest grocery retailers, thousands of retail
brands, and hundreds of national and regional chains worldwide to
help solve their toughest business problems, through AI-powered
customer intelligence and retail solutions. Symphony RetailAI was
formed in 2018, merging Symphony GOLD and Symphony EYC. Symphony
RetailAI is a SymphonyAI company. More at www.symphonyretailai.com.
Follow us on Twitter: @symphonyretail.
About SymphonyAISymphonyAI is a group of
companies that provide the leading AI-centric solutions for
transforming the business enterprise by driving revenue growth and
operational excellence, for the retail, CPG, healthcare and
industrial verticals, and for finance, IT and other key enterprise
horizontal functions. Founded by Dr. Romesh Wadhwani, SymphonyAI is
one of the fastest growing companies in the business-to-business AI
solutions sector with revenue this year of $275 million and 1,500
employees. More at www.symphonyai.com.
Media ContactAdrienne Newcomb Ketner Group
Communications (for Symphony RetailAI) adrienne@ketnergroup.com
512-794-8876
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