Food retail executives discussed the importance of organizational culture for the success of business strategies in 2023. They stressed the need to disseminate and strengthen corporate culture, recognizing and valuing employees. In addition, they highlighted the importance of technology as an operational advantage and as a way of improving the customer experience. The conversation also touched on the need to be present on the store floor, listen to employees and customers and implement ideas to improve the business.
“My recommendation is that directors and managers should always be very close to the store floor. Things happen on the store floor, not in the office. The office is crucial to the business, but things happen on the sales floor,” says Tenda Atacado’s Operations Director, Fernando Alfano. He says that he is invariably in the stores at least from Wednesday to Saturday. “I talk a lot with the team, the manager, the stockist, the customer,” he says.
The debate took place during the first GIC Amplia WebTalk 2023, a space for discussing the main trends in retail and analyzing the sector. In addition to the director of Tenda Atacado, the chairman of the board of Barbosa Supermercados, Nelson Barbosa, and the CEO of GIC Brasil, Ivan Fernandes, took part. The moderator was Eduardo Terra, a partner at BTR Educação e Consultoria and president of the Brazilian Society of Retail and Consumption (SBVC).
Digital advances in the sector and in society received a lot of attention from the panelists. One of the consensus points was the need to prepare teams to deal with future trends and challenges. “There is already a discussion about what the digital environment is now. In my view, a new wave is coming soon, with the spread of the 5G band. Artificial intelligence is coming in very strongly. There are other elements that will accelerate the digitalization of people, the world and, therefore, business,” said Terra.
They also point out that culture is the foundation that guarantees good execution of the strategy, as well as playing a fundamental role in the success of the digital transformation agenda. “We’ve invested a lot in technology. We need to have a differentiated delivery and the competition is no longer just regional. We’re looking to value service, to generate delight. And it’s our employees who are going to do this, and they need to be valued more and more,” said the Chairman of the Board of Barbosa Supermercados.
In practice, the executives assessed that technology only works in conjunction with a people agenda. Hence the importance and appreciation of the people who work on the store floor. Technology, on the other hand, is seen as an operational advantage, crucial for all teams, but also for what they called the “new kids” who like technology and help implement innovations in stores. Technology brings real-time data, which monitors processes, impacts profitability and monitors processes.
They also talked about how humanized technology influences everything from employee satisfaction to the customer experience. This is the case with the RUB automated management system, created by GIC Brasil. “I believe that anyone who aligns their culture, does the basics well, makes good purchases, negotiates well, trains the team and keeps the operation lean will be able to make a profit in 2023 and will have breath for another three years,” concludes the CEO of the innovation and technology company, Ivan Fernandes.
