CEO Today Magazine - October 2021

24 Tell us a little bit about Sensormatic Solutions’ dedication to cutting-edge technology and innovation – how you started and where the organisation is now. The customer experience hinges on perfectly timed moments of truth — engagement on the customers’ terms, providing the right item at the right place and at the right time. Those moments between customers, stores, associates, and inventory are opportunities for retailers to positively impact the shopping experience and execute seamless unified commerce. As a global retail technology innovator, we recognise the value that digital strategies enable, as well as the significant need for integration in a hyper-connected retail world. As a result, Sensormatic Solutions is committed to creating cutting-edge technologies for retailers. In January 2021, Sensormatic Solutions launched Sensormatic IQ to integrate its existing data sets, and powerful technology solutions as well as third-party data to fast forward digital transformations through predictive and prescriptive insights. Sensormatic IQ provides unmatched insights into areas including shopper behaviour and engagement, inventory, labour allocation, loss prevention, liability events and more. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, there were many unexpected challenges that our team worked quickly to help retailers solve, including supporting increasingly popular methods of shopping through unified commerce solutions for BOPIS and curbside pickup. Despite the immediate challenges brought on by COVID-19, we saw an opportunity for retailers. Global incidents were not slowing down the retail industry but instead forcing retailers to adapt, adopt and accelerate innovation faster than ever to deliver the experiences their customer’s demand. Our data-forward open platform is the result of decades of experience as a leader in global retail innovation. The journey toward this technology-first approach started when we expanded our capability set with IP connected, industry-leading hardware and sensing capabilities for IoT solutions. A year later, the software layers were consolidated on Google Cloud. By 2019, we developed a common data lake for Sensormatic to build big data analytics that was becoming key differentiators for retailers facing rising competition. How do you ensure that Sensormatic Solutions is always at the forefront of innovation? The retail industry is constantly evolving, and the ability to adapt, pivot and adjust to these changes is why Sensormatic Solutions is a model for retail technology evolution. Sensormatic is a long-time retail technology innovator, evolving alongside the changing industry for over 50 years, and the COVID-19 pandemic is the latest seismic shift to spur major transformation within the industry. Sensormatic Solutions is working hand-in-hand with retailers across the globe to help them successfully navigate these disruptions through adaptive technology and scalable solutions. Leading the way in retail solutions since 1966, Sensormatic was founded after a theft of wine bottles from a Kroger Supermarket. From loss prevention to store performance, the company has developed new solutions to the latest retail challenges, helping its customers stay ahead. Starting with the company’s first anti-theft pedestals and tags which were ground-breaking in their own time, Sensormatic Solutions has evolved with the latest retail trends to guide its customers in their own transformation, by developing cloud-based SaaS solutions enabled by Artificial Intelligence (AI) and next-generation technology. Additionally, strategic partnerships with Google Cloud and Intel have ensured that best- in-class innovative solutions are delivered at speed and scale. The lessons learned amid the transformation from a legacy hardware company to today’s data-driven, outcome-focused technology leader were invaluable, informing our approach to modern retail. Today, Sensormatic IQ can support retailers in their own digital transformation. The need for precision retail and a seamless online and in-store experience for shoppers is clear, and Sensormatic Solutions is here to help retailers build an integrated, unified commerce strategy. Can you tell us more about Sensormatic IQ? Sensormatic IQ is an open, secure and agile platform that integrates the full Sensormatic Solutions portfolio, retailer data, and third-party offerings into one platform. This can enable retailers to act on predictive and prescriptive data to provide seamless, next-level customer experiences based on unparalleled visibility into operations and shopper insights. The platform is designed to meet retailers wherever they are in their digital transformation journey and help them understand and respond to the flow of information created between merchandise, people, and store operations. Leveraging the insights of this orchestrated environment can enable greater precision retail, knowledgeable and focused employees, and a shopping experience that keeps customers coming back. What was the idea about Sensormatic IQ born out of? The idea for Sensormatic IQ was born out of the realisation that the consumer demands homogenous retail experiences across all channels and departments with accurate real-time information. To fulfil the consumers’ requirements, retailers need to improve the precision of their operation and use a combination of data sets that have been traditionally trapped in departmental silos or THE CEO INTERVIEW