Retail CIO Connect 2024
June 11 - 12, 2024
Sopwell House, St Albans
Day 2 Wednesday 12th June 2024
8:15 am - 8:45 am
Registration and welcome Coffee
8:45 am - 8:50 am
Chairperson’s Opening Address
Trish Lynch -
UN Moderator,
MC/News Anchor
9:00 am - 9:20 am
OPENING KEYNOTE CASE STUDY: OVERCOMING LEGACY CONSTRAINTS: How to navigate the complexities of legacy system modernisation to deliver operational efficiencies and a unified customer experience
Gary Ellwood -
CIO,
FGH
- How to perfect your omnichannel strategies to enhance customer journey’s
- How to create a cohesive strategy and measure its positive impact
9:20 am - 10:00 am
PANEL DISCUSSION INTERACTIVE: STAYING AFLOAT THROUGH INNOVATION: What people, processes and new technology can you leverage to push past the continued turbulence to reinvent your IT function and pave the way for sustainable growth?
Reuben Nelson Cofie -
Technology Director - Europe,
URBN
Jeannette Copeland -
Technology Director,
Ann Summers
Fran Pillar -
COO,
Seraphine
Bob Holt -
Head of Digital Product,
N Brown
- How can you remain inspired in an era of fresh innovation, and push past the turmoil?
- How can you leverage technology for post-COVID resilience, paving the way for sustainable growth and customer trust?
- What are the best practices for retaining top talent and ensuring a healthy work life balance?
Following the panel discussion, you will get the chance to join a small group of your peers to address a question put to you by the speakers. A great opportunity to collaborate and share ideas.
10:00 am - 10:20 am
CLIENT CASE STUDY: RETHINKING YOUR TECH STACK: How composable commerce can create a flexible eCommerce ecosystem that helps you better serve the evolving omnichannel needs of your customers
- How can composable architecture help you increase scalability and flexibility across all customer touchpoints?
- How can you embrace an API-first headless architecture that allows you to add in or remove components when required?
- How can headless commerce help you take the first steps towards composable commerce, and is headless commerce enough on its own?
Fuel up and network with your industry peers to make valuable new contacts whilst enjoying a revitalising refreshment. Maybe use this time to network not only with delegates but with the WBR team to discuss plans for 2024
11:35 am - 12:05 pm
FIRESIDE CHAT: DELIVERING UNIFIED COMMERCE: How can you implement a single centralised platform to connect all touchpoints in real time and increase profitability?
- How can legacy architecture be effectively reevaluated to facilitate the implementation of a unified commerce platform, seamlessly connecting all retail touchpoints in real time?
- What strategies and best practices are essential for delivering a single centralised platform that streamlines operations and enhances customer experiences across various channels?
- In what ways does achieving unified commerce lead to increased profitability and improved operational?
12:05 pm - 12:25 pm
CLIENT CASE STUDY: FOSTERING INNOVATION: How migrating to a cloud operating model powered by analytics, automation and AI has enhanced our retail operations and boosted efficiency
- How can you identify which components of your IT infrastructure should be moved to the cloud?
- How to effectively manage and process data for real-time insights
- How to implement cloud computing to improve data security and reduce the risk of DDoS attacks
12:30 pm - 1:00 pm
Private business meetings for you to benchmark solution providers
Network with your industry peers and make valuable new contacts during our lunch networking break in the buzzy lunchroom. This is your chance recharge for a packed afternoon of sessions and meetings with relevant hand-picked solution providers.
2:00 pm - 2:40 pm
CASE STUDY INTERACTIVE: DELIVERING RESULTS THROUGH DATA: How to leverage advanced data analytics for seamless omnichannel personalisation to drive unprecedented customer loyalty and revenue growth
- How can advanced data analytics enhance omnichannel personalisation strategies to create a tailored shopping experience for each customer?
- What methods and technologies can be employed to seamlessly integrate customer data across various retail channels, ensuring a cohesive brand experience?
- What actionable insights and best practices can be applied immediately to drive tangible results in retail IT and customer satisfaction?
Following the case study, you will get the chance to join a small group of your peers to address a question put to you by the speakers. A great opportunity to collaborate and share ideas.
2:40 pm - 3:00 pm
INTERVIEW: ACCELERATING BUSINESS GROWTH: How can you prioritise digital projects and secure stakeholder buy-in in a fast-paced growth environment to wow your customers and increase profits?
- How can you select the right projects that will drive positive outcomes for customers and deliver business results?
- What core systems should you invest in to accelerate growth and how can you prioritise investments?
- How can you best manage stakeholders in an ever-changing environment?
3:00 pm - 3:40 pm
THE ROUNDTABLE REVIEW
Jeannette Copeland -
Technology Director,
Ann Summers
Nikesh Gohil -
Group IT Director,
Applegreen
Luke Phillips -
IT Director,
Townhouse
Jess Coleman -
Programme Manager, Tech & Transformation,
White Stuff
Pick a roundtable that you’d like to join, learn from the roundtable host whilst also deliberating on questions and points that you want to make to the discussion. This is a perfect way to gain vital first-hand knowledge of changes in the industry, whilst enjoying a bottle/glass of something alcoholic.
Roundtable 1: LEADERSHIP: How do you inspire teams to work at their best during times of uncertainty and change?
Jeannette Copeland, Technology Director, Ann Summers
Roundtable 2: IN-STORE INNOVATION: How to implement in-store mobile tech that can offer a frictionless, omnichannel shopper experience and improve fulfilment capabilities
Jess Coleman, Programme Manager, Tech & Transformation, White Stuff
Roundtable 3: INVENTORY MANAGEMENT: How technology could be used to reduce overhead of manage inventory in environments where its not a dedicated role (title to be confirmed)
Luke Phillips, IT Director, Townhouse
Roundtable 4: ML: How to implement ML-powered personalisation for seamless customer journeys, resulting in elevated sales and customer satisfaction
Chris Ormerod, Software Engineering Manager, Sainsbury’s (awaiting final confirmation)
Roundtable 5: DATA: How to navigate roadblocks when building a centralised data system (topic to be confirmed)
Nikesh Gohil, IT Director, Applegreen
