4 ways ICA rebuilds and cleans up IT
During the pandemic, e-commerce quickly became the focus of large food chains. ICA, with about 1,300 stores and a 36% market share, was no exception, and in Q2 of 2020, while stay-at-home mandates were enacted, its e-commerce increased by 165%.
During the pandemic, e-commerce quickly became the focus of large food chains. ICA, with about 1,300 stores and a 36% market share, was no exception, and in Q2 of 2020, while stay-at-home mandates were enacted, its e-commerce increased by 165%.
Now e-commerce has slowed down and in-person purchasing patterns are recovering. In addition, ICA has felt pressure from inflation in the last year and has lost market share to cheaper competitors. So in order to overcome these challenges, major work is underway to further sharpen digital capabilities.
“ICA has invested a lot in IT and digitization,” says CIO Benny Svensson. “We’ve been building new solutions for a few years and now it’s time to consolidate and become sharper with a new approach.”
Points of reference
Svensson, who was recruited from Ikea and became ICA CIO just over a year ago, points out four key areas of change within IT in order to hit targets of SEK 400 million ($36.5 million) in savings. The first is about prioritizing the project list: which projects to do when, and how to do them efficiently. But priorities look different in ICA’s various operations, says Svensson. For the stores, it’s about concrete IT solutions around how store owners manage their back office environment. But it also concerns IT outside the stores, looking at things like scanners, shelf labels, and, now more than ever, how AI can be used.
In this area, AI has already been in use to reduce waste in stores by keeping track of expiry dates and lowering prices to the right level to get items sold on time. “Last spring, we were in the pilot phase, but now we’re in a position to offer it to our ICA traders,” says Svensson. “There are examples of merchants who have reduced food waste by 45% by using AI.”
In the case of Apotek Hjärtat, Sweden’s most recognized pharmacy chain, it’s more about developing e-commerce and streamlining the cash registers. And for ICA-owned bank ICA Banken, it’s about creating an unmatched customer experience. In these main areas, Svensson says, ICA is constantly developing new things.
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