How One of the Largest Global Retailers Achieved Agile Engineering at Scale

Digital transformation requires building the right teams and the right services. See how Publicis Sapient led the charge for change.
Engineering transformation is a constantly evolving process. As a premier strategic technology partner, Publicis Sapient transformed one of the world’s largest retail organizations for the digital age, expanding engineering capabilities and establishing the brand as a leading algorithmic retailer.

Client

Services

Industry

2010 - 2012 The Journey Begins

2012 - 2013 Online Grocery Goes Global

With early success, Publicis Sapient helps expand the retailer’s online grocery capabilities into broader international markets. Improvements to supply chain are also implemented, allowing scale to handle larger orders and peak volume.

2013 A Whole New Look

2014 - 2016 Transformational Shift to Agile Teams

With an innovation mind, the retailer works with Publicis Sapient to adopt an engineering-first organizational mindset, with focus on a more agile way of working and lean engineering teams capable of delivering high-quality results with speed.

2016 - 2018 Re-Engineering for Digital Commerce

2017 - 2020 Always Innovating

With a strong foundation for growth, the retailer continues to optimize and scale grocery and supply chain experiences with services like improved scan-as-you-go mobile features, delivery van scheduling and in-store picking optimization.

The Imperative for Change

In 2015, the retailer’s goal was to double down on engineering capabilities as they continued to scale digital transformation efforts, with ambition to reshape how the business approached developing new products and services for consumers. Publicis Sapient tapped into years of deep technological expertise to redefine engineering operations, leveraging agile methods to build lean, focused teams dedicated to delivering high-value outcomes with speed and efficiency.

The Transformative Solution

With a new way of working, Publicis Sapient was able to continue to scale and optimize transformation projects – introducing new capabilities that allowed the retailer to put shoppers first while reducing operational cost. Notable innovations include:

Shift to microservices: Built, re-structured and transitioned global legacy online grocery and general merchandise platforms to an enterprise API and microservices-based system.
Global content management system: Created a custom global CMS to manage millions of SKUs, promotions, transaction data and cross-channel content delivery.
Custom general merchandise e-commerce solution: Implemented a bespoke e-commerce platform for non-food businesses, creating a dedicated marketplace and reducing reliance on third-party e-commerce partners.
Algorithmic retailing: Leveraged best-in-class emerging technologies, machine learning and artificial intelligence to optimize grocery operations, including batch/van scheduling, in-store picking, warehouse & order management, enterprise-pricing APIs, promotions, demand planning, partner/supplier relationships and mobile application upgrades.

The Business Impact

An engineering focus gave the retailer ability to scale efficiently and rapidly respond to change. During the COVID-19 outbreak, faster go-to-market capabilities allowed the retailer to quickly mobilize online delivery, scaling to accommodate 1M+ online orders and 1.2M+ delivery slots in as short as a week. With more than a decade of partnership, Publics Sapient continues to work with the retailer to further engineering transformation initiatives.

$1B US dollars annual revenue from general merchandising solution
$500M US dollars annual revenue from international grocery e-commerce
$400/500M US dollars annual revenue from UK grocery API
35% improvement in e-commerce order picking rate
4% improvement in on-time delivery

How One of the Largest Global Retailers Achieved Agile Engineering at Scale | Publicis Sapient

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