VIDEO | Albertsons Companies CDO: Data is the First Law of Statistical Inference

(US and Canada) Danielle Crop, CDO of Albertsons Companies, speaks with Kellie de Leon, Treasure Data Senior Director of Content Marketing, about driving value from data and analytics, her role in maximizing value, digital transformation in the grocery industry, and how digital transformation impacts the ability to derive value from data.

Crop shares that her team prioritizes providing value to the customer or shareholder. She thinks of her role as the data product manager for the entire industry, and conducts stakeholder and customer interviews to get input and feedback.

Speaking about digital transformation, Crop indicates that the grocery industry is behind other industries. However, as an upside of COVID, she says it has accelerated. Investing in digital has its benefits in the data world because digital and data are partners in crime, she adds.

Crop states that being a late mover can be advantageous. She recalls that, while working with American Express, which was an early mover, there were a lot of legacies to overcome. However, Albertsons had fewer legacies to overcome to become a cloud-native digital organization, she reveals.

According to Crop, it is critical to understand the pros and cons of different industries in how they approach data. She says that tech organizations face challenges because they have been less regulated, while financial services is a regulated industry where attention is on quality of data and data cataloging, and they know their data. The tech organizations, on the other hand, have taken it for granted; they do not necessarily know what their data is, Crop adds.

Crop continues that data is the first law of statistical inference, and one needs to know data to make good decisions around it. Making assumptions about what the data is is insufficient, affirms Crop.

Referring to value delivery, Crop states that digital transformation influences value delivery dramatically. In Albertsons’ context, the ability to sell groceries through multiple channels makes a massive difference in customers’ in-store and online experience, she shares.

The idea, Crop says, is to blur the differences so that no matter where the customer is – if they have a phone in hand, they get a customized in-store experience. Using the phone as a tool to derive consumer business is significant, and digital transformation is essential to that, she adds.

Without the right infrastructure, platforms, and framework in place, creating a seamless experience is questionable, Crop suggests. She elaborates that they are working closely with the technology, shopper experience organizations, and a data engine to enhance their customers’ experience, regardless of where they are.