Woolworths' Digital Transformation: Emerging Tech & Leadership Report

This project report provides an overview of Woolworths' approach to digital leadership and emerging technologies. It highlights the drivers of digital transformation relevant to Woolworths, including robotics in warehousing, facial recognition through AI, and blockchain technology. The report evaluates the opportunities and challenges associated with these technologies and assesses Woolworths' positioning to deal with digital transformation. It also examines Woolworths' current use of cloud computing and data analytics, justifying investments in these areas and outlining the business outcomes achieved. The report concludes with recommendations for positioning Woolworths for future success, emphasizing the importance of considering the entire supply chain for automation and embracing agile leadership for technology adoption. The analysis includes Woolworths' investments in cloud transformation and data analytics enterprises like Quantium, highlighting the impact on disaster recovery capabilities, workplace agility, and pricing strategies.

Emerging Technologies
and Digital Leadership

Executive Summary
This project summarises the understanding of digital transformation drivers which needs to be
consider by managers of Woolworths. It also highlights an understanding about technologies
which are used by Woolworths in regards with data analytics and cloud computing.

Contents
Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................2
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................4
Part 1................................................................................................................................................4
Overview of chosen organisation ................................................................................................4
Digital transformation drivers which needs attention of selected organisation ..........................4
Opportunities and challenges in relevance with emerging technologies ....................................5
Evaluation of how well organisation is positioned to deal with changes in relation to digital
transformation .............................................................................................................................6
Part 2................................................................................................................................................7
Evaluating how selected organisation is leveraging emerging technologies ..............................7
Current use of cloud computing...................................................................................................7
Rationale and justification of investments ..................................................................................8
Business outcomes which are achieved through technologies ...................................................8
Recommendations in regards with positioning of organisation for future success ....................9
CONCLUSION .............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES .............................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
Digital leadership can be understood as practice whereby organisational managers
strategically use their virtual assets for attaining their business objectives (Brock and Von
Wangenheim, 2019). It ensures that workforce can concentrate on using technology streamlining
with business needs in an effective manner. It is considered as a discipline which help
organisations in navigating towards adoption of digital transformation for gaining competitive
advantage. For better understanding of digital leadership as well as emerging technologies,
Woolworths is taken into consideration. Woolworths is an Australian based supermarket chain
which essentially deals in groceries, stationery, beauty and health products which has its
headquarters at New South Wales, Australia.
This project report encompasses of an understanding of ongoing digital transformation as well as
how chosen organisations deals effectively with emerging trending technologies in an effective
manner.
Part 1
Overview of chosen organisation
Woolworths Limited is an Australian based organisations which deals in household,
health and beauty products, groceries and many more. It is related to retail industry and was
established in 1924 by five Australian entrepreneurs (Woolworths. 2021). They strongly
advocates the practice of inclusion, sustainability as well as well-being in an effective manner.
They are continuously evolving their stores, business platforms as well as supply for gaining
future success. They have a vast team which supports them to make it a great place to work.
Their sustainability plan highlights their goals as well as commitments for bringing a positive
change across people, product and planet. With the aid of sustainability, they want to create a
long-term values for their shareholders through innovative practices. Woolworths always try to
stay ahead in regards with customer expectations as well as deliver new and innovative ideas for
modifying their products in a significant manner.
Digital transformation drivers which needs attention of selected organisation
In the era of digitalised practices, it is imperative for organisations to pay attention to
transform their operations in a strategic manner.

Robotics in warehousing- Warehouse automation can be described as a practice of
involving in automated practices at stores as well as in distribution channels (Dery, Sebastian
and van der Meulen, 2017). In warehousing activities, robotics techniques are used for different
aspects of fulfilment in respect to picking and other related practices. This would help
organisational managers in reducing the burden of their workers in an effective manner.
Managers of Woolworths can adopt robotics in their operations by engaging in collaborative
practices with establishments designing robots for warehousing as well as distribution in an
effective manner.
Facial recognition through artificial intelligence – It can be understood as capability of
a computing devices or a robot which helps in simplifying the tasks which are performed through
human intelligence in a strategic manner (Fenech, Baguant and Ivanov, 2019). Face recognition
is a vital aspect in respect to artificial intelligence which plays an important role in strengthening
security measures in an effective manner. Facial recognition is explained as one of the advanced
aspect in context to biometric authentication which makes organisations capable for identifying
as well as verifying an individual through using facial features from varied database. Managers
of Woolworths can use this facial recognition technique for providing valuable experience to
their customers while shopping in an effective manner.
Blockchain technology- It can be understood as practice which ensures that retail supply
chain participants are trading in regards with ethically-sourced commodities for meeting
emerging consumer demands in an effective manner. In retail sector it can be used for increasing
transparency, accountability as well as confidence in building trust among retailers, payment
gateways and customers in an effective manner. It has been observed that it is considered as vital
driver in accordance with blockchain technology due to increase in online transactions in a
significant manner. These can be used by managers of Woolworths in forecasting the benefits in
maintaining proper supply chain in an effective manner. With the aid of blockchain technology,
managers can gain knowledge and can track supplies in real-world situation for improvising
traceability in an effective manner.
Opportunities and challenges in relevance with emerging technologies
Robotics in context to warehouse and supply chain plays an important role in adopting
automated practices in an effective manner (Frizzo-Barker and Et. Al., 2020). It provides
immense opportunities to Woolworths as it helps them to retain workforce by making them

satisfied and reducing their work load. It bring varied opportunities for Woolworths such as
increase productivity, boost accuracy, reduce costs as well as improves safety in an effective
manner. It can also bring varied challenges for Woolworths as it led to bring rigidity, incurs huge
investment, scalability and many more.
Adoption of facial recognition technology is considered as effective for Woolworths as it
help them to strengthening their security measures and reducing theft. This could be challenge
for them as it is costly affair as well as may be customers do not like it. However, they have
adopted scan and go technique for making customer experience valuable in an effective manner.
Use of Blockchain technology provides immense opportunities to Woolworths as it helps
them in making payments in respect to customers, suppliers, peer-to-to loans in an effective
manner. It can be challenging for Woolworths as it is complex technology and requires lot of
training to employees for adopting in a strategic manner. In blockchain technology, varied
complicated currencies are used whose adoption for doing transactions can be challenging for
Woolworths.
Evaluation of how well organisation is positioned to deal with changes in relation to digital
transformation
Managers of Woolworths are planning to indulge in a collaborative practices with tech
companies for adopting robotics in their warehouses. There is need for them to implement those
technologies as unprecedented demands of customers in regards with home delivery causing
massive delays which also led to hamper their reputation in global market (Guinan, Parise and
Langowitz, 2019). Managers of Woolworths also entered into collaborative practices with other
supermarket giant, Coles for setting up of data -driven customer fulfilment centres. Managers of
Woolworths are planning to pursue slight different strategy called micro fulfilment which suits
their corporate culture as well as leadership skills of leaders. These are considered as hybrid
warehouse facilities of warehouses which is developed by a US company, namely, Takeoff
Technologies. They essentially cannibalise floor space in accordance with retail sector for
incorporating automation, picking and racking practices in an effective manner.
For overcoming the challenges in relation to automated warehouses, Woolworths, it is
imperative for organisational managers to consider entire supply chain for bringing automated
practices in an effective manner.

Managers of Woolworths can adopt facial recognition technology but they are opposing it
as it can be controversial technology for them. Blockchain technology can also be adopted by
managers of Woolworths however, it is complicated to use and also requires lots of training to
employees. However, this can be adopted due to compliance with agile leaders at Woolworths.
They can help in bringing blockchain technology in practice and also helps in delivering better
options to customers for using this in an effective manner.
Part 2
Evaluating how selected organisation is leveraging emerging technologies
It is imperative for business organisations to develop their capabilities for adapting
emerging technologies in an effective manner (Heavin and Power, 2018). Woodsworths Limited
is also considered of capable for enhancing their operational practices.
Current use of cloud computing
Cloud computing is considered as useful aspect which makes data backups, enhance
collaborative efficiency as well as access to automatic updates in a strategic manner (Kane,
2019). Managers of Woodsworths has completed large-scale SAP cloud transformation which
led to improve their efficiency, flexibility as well as speed in market.
Managers of Woolworths use varied SAP applications comprises of ERP, customer
activity repository (CAR) for driving their core business activities in regards with supermarkets
(Woolworths completes large-scale SAP cloud transformation, improving efficiency, flexibility
and speed to market. 2022). These applications aid Woodsworths in accomplishing wide range
of job initiating from ordering of goods, inventory management as well as providing groceries to
customers on a timely basis. It aid Woolworths in taking backup of their data, software
development, big data analytics and many more.
Data analytics can be understood as a process which examines varied data sets for
drawing conclusions regarding the information they contain (Kane and Et. Al., 2019). It is
typically used for analysing raw data in order to gain emerging trends and insights. Woolworths
uses data analytics techniques for providing personalised experience to customers as well as
optimize value chain on a large-scale. With data analytics techniques, Woolworths started to use
machine learning as well as other cloud-based aspects for extracting key insights in an effective
manner. They have also acquire data analytics enterprise called as Quantium for increasing their

reliance regarding analytics for targeting as well as retaining customers for a longer period of
time.
Rationale and justification of investments
Managers of Woolworths have invested huge resources in adopting cloud computing
applications. Managers of Woolworths Limited have planned to invest more than $50 million for
equipping their team with new competencies as well as capabilities for becoming market leader
in industry. This has helped them to make advancements in automation, cloud computing,
predictive analysis in an effective manner (Singh, Klarner and Hess, 2020).
These investment is considered as justified as it aids them in bringing agility and flexibility in
their operations in a strategic manner. With the aid of cloud computing they have kept large
information of their massive customer base which led them to store big data in an effective
manner.
For expanding its market share from 47% to 75% in an effective manner, managers of
Woolworths have engaged in a deal of A$223 million (Australia's Woolworths takes controlling
stake in data analytics firm for $173 million).
Business outcomes which are achieved through technologies
Due to adoption of cloud computing technology as well as applications, managers of
Woolworths have redesigned their disaster recovery capabilities. This practice has improved
their redundancy and resilience which help them to streamline their operations as well as provide
valuable experience to customers (Martínez-Caro, Cegarra-Navarro and Alfonso-Ruiz, 2020).
This has enhanced their unique value proposition which is concerned with providing valuable
experience to customers. However, adoption of this technology has been affected adversely due
to covid pandemic. This led employees to work from their home on remote basis. It has been
observed that flexible working hours has suited this type of projects effectively. This has been
done on time due to efficient leadership skills. This transformation has enabled greater agility in
workplace of Woolworths as well as support them for continued innovation and growth
practices. It has led them to embrace on-demand innovative cycles which deliver services to
customers in a more effective manner. Cloud transformation strategies provide flexibility and
agility for meeting ever-changing demands business organisations as well as customers in a
strategic manner.

With the use of data analytics, Woolworths has empowered their operations regarding
supermarkets as well as grocery stores for quoting the prices in a righteous manner. By
evaluating real-time sales as well as customer feedbacks, managers of Woolworths are capable to
determine right prices on which customers respond in a positive manner.
CEO of Woolworths have implied that use of advanced analytics is considered as
significant for making relevant improvements in experiences, services and product ranges they
provide to their customers. They are also planning to establish a new business enterprise which
will be known as Q-Retail. This will help them to provide personalised experience to their
customers in a strategic manner. It is imperative for them to collect massive amount of data of
customers for providing them recommendations on a timely basis based on their choices as well
as spending patterns (Urbach and Röglinger, 2019). Managers of Woolworths have also
described personalisation engine on their website which says that customers gets what they want
by scanning their rewards cards in an effective manner.
Recommendations in regards with positioning of organisation for future success
It has been recommended to managers of Woolworths to enhance their artificial
intelligence techniques for advancing their operations in an effective manner. It is desirable to
them to collaborate with organisations who support automated practices and develop robotics.
This would help them in reducing the burden of their workers in an effective manner. Supply
chains can also be enhanced with the introduction of robotics in supply chain operations.
It is imperative for managers of Woolworths to use facial recognition practices which will help
them in strengthening security measures. It also help them to provide valuable shopping
experience to their customers.
It is recommended to them to use data analytics in a proper way as this can be a way of
making interferences in personal life of customers. As data analytics particularly focuses on
narrow past choices which can compel customers to move with predictable patters in regards
with consumption. It is imperative for them to be concerned with maintaining privacy of their
consumers in an effective manner. They can use data-science technologies foe turning insights
into huge profitable margins for developing their data-driven plans in an effective manner
(Volberda and Et. Al., 2021).

It has been recommended to managers of Woolworths to adopt face recognition technique
by enhancing their artificial intelligence system in a strategic manner which will help them to
reduce the number of sale touchpoints in an effective manner. It will also protect businesses
against theft. It is imperative for organisational managers to introduce training programmes for
adopting blockchain technologies in an effective manner at Woolworths.
CONCLUSION
From the above presented information, it has been assessed that it is imperative for
business organisations to adopt emerging technologies for gaining competitive advantage in an
effective manner. Data analytics is considered as important for organisations as it help them to
collect customer's data and provide personalisation experience in an effective manner. Robotics
is considered as vast field which is used by organisations for enhancing their varied operations
such as procurement, supply chain, in-house business practices and many more. Artificial
intelligence is understood as a vast aspect which essentially covers varied practices in
accordance with machine learning, augmented reality and many more. Robotics technology is
considered as helpful for organisations for automating supply chain and distribution channels in
an effective manner.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals:
Brock, J. K. U. and Von Wangenheim, F., 2019. Demystifying AI: What digital transformation
leaders can teach you about realistic artificial intelligence. California Management
Review. 61(4). pp.110-134.
Dery, K., Sebastian, I. M. and van der Meulen, N., 2017. The digital workplace is key to digital
innovation. MIS Quarterly Executive. 16(2).
Fenech, R., Baguant, P. and Ivanov, D., 2019. The changing role of human resource management
in an era of digital transformation. Journal of Management Information & Decision
Sciences. 22(2).
Frizzo-Barker, J. and Et. Al., 2020. Blockchain as a disruptive technology for business: A
systematic review. International Journal of Information Management. 51. p.102029.
Guinan, P. J., Parise, S. and Langowitz, N., 2019. Creating an innovative digital project team:
Levers to enable digital transformation. Business Horizons. 62(6). pp.717-727.
Heavin, C. and Power, D. J., 2018. Challenges for digital transformation–towards a conceptual
decision support guide for managers. Journal of Decision Systems. 27(sup1). pp.38-45.
Kane, G., 2019. The technology fallacy: people are the real key to digital
transformation. Research-Technology Management. 62(6). pp.44-49.
Kane, G. C., and Et. Al., 2019. How digital leadership is (n't) different. MIT Sloan Management
Review. 60(3). pp.34-39.
Martínez-Caro, E., Cegarra-Navarro, J. G. and Alfonso-Ruiz, F. J., 2020. Digital technologies
and firm performance: The role of digital organisational culture. Technological
Forecasting and Social Change. 154. p.119962.
Singh, A., Klarner, P. and Hess, T., 2020. How do chief digital officers pursue digital
transformation activities? The role of organization design parameters. Long Range
Planning. 53(3). p.101890.
Urbach, N. and Röglinger, M., 2019. Introduction to digitalization cases: how organizations
rethink their business for the digital age. In Digitalization cases (pp. 1-12). Springer,
Cham.
Volberda, H. W. and Et. Al., 2021. Strategizing in a digital world: Overcoming cognitive
barriers, reconfiguring routines and introducing new organizational forms. Long Range
Planning. 54(5). p.102110.
Online:
Staff. R., 2022. Australia's Woolworths takes controlling stake in data analytics firm for $173
million. [Online] Available through: <https://www.reuters.com/article/us-woolworths-
grp-data-analytics-idUSKBN2C7052>
Woolworths completes large-scale SAP cloud transformation, improving efficiency, flexibility
and speed to market. 2022. [Online] Available through: <https://news.microsoft.com/en-

au/features/woolworths-completes-large-scale-sap-cloud-transformation-improving-
efficiency-flexibility-and-speed-to-market/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CAt%20Woolworths
%20Group%2C%20we',digital%20channels%2C%E2%80%9D%20he%20explains>
Woolworths. 2021. [Online] Available through: <https://www.woolworthsgroup.com.au/>