Supermarket Perimeter - June 2020 - 3

Editor's note

Editorial
JOHN UNREIN
Editor
ANDY NELSON
Managing Editor
EMILY PARK
Digital Associate Editor
Publishing
TROY ASHBY
Publisher
JAMES BODDICKER
National Sales Manager
LILY ALVAREZ
Sales Manager Classiﬁed Ads
MICHAEL BARBEE
Audience Development Director
DUSTIN PICKMAN
Audience Development Analyst
LINDSEY SHERIDAN
Audience Database Specialist
CARLEA SCHULER
Audience Development Coordinator
JON HALL
Director of Digital Media
CARRIE FLUEGGE
Digital Advertising Manager
NORA WAGES
Advertising Manager
ANNIE FOURNIER
Advertising Coordinator
ELISABETH SPILLMAN
Design Services Manager
RYAN ALCANTARA
Design Services
Assistant Manager
MARJ POTTS
Production Specialist
BECKY WHITE
Senior Design Consultant
FIONA DANKER
Graphic Designer
JIM WHITE
Promotions Manager
ABBY CHRONISTER
Promotions Media Designer
WHITNEY HARTMAN
Sales Coordinator
Corporate
CHARLES S. SOSL AND
Chairman and CEO
L. JOSHUA SOSL AND
President

One way forward
The entire world is thinking about what the "new normal" will look like once the
coronavirus scare passes.
Will we shake hands? Will we pack arenas for concerts and sporting events?
How safe is my job?
Business owners must deal with a whole other set of questions, in addition to
those we all face. And all of those questions point to an overriding one: will my
company survive?
Businesses in the "new normal" will have to work harder than ever to create
efficiencies, protect margins and ﬁnd ways to differentiate themselves from their
competitors.
Technology, needless to say, will be central. And IoT (Internet of Things)
technologies could play an especially crucial role.
"Any equipment people invest in, even if they don't know why when they do it,
should be able to connect to the Internet," Wynne Barrett, a partner in technology
ﬁrm Jera Concepts, told me recently.
"Even something as simple as a coffee machine," he said. "How many brew
cycles do you go through? How much coffee is used? Make sure it's web-enabled."
The savings per brew cycle will be small, but multiple that over thousands of
cycles, and it doesn't look so small anymore.
Deli prepared is one corner of the food industry in particular that Barrett said
could beneﬁt from more IoT.
"As more grocery chains expand their prepared foods sections, they're going
to need better tools. We're waiting for that industry get to a place where they say,
'We need help.'"
Many people may be surprised by the cost difference between an "old
fashioned" machine used in food production and a web-enabled one, Barrett said.
Namely, that difference is often quite small.
Of course, the transition to a web-enabled workplace isn't always easy. A lot of
training is required, which can be a challenge in retail grocery, where turnover is
so high.
But it's well worth the investment.
"Post-corona, having a tool that allows you to see into a store's performance is
very important."

STACI GRECO
Chief Financial and
Administrative Officer
MEYER SOSL AND
Chief Operating Officer
and Executive Editor
JIM SAL ADIN
Chief Marketing Officer

ANDY NELSON
anelson@sosland.com
JUNE 2020 - 3
Supermarket Perimeter - June 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Supermarket Perimeter - June 2020
