(US and Canada) Dan Whitacre, Senior Director Kroger Labs and Transformation, talks with Jeff Ronningen, Account Executive, Pure Storage, about his association with Kroger labs.

Kroger labs is really an innovation ecosystem. First, Kroger explores emerging technologies that are not currently in the IT department. Then, they figure out how to best utilize them, roll them out into the organization, and check the appropriate processes to make sure they work.

According to Whitacre, Kroger works with artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, context computing, video analytics, streaming analytics, and so forth. 

Kroger Labs itself is a multipurpose organization. Most people think of Kroger as a grocery company, and when they think of groceries, they also think, "How technical can that be?"

It’s actually a very complex organization between what goes on the floor, supply chain logistics, and merchandising, Whitacre notes. There are thousands of things going on and thousands of decisions made every day. 

He says that part of his job is to help recruit. He visited college classes before COVID and asked software engineers who wanted to work for Google and Facebook, and then he asked people to raise their hand if they wanted to work for Kroger.

Fewer people raised their hand for Kroger because they really just don’t realize the amount of technology and innovation Kroger is involved in, Whitacre says. Part of Whitacre’s role as senior director is to develop that brand. Overall, it’s about creating an innovation ecosystem.

To excel in any industry today, Whitacre says, one must embrace the diversity of  thinking. And to embrace that diversity of thinking, one must talk to other organizations and other people with different experiences and expertise. That’s what Kroger labs do to create an innovation ecosystem, which is crucial.  During Whitacre’s career, he has been fortunate to work for multiple industries and various companies, building relationships and exchanging ideas.

Whitacre further shares that cultural transformation can have many different meanings, and that typical development organizations are primarily geared toward accomplishing a goal. For example, if a new project is about to start, Kroger Labs would know what the result of the projects should be, the timeline, and the cost estimation. However, while going down the path of things like artificial intelligence or emerging technologies, you don’t necessarily know how to use that technology. No one is always sure of the outcome, Whitacre notes. You’re not always sure that it will be successful. So, taking that step forward on the approach to any project is a challenge. However, he shares that it’s good to fail sometimes. 

Culture change is hard because people have to learn something new, and it takes time. It takes risks. It keeps them from accomplishing their goals. So, it’s essential to make sure that everyone has room to learn, they have access to the necessary education, and they get time to understand the emerging technologies.