Data doesn’t always have to take the center stage and can instead play a supportive role in decisions made based on experience. Drew Smith, VP, Global Data and Analytics, Little Caesars Enterprises and Ilitch Companies, speaks with David Yehle, VP, Global Sales, and Field Operations, Acceldata, about the integration of data with business, and strategic decisions to better manage various aspects such as menu planning and foreseeing restaurant traffic.

Initiating the conversation, Smith speaks about his current role and his background as a professional. He joined Little Caesars and Ilitch holdings in October 2021, before which he was with the International Institute for Analytics. Before that, he was engaged with Ikea, the Swedish furniture retailer. Over the years, he handled multiple roles at Ikea, including leveraging data for decision making. Smith was also the organization’s first enterprise data leader. 

He says that over the years, the question about his role’s business impact has remained constant. “We need to do things right. What’s the change we need to make? What’s the problem we need to address now? What do we need to do to ensure that we are moving forward in the right direction, to set up our strategy? And what’s the data and the analytics that can help us make that decision? Where I am, it’s the intersection of data, business, and strategy,” Smith says.

However, there are certain critical traits that a CDO or chief data and analytics officer needs to work with both the business and the IT sides. Smith explains that while the “chief” title is important, it’s not the whole thing. It is about taking responsibility and accountability for the strategic direction in which the company takes data and analytics. “A strategic decision means you’re making the right decision for the company overall, and sometimes that means making a different decision depending upon the company and the way it’s set up. You can make those judgments with an understanding of the business and understanding of how data informs business, and a realistic assessment of where you can contribute.”

He then talks about the leadership factors and change management that have to be considered regarding both the top decision-makers and the teams. Smith also notes his struggle to cope with the term “data-driven” in an environment where, for decades, decisions have been made based on experience. “I used to love that term. I was a fan of that term. I was recruited on that term.” But now, instead of letting data take charge, it is being used to enhance experienced-based decision making.

“I’m enhancing decision making with data. And one of the keys is to recognize the different operating cadences we have as a company,” Smith explains. “We try to add data to the right part of the decision. The data would support the next promotion or a change in a menu, which might enhance the decision. It might be in the ability to set up an AB test to evaluate the possible promotions before going national. And I’m seeing that it’s very situational across the cadence of the operational level of the decision and who’s involved in the decision making.” Smith elaborates.

He explains that the closer one gets to a repeated or a regular predictable cadence, there are better opportunities to automate that decision. So, for example, it could be the automated decision support in terms of what pizza to make next, in anticipation of a crowd at dinner time between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. on a Friday. 

Discussing this use case further, Smith says that it could also be about measuring the variable performance of temporary menu items —  meaning, they performed differently in different markets achieving different levels of success. 

“As a data person, you need to be in front of that and think, “Are we really measuring our performance effectively?” —  not only to answer the question that we got yesterday but also to anticipate the question that might come tomorrow,” he states.

When asked what the organization’s leadership wanted him to improve, Smith highlights the need for a better understanding of data, better KPIs, and more real-time visibility.

While the leadership had to focus on expansion and the development of the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit and delivery, the data aspect got pushed down in the list of priorities, Smith points out. He was brought in to address that need while also respecting the Little Caesars culture and values.

What Smith had to recognize was how he could improve decision making. “And I think about it like this: more quickly, with more confidence and more gusto,” Smith says. “How can we get away from this notion of “your data says this” or “my data says that”? Sometimes that’s a data governance issue, but it’s also the way the analytics architecture is set up, and that leads to speed. How can we make decisions with more confidence?” 

He emphasizes that all of this is connected to strategy. “Data needs to be connected to the strategy, and with gusto. I think they’ve made some brave decisions, but they’ve also stood on the sidelines because they felt insecure about the analysis done on some things. In retrospect, they wished they had not sat on the sidelines and I want to make sure we don’t do that.”