A Passion for Excellence

Wal-Mart is usually credited with being one of the most technologically sophisticated retailers on the planet—besides being the biggest—and deservedly so. Certainly in the supply chain area, the Bentonville behemoth has brought about some revolutionary changes that not only benefited itself but impacted entire industries, such as grocery.

But another huge chain that may be Wal-Mart's equal in tech savvy, but hasn't always been recognized as such, is The Home Depot, which is the focus of our cover story this month on Java-based point-of-sale applications.

Just as Wal-Mart has done extraordinary things in improving supply chain efficiencies, Home Depot has been just as exceptional in technologies applied at the store and the enterprise. In this regard, the Atlanta-based home improvement giant has been getting recognized, as evidenced by a series of awards it's received lately. In each of the last two years, Home Depot was the only retailer to win awards in two categories—one for the store and one for the enterprise—in 3Com's Retail Network Innovation Awards.

Last year, the chain was recognized for a kiosk application that gives shoppers access to complete lines of vendor appliances, including items that Home Depot stores may not carry; and for its Virtual District Office, which gathers information and presents it in graphical and exception formats. In 1998, another kiosk application, which handles job applications, was saluted, as was its ATM (asynchronous transfer mode) WAN.

While I am not known as a prognosticator, I would suggest that the chain's Java-based POS system described in this issue may well be an award winner in the near future. By making this commitment to Java at the checkout, Home Depot is not only serving its own purposes, but also blazing a trail that other retail companies can pursue—one that seems to have many advantages, as well as some risks.

I should also mention, especially after last month's article critiquing the way retailers view IT, that last year Home Depot was picked by Computerworld as the No. 1 place to work in IT, leading the magazine's top-100 list, which, of course, covers all industries, not just retail.

I'd like to thank Danny Branch and Ray Allen of Home Depot's IT department for participating in this month's cover story. In talking with them at the chain's headquarters, I couldn't help noting their commitment to excellence and the passionate way they pursue their jobs.



Speaking of commitment to excellence, I would like to point out some of the things RETAILTECH is doing these days. As you will notice in reading this issue, we have done an extensive redesign—featuring new typefaces, color-coded stripes to identify sections, a cover that highlights more articles, and in general a fresher and more contemporary look—that I believe will make the magazine even more reader-friendly and useful to retail executives. The people who had the most to do with the new look include our art director Joe Anderson, marketing and promotion manager Larry Burnagiel and publisher Nick Marino.

We also have introduced a new cover tagline—Technology and the Business of Retailing—which more accurately describes our mission. It emphasizes that RETAILTECH is not only about how technology can best be used in retailing, but about the business issues and challenges that the technology is addressing.

You will also notice a new letter from our publisher in this issue in which he describes some of our new initiatives. Look for a letter from the publisher to appear from time to time. By reading it, you will get a sense of the amazing amount of energy and vision that Nick has brought to RETAILTECH since becoming publisher last April.

mgarry@retailtech.com