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Do it Best and True Value opened a new regional technology center in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, reinforcing a commitment to digital transformation, attracting top-tier talent and delivering long-term growth for Do it Best and True Value store owners. The new tech center is part of the company’s broader strategy to expand its capabilities and drive operational excellence across its significantly larger enterprise.
Hardware Retailing spoke with chief information officer Ken Widner about the tech center and the specific ways it will positively impact the companies and their retailers.
Hardware Retailing (HR): Are there plans to add additional tech centers in other cities?
Ken Widner (KW): Our focus is on building out this Dallas-Fort Worth hub to its full potential, while maintaining our already strong presence in Fort Wayne and Chicago. This location provides the ideal combination of talent, technology partnerships and proximity to key distribution and vendor networks to meet our current and anticipated future needs.
Ken Widner (KW): Our focus is on building out this Dallas-Fort Worth hub to its full potential, while maintaining our already strong presence in Fort Wayne and Chicago. This location provides the ideal combination of talent, technology partnerships and proximity to key distribution and vendor networks to meet our current and anticipated future needs.
HR: Can you share some specific examples of how team members will use the tech center?
KW: The tech center will operate as a workspace for teams driving key data and technology initiatives such as system integration, e-commerce advances and data analytics. It’s where our engineers, analysts and project managers will come together to build and deploy tools faster, improving our overall velocity. By working in person, teams can brainstorm, problem-solve and innovate in real time, ensuring we deliver technology solutions that are both effective and timely for our members and retailers.
HR: What are some specific ways the tech center will help Do it Best and True Value retailers grow?
KW: At the core, this center helps us deliver enhanced technology, faster. That means:
- Giving our dealers better data and insights to make smarter merchandising, pricing and inventory decisions.
- Developing digital tools and e-commerce solutions that help our dealers reach more customers and grow more sales.
- Strengthening our partnerships with our vendors and suppliers, ensuring that innovation and efficiency flow through the entire supply chain.
This scaling of resources positions us to be an even stronger champion for independent retailers, providing the technology, data and support that drive growth in an increasingly competitive marketplace.
