‘They row the boat we still steer it’

'They row the boat, we still steer it'

Partnering is the best way to describe outsourcing, says Best Buy CEO and CIO, Robert A Willett

Pratima Harigunani

Friday, February 15, 2008

MUMBAI, INDIA: In an exclusive chat with CyberMedia News, Robert A Willett from Best Buy Inc. sprinkles his thoughts on outsourcing, speaks on what CIOs should remember while spreading across the globe, delves on the issue of tackling technology complexities and also looks at the challenges of a dismal economic outlook brewing from the US.

Willett dons the dual hats of CEO and CIO at Best Buy International that claims to be North America's no.1 specialty retailer in consumer electronics.

He has involved deeply in the tasks of re-engineering supply chain and IT functions that are expected to drive customer-centricity and geographical spread of this organization that sells consumer electronics, home/office products, entertainment software, appliances and related services through more than 1,200 retail stores across the US, throughout Canada and in China.

This brief interview is almost a CIO handbook.

How easy is it to manage the imperative of globalization for the CIO? With diverse markets on one hand and the need for standardization on the other, how do you tackle the IT bit?

Whether it's the CEO or the CIO, the job needs the same broader picture. As the CIO, particularly, understanding the business is very critical. My focus is that my team has sufficient knowledge on what are the software systems and technologies out there.

But at the same time, we need to help both our internal and external customers stay ahead and stay relevant. We need to build partnerships with hardware and software aspects too and make sure that they become more responsive.

The days of building everything on your own is over. These are the times of managing partnerships smartly. With SaaS, a new trend is happening on the side of the 'how' of technology usage.

I see more of that happening ahead. My challenge is - are we innovating enough, are we constantly bringing in technology that is relevant to the day-to-day lives of our customers and in turn makes their lives easier.

Could you share the progress on the e-commerce platform around the multi-channel strategy that has been initiated at Best Buy?

It has a three year horizon and we are a year-and-a-halfway though it. It is touching many areas like stores, supply chain, LIS, enabling fusion of many facets and programs.

It was started in Canada. This will touch across the complete spectrum of Best Buy. We would know how products are selling, marketers would know how customers are experiencing. Customers would have easier transactions, and vendors would have transparent information.

On a broader level, do you think outsourcing will continue or recede in its span of covering the erstwhile core areas of an organization, especially in the present times of economic pressures?

First thing- outsourcing is not the right term. It is partnering. If you have a function that is not your core competency and someone can do it better than you, give it over to a specialist.

The days of a 360 degree operation are gone. For us, it's better if we focus on our core competency, which is running stores, supplying products, procurement and taking care of our customers.

It is coming to the point when we are just looking at the core. But even as we do that, I never forget that while our partners are rowing the boat, we are still steering it. It's not about outsourcing and forgetting. It's about outsourcing and managing.

Do IT budgets face the same challenges as they used to?

There's no such thing as an IT budget. It's a business budget. Technology is just a means to an end. What really matters is the people and processes that it is linked with.

Some prefer it as 'IT' some as 'Information'. How do you define the ‘I’ in a CIO title?

Neither Information nor Technology. I would rather touch the 'C' in CIO. I call them as BIOs or Business Information Officers. We don't have CTOs in our team, but seven to eight BIOs.

I make sure that they are well immersed in the business, understand it in and out and are always focused on staying ahead and relevant.

How tough is managing heterogeneity and complexity that technology might bring in the organization?

We set BOBs or Business Operating Blueprints, that set processes and then technology delivers on it. It's always a task to make technology seamless and simple. That's my main job.

Humanizing technology is both important and tough. It's too easy to build complexity around technology. It is not a black box. Technology is nothing to be intimidated with. And I still think we haven't humanized technology enough.

What are a CIO's worst fears?

Fear is a relative term. It's better to take opportunity of a situation that others are frightened of. In the world of technology no one can afford to be risk-averse.

Technology itself, whether it belongs to yesterday or today, is risky. Nothing is guaranteed. Nothing works unless you exploit them to work. You have to stay on top of the problems rather than the other way around.

There are many stakeholders like customers, employees, suppliers, etc. Does IT make it easier to manage them or is it the other way around?

I see every stakeholder as a customer. Be it suppliers or employees or IT vendors, you have to supply them with the right information, the right transparency so that everything works well.

Anything which not yet done that you have assigned yourself as a mandate when it comes to IT in Best Buy?

Before I retire, I want to make the shopping experience much better. And that would come from making the experience of employees better too.

We have just scratched the surface. From an infrastructure perspective, we have to go to Mars and have just reached the moon. There's a lot of work ahead.

Simplifying technology remains. I want to remove all check-outs and the associated troubles that customers face by automating payments all across. The technology is available for that but is still expensive. I would say we have just completed 50 per cent of the journey on an overall basis and the rest lies ahead.

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