Ahold Delhaize USA is replacing the technology that runs its grocery brands in store. The first wave is already live: according to the company, new point-of-sale technology is available in 100 stores, with the changeover set to run over several years.
Four areas under reconstruction
The modernisation covers point of sale, self-checkout, pharmacy and fuel operations. The company says the step builds on several years of groundwork in which platforms were consolidated and standardised, while leaving room for its individual regional brands.
Ahold Delhaize USA comprises Food Lion, The GIANT Company, Giant Food, Hannaford and Stop & Shop. Taken together, the company says they form the largest grocery retail group on the US East Coast and the fourth largest in the country, serving 26 million omnichannel customers each week.
An existing partnership extended
For the changeover, the retailer has selected the Voyix Commerce Platform. According to the announcement, NCR Voyix has supported Ahold Delhaize USA’s operations for many years.
Ann Dozier, Chief Information Officer at Ahold Delhaize USA, describes the aim as a more consistent technology foundation and a more connected experience, with enough flexibility for each local brand to continue meeting the needs of its own customers. Technology, Dozier says, is only worth the value it delivers to the business and to customers.
James G. Kelly, President and CEO of NCR Voyix, points to the scale of the project, saying the multi-year modernisation shows what the platform can contribute to a transformation of this size.
Part of a wider technology strategy
The company places the rollout in a sequence of earlier projects: the launch of its own e-commerce platform, the build-out of a proprietary retail media advertising platform, and the merger of its digital, data and technology teams into a single organisation. According to Ahold Delhaize USA, the rollout forms part of a strategy to simplify its technology landscape and strengthen shared capabilities without giving up the distinct strategies of its individual brands.
What the announcement leaves open
The company has not stated how many stores the rollout will cover in total, what the timetable looks like, or whether self-checkout hardware will be replaced alongside the software. Nor does the announcement say anything about Ahold Delhaize’s European operations, where Albert Heijn, Delhaize and Alfa Beta run their own checkout estates. For European retailers watching the pace of POS migration, that is the figure worth noting: a chain of this size is budgeting years, not quarters, for a till replacement.
