As retailers navigate multiple headwinds, staying on course with their digital transformation will be critical to meet heightened customer expectations for personalized and seamless omnichannel experiences. Further, the 2024 CGI Voice of Our Clients findings from interviews with more than 100 global retailers also reveal that better customer experience relies on better IT – with business executives identifying IT modernization as their number one IT priority.
Among those confronting these challenges is convenience retailer Circle K. They recently began executing a business strategy to enhance the customer and employee experience, accelerate speed and quality to market, and gain access to broader technical skills and expertise.
Circle K, part of Alimentation Couche-Tard, operates more than 14,000 stores across Canada, the United States, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, and others. They required a partner with capabilities that not only represent an extensive global footprint but also align with their ambitious business and technology goals.
Modernize, automate, and hyperscale with systems, solutions and capabilities that improve agility and increase speed to market
In 2023, as part of a 10-year, C$380 million agreement, Circle K engaged CGI to deliver managed IT services. CGI will deliver a comprehensive range of IT services and support for Circle K, including data access and visibility, infrastructure, service desk operations, end-user computing, automation, quality assurance and technology deployment. Leveraging proven end-to-end digital processes, governance and frameworks, Circle K will benefit from enhanced operational efficiency and optimized costs. Circle K chose to partner with CGI due to its thorough understanding of the complex retail environment and ability to leverage talent, automation, strategic thinking, and insights regarding people and culture.
Circle K’s global technology vision is to modernize, automate, and hyperscale with systems, solutions and capabilities that will benefit the company by improving agility and speed to market. Through cost optimization, better customer experiences and improved sourcing, CGI is helping Circle K unlock capacity for strategic initiatives. And, in modernizing IT service delivery, CGI will provide capabilities that automate services, integrate data and analytics, and deploy advanced AI.Â
Drawing on the talents of innovators worldwide
Enabling the enormous depth and breadth required of the Circle K initiative is CGI’s global proximity model, which allows it to draw on the talents of innovators worldwide and in specific areas that map to Circle K locations. With more than 91,500 employees at 400 locations around the world, the CGI network offers a diversified talent portfolio that acts as an innovation platform for Circle K and organizations across industry sectors. By leveraging expertise from across CGI’s talent ecosystem, CGI can maintain a commitment to Circle K that will allow them to invest in new capabilities that scale quickly to their needs and those of their customers across multiple geographies.
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For us, the focus is really about the customer, the employee, and delivering new capabilities that make your experience inside of a convenience store different. I’m proud to say six years later, we’re in the middle of that transformational journey. CGI will bring transformational capabilities to us, and I could not be more grateful to have a partner like CGI on this journey with me.
Chief Technology Officer, Circle K
A people-first approach to managed IT services
Hear directly from Ed Dzadovsky, CTO at Circle K, about what CGI and Circle K did to reduce risk and approach our managed IT services partnership differently. Watch the webcast and discover:
- Which proactive measures were undertaken by retailer Circle K and CGI to tackle and alleviate challenges.
- How a proof of value considers the intangibles not always captured in a traditional requirements process.
- Why prioritizing talent support and cultural alignment are key in the journey.