2919: Cisco Live: Lowe's Tech-Enabled Retail Transformation

[00:00:00] Have you ever wondered how a major retailer like Lowe's, which has a fantastic reputation

[00:00:07] in the world of home improvement, have you ever wondered about the technology behind

[00:00:11] the scenes that offers a seamless customer experience? What does that IT infrastructure

[00:00:17] look like and how does a company like Lowe's adapt to modern technological demands in a

[00:00:23] world where every company is now a tech company? Well today on Tech Talks Daily, I'm your host

[00:00:30] Neil C. Hughes and today I'm coming to you live from the vibrant chauffer hall at the

[00:00:35] Cisco Live event in Las Vegas. And I have the Senior Manager of Networking and today

[00:00:42] I have with me the Senior Manager of Network Engineering at Lowe's. His name is Shad and

[00:00:49] he and his team are on a mission to put the customer at the forefront of everything that

[00:00:55] they do. And today I want to learn more about their collaboration with Cisco and how this

[00:01:02] partnership is aiming to modernise technology, improve customer satisfaction and reduce operational

[00:01:09] costs that seem to tick all the right boxes. So buckle up and hold on tight as I beam your

[00:01:16] ears all the way to the show floor at Cisco Live here in Las Vegas where we're going

[00:01:20] to explore the fascinating journey of Lowe's transition to a consolidated SaaS platform

[00:01:26] and how this move is setting new standards in the retail industry. So a massive warm

[00:01:33] welcome to the show. Here we are at Cisco Live but can you tell everyone listening a

[00:01:37] little about who you are and what you do? My name is Shad Aul, I'm Senior Manager of

[00:01:42] Voice Engineering for Lowe's companies. At Lowe's we have a motto, together we deliver

[00:01:50] the right home improvement products with the best service and value across every channel

[00:01:54] and community we serve and it's really great being able to lead the group of voice engineers

[00:02:00] that help deliver that. You know, jokingly I say you can talk about us but you can't

[00:02:07] talk without us. Absolutely love that and obviously I've grabbed you from the show floor

[00:02:12] today so I've got to ask, what does Cisco Live mean to you? What are you looking forward

[00:02:17] to most this year? Yeah, I've been to Cisco Live more than once. I've been here a few

[00:02:21] times with the ability to meet and connect and collaborate and grow. With Cisco Live

[00:02:31] you get to learn, you get to understand, you get to believe and feel and know what other

[00:02:37] people, other vendors, other organizations are doing and how they service their customer.

[00:02:42] This year's opportunity is to showcase what Lowe's has done and the transformation we've

[00:02:48] gone through and that opportunity is going to be great. And that is one of the reasons

[00:02:55] that I invited you on the podcast today because one of the things I always try and do is provide

[00:02:59] real world examples and insights of tech that has helped businesses generate business value,

[00:03:06] things like ROI. So how has the migration to Cisco WebEx Contact Center Enterprise,

[00:03:12] how has that helped you impact things like the daily operations and overall efficiency

[00:03:17] of your contact center teams because that's what it's all about. We hear a lot about the

[00:03:21] technology, we're at a tech conference but I'd love to hear more about the real world

[00:03:25] results that you've had as a result of that. Yeah, you're absolutely right. It's not only

[00:03:30] about the customer engagement, it's also about associate engagement. WebEx Contact Center

[00:03:35] has really opened up a treasure trove of capabilities for Lowe's in how we service

[00:03:40] our associate and how the associate uses the technology to serve the customer. One of the

[00:03:45] biggest wins I think in the migration of contact center is our SSO experience, the single sign-on,

[00:03:53] one login, one credential, one experience. So the associate doesn't have to remember

[00:03:58] an extension and a logon and a credential and all this stuff. It really brings that

[00:04:05] experience. They're just logging on as they would every day. That's a huge win for associate

[00:04:11] engagement. With that, security is top of mind for a lot of companies today. With that

[00:04:18] single sign-on experience comes multi-factor authentication. That just really enhances and

[00:04:23] drives security. And that's huge for any organization but certainly it is for Lowe's.

[00:04:33] The one other thing, we'll talk about this later as well, but licenses. WebEx Contact

[00:04:38] Center is a consumption-based product. This unlocks license efficiencies that drive immediate

[00:04:45] value for the business. We're not consuming a license by building an agent. No, we're

[00:04:50] consuming a license by an agent logging in. So that allows us at Lowe's to use the licenses

[00:04:56] much more efficiently than once before.

[00:04:59] And using licenses efficiently is such a huge topic right now. And I'm curious, were there

[00:05:04] any specific challenges that you might have faced with legacy on-prem solution that you

[00:05:10] had or how did the transition to SaaS platform address some of those issues? Because it's

[00:05:15] not all plain sailing. I'm sure you had a few obstacles. So how has it helped? Can you share

[00:05:20] that journey?

[00:05:21] Yeah, absolutely. In our problem statement as we were discovering the migration from

[00:05:28] where we were in our legacy solutions to the WebEx Contact Center platform, we had overlapping

[00:05:33] technology which drove the need for multiple skill sets, various support agreements. Migrating

[00:05:39] to the WebEx platform streamlines the voice and collaboration infrastructure. It's a great

[00:05:43] partnership with Cisco, especially in our migration and transformation with their advanced

[00:05:47] services and project team customer experience to deliver that. The scalability was a huge

[00:05:55] problem. Everything was port and channel based. It didn't scale well. It didn't allow us

[00:06:02] to be elastic. Different times of our year in our business cycle is much like other businesses.

[00:06:08] They grow and contract depending on the time of year. The ability to grow, the ability

[00:06:15] to contract, to service our customer really, really helps. Our support model inefficiencies

[00:06:22] was blocking innovation. It's hard to innovate when you've got to consider three technologies.

[00:06:28] Do they work together? Can they work together? How do we deliver? But when we streamline

[00:06:32] and bring everything under one roof, that really unlocks availability feature function

[00:06:39] and allows us not only deliver for our customer but the associate as well.

[00:06:43] What would you say are some of the most significant cost savings that you've observed since implementing

[00:06:48] Cisco solutions, particularly in terms of legacy license fees and those IT support costs?

[00:06:54] Because so many businesses now, and especially a lot of business leaders listening, they're

[00:06:57] faced with doing more with the same or more with less. I'd love to hear more about some

[00:07:01] of those savings.

[00:07:02] Yeah, more with the same. You're spot on. Knowledge and capital growth, right? When

[00:07:08] the whole team is focused on several different technologies, we've got to train to that,

[00:07:14] you know, to grow their career and in which direction do you go. And with so many different

[00:07:19] technologies, it's hard to do that. Well, now that we've kind of collapsed all of our

[00:07:24] various technologies under one roof, it allows the whole team, including myself, to target

[00:07:30] growth in a single product. It opens doors to a better exchange of ideas and better innovation.

[00:07:37] We all want to be tech companies. We're a retail company, we service our customer in

[00:07:42] many ways. We all want to be tech companies. This collapse really, really helps, right?

[00:07:49] We can be focused on one technology. We can grow our delivery in one technology and it

[00:07:54] really helps.

[00:07:56] And that's a topic we cover on this podcast a lot, but almost every company is a tech

[00:08:01] company now and it's areas that you don't associate with technology. And I'm curious,

[00:08:07] how has the integration of Cisco's advanced services and lifecycle services, how has that

[00:08:12] influenced your approach to customer engagement and satisfaction? Because it feels like there's

[00:08:17] a few big wins there as well.

[00:08:19] Yeah, there most certainly is. You know, with the lifecycle services and the Cisco advanced

[00:08:24] services, business critical services and on and on, all of the support that comes along

[00:08:29] or that we've chosen to bring along with us in the WebEx contact center migration has

[00:08:35] unlocked a more enabled, more of a dedicated focus for the Lowe's team to drive customer

[00:08:42] engagement and satisfaction. We don't have to so much focus on patching for security

[00:08:50] vulnerabilities. We don't have to focus on what's our next software lifecycle. We don't

[00:08:54] have to focus on what's our next hardware lifecycle. We're able to focus solely on the

[00:08:59] customer. This also has opened up what I like to call a phone a friend. How do you do this?

[00:09:06] How can we do this? Is there a better way to do this in a way? It's like having an

[00:09:10] additional dedicated staff to help us at Lowe's drive better outcomes, right? And that's

[00:09:16] again, the phone a friend. It's more helpful than you could imagine when you get stuck.

[00:09:21] Absolutely love that. And also, in what ways has the new system enhanced things like

[00:09:27] scalability and reliability? And how has that benefited your business and equally those

[00:09:32] customer interactions as well? Because it's important that we don't forget that side of

[00:09:36] things too.

[00:09:37] Absolutely. Before in our legacy technology, we were bound by a port channel based

[00:09:42] technology where we would run into limitations of scale, device limitations, product

[00:09:48] limitations. Before the migration, we were in a follow the pack mentality as opposed

[00:09:55] to a leader mindset. What this migration and transformation has done is it allows us to

[00:10:02] move into that leader mindset. It allows us to figure how we can serve our customer

[00:10:07] better. And it's an opportunity. I've used the word before, I'll use it again.

[00:10:13] Opportunity to grow, opportunity to integrate, opportunity to include, whether that's AI,

[00:10:20] whether that's different systems within Cisco's infrastructure, whether that's any

[00:10:25] number of tools, our migration has now provided us that opportunity.

[00:10:32] And of course, we are here at Cisco Live.

[00:10:34] Predictably, AI is a huge thing.

[00:10:37] There'll be a lot of people listening around the world.

[00:10:39] They've heard about the hype of AI, but we're now getting to the point of what problems

[00:10:42] can we fix? How do I implement?

[00:10:44] How do I adopt? So with AI being such a focal point for future enhancements and a lot of

[00:10:49] businesses maybe sat on the fence not knowing what to do next.

[00:10:52] Can you provide any insights into the AI use cases that you're targeting and equally some

[00:10:58] of the outcomes that you anticipate from these implementations just to bring it to life a

[00:11:02] little for so many confused business leaders right now?

[00:11:05] I hear you. Regarding AI, information is capital.

[00:11:10] It's capital to earn customers and drive better outcomes.

[00:11:15] It's how we can use how AI can help us use the various pieces of information.

[00:11:21] It's how we can use, capture and deliver using that.

[00:11:26] Consider this. When I'm at home working on a project, as we all are, I find myself making

[00:11:32] several trips to Lowe's.

[00:11:35] I find it fun. My wife, maybe not.

[00:11:37] Several trips to Lowe's, but potentially calling about a delivery, calling about a product

[00:11:42] question, potentially updating my order.

[00:11:46] Consider if we could use the information about my customer experience to anticipate my

[00:11:51] need. To deliver value in one call, one engagement, one communication.

[00:11:58] Perhaps you could pair me and my call with the best resource to help drive that outcome.

[00:12:03] I think AI is going to really unlock that capability for us.

[00:12:09] I think it's going to unlock that capability for others.

[00:12:12] I mean, associate hours saved.

[00:12:16] Your associates can answer more calls.

[00:12:18] They could help more customers.

[00:12:19] They could drive more value.

[00:12:22] The associates become more satisfied with their job.

[00:12:24] They're focused more on helping than triaging.

[00:12:28] And it's a definite return on investment for the business.

[00:12:31] It used to be B2B or B2C, but now with these examples that we carry around, we take them

[00:12:36] into the workplace and we expect those same, very same examples, don't we?

[00:12:41] We expect that kind of expectation.

[00:12:44] Yeah, that expectation is definitely set.

[00:12:47] And it is, it's a, we call them table stakes.

[00:12:50] Yeah. Right.

[00:12:51] What once was, oh my God, that's incredible.

[00:12:55] Are now table stakes.

[00:12:56] And as, as technology continues and technology grows, we have to drive that value.

[00:13:03] And those table stakes are common.

[00:13:04] We have to do more.

[00:13:05] It's called innovation.

[00:13:06] And we're excited about the opportunity to innovate our migration to WebEx contacts that

[00:13:12] are integrating further into a cloud SaaS solution is going to open up capabilities.

[00:13:18] And there's a word you've mentioned throughout our interview, innovate.

[00:13:20] And I can see by how you're speaking, how passionate you are about innovation.

[00:13:24] And you've mentioned table stakes.

[00:13:26] Is this something that you're very aware of with Lowe's and the expectation level from

[00:13:31] your customers and you need to keep up to speed with the tech and AI and everything in

[00:13:35] between to improve those expectations?

[00:13:37] Is that something that you're very mindful of as well?

[00:13:40] Oh, we're, we're incredibly mindful of the customer expectation.

[00:13:44] We're not only trying to meet that expectation, but we want to be proactive.

[00:13:49] We want to give them a, oh wow.

[00:13:52] I didn't realize it did that.

[00:13:53] Yeah.

[00:13:53] Or wow, that was a, that was a great experience.

[00:13:56] You know, when we get off or get done with a conversation with a customer, whether it's

[00:14:02] a voice conversation, a text conversation through social media, any, any medium that

[00:14:07] there is, if the customer can step back and feel good about that engagement, I'll use

[00:14:13] the word engagement.

[00:14:13] It could be any, any type of thing, but if the customer can feel good about it, the

[00:14:17] customer will come back.

[00:14:19] So if we were to zoom out for a moment, how has that modernization of your entire

[00:14:23] technology infrastructure, how has that helped Lowe's in attracting things like more

[00:14:28] tech talent and what role does Cisco's customer experience in collaboration services?

[00:14:33] What role do they play in that strategy too?

[00:14:36] Well, from a tech talent perspective, somebody wants to go and work with an

[00:14:42] organization that's leading in what they want to grow to do.

[00:14:47] That's leading in what they feel they can do.

[00:14:51] And people come to somewhere that they can innovate, right?

[00:14:54] At Lowe's it's, it's been, it's been a great journey for me.

[00:15:00] And from where I started with Lowe's to now there, there's been, there's been so

[00:15:04] much opportunity to innovate and really as we grow our organization and as we

[00:15:10] service our customer, bringing the technology to bear at Lowe's will attract that.

[00:15:17] And your passion for this really shines in our conversation today.

[00:15:21] And that's one of the reasons I wanted to get you on the podcast.

[00:15:23] And is there anyone that you'd like to point, anybody listening who could be located

[00:15:27] anywhere in the world who want to find out more about Lowe's or anything that we've

[00:15:31] talked about today?

[00:15:32] Where would you like to point them?

[00:15:34] You know, Lowe's is an innovative company that's really been delivering.

[00:15:38] You know, if you're excited about Lowe's, maybe it's because you've got a home

[00:15:44] project you're working on.

[00:15:45] Definitely consider Lowe's as a destination.

[00:15:48] But if you're excited about Lowe's for a career journey, you know, go to Lowes.com.

[00:15:53] You'll find careers there.

[00:15:56] Lowe's participates in many college career fairs.

[00:16:00] Lowe's participates in many ways across the country and there's opportunities abound.

[00:16:07] You know, the other thing I would recommend people do is attend a Cisco Live event.

[00:16:15] Come to Cisco Live, go to Enterprise Connect, go to an industry event where you can meet

[00:16:22] others within the industry, understand what they do, how they serve their customer.

[00:16:26] It goes back to why I like Cisco Live, because I get to learn, I get to expand.

[00:16:31] And moreover, perhaps there's somebody I can connect with and help them in their journey

[00:16:36] as well.

[00:16:37] Beautifully put, and I think that's the perfect way to end our conversation today.

[00:16:41] Cisco Live is a tech conference.

[00:16:43] Anybody scrolling through socials, they'll be reading about AI, all the exciting tech

[00:16:47] announcements. But I think what really brings it to life is stories like yours and being

[00:16:51] able to meet you on the show floor, sit down and talk about it.

[00:16:55] That is what it's all about.

[00:16:56] And I always say at the end of every episode, technology works best when it brings people

[00:17:00] together. And you're a shining example of that.

[00:17:02] So thanks for joining me today.

[00:17:03] Absolutely. Thanks for having me.

[00:17:05] Wow, what an incredible story and a huge thank you to Shad for sharing his insights into how

[00:17:11] they're leveraging Cisco's advanced services at Lowe's to revolutionise their customer

[00:17:16] experience and IT infrastructure.

[00:17:19] As we mentioned several times during the interview, it's technology that gets all the

[00:17:24] headlines. But the real star of the show for me is how does that technology improve

[00:17:29] customer satisfaction, reduce operational costs?

[00:17:32] That is the real cool part.

[00:17:34] And I think it's clear that the collaboration is yielding significant benefits from

[00:17:38] handling over one million calls in Q1 this year and also setting the stage for future AI

[00:17:44] enhancements.

[00:17:45] But what do you think about the impact of this technological advancement that we're seeing

[00:17:50] in the retail sector?

[00:17:51] I'd love to hear your thoughts.

[00:17:53] If you enjoyed today's conversation, please email me techblogwriteratoutlook.com, LinkedIn,

[00:17:59] Instagram, or wherever you prefer to hang out.

[00:18:02] Just look for me at Neil C. Hughes.

[00:18:04] Don't just hit follow though.

[00:18:05] Send me a message. Let me know what you thought.

[00:18:06] And if you'd like to meet me here at Cisco live again, give me a heads up.

[00:18:11] But that's it for today.

[00:18:12] Time for me to hit the show floor again.

[00:18:14] So until next time, I'm going to sign off.

[00:18:17] But remember, stay curious, keep innovating and I will talk to you all again bright and early

[00:18:21] tomorrow.