Pão de Açúcar Group reformulates IT area
Valor Econômico
Clichés such as "the client is always right" and "the consumer is the king" are old friends of the marketing personnel of the retail companies. But what Joaquim Dias Garcia and Alexandre Vasconcellos are proving now is that these concepts are starting to change, radically, another department that is vital to major retailers: the information technology (IT) department.
Garcia and Vasconcellos command what is, maybe, the deepest process of technologic transformation of the history of the Pão de Açúcar group and, certainly, one of the biggest programs of automation of process of the country.
Called "The Future of Retail", the program foresees the investment of R$ 150 million (US$ 81.1 million) in three years and includes the replacement of equipment, substitution of management programs and development of new services. The work force involved in these tasks comprises nearly 500 people and includes both the personnel of the technology division - 300 professionals - and an additional team of nearly 200 people working at a specific project, with which Pão de Açúcar expects to change its relationship with the clients.