"When we started our company, it was 100% engineers," he said of Palo Alto, Calif.-based IDEO. "We still have engineers [but we use anthropologists] because you've got to know what problems to solve. Sometimes these are [image-nocss] overlooked problems where a solution is [technically] not that hard to develop."
Kelley (pictured)cited one example of a children's toothbrush. The long-accepted theory was that children's toothbrushes just needed to be smaller versions of adult brushes, essentially thin and best used by holding it with the fingertips. An observation of a six-year-old showed that he did not have that dexterity necessary and had to grip it with his entire hand. A thicker, spongier design gave the client an 18-month innovation window that they profited from.
Another example was with a bank that wanted IDEO to remake its checking accounts, which needed differentiation. Kelley's anthropological work uncovered two things: a Baby Boomer concern about not saving enough, but also, oddly enough, a habit of rounding up the checks they wrote for monthly bills as a way to simplify how they balanced their accounts. These discoveries lead to an offer that rounded up bill payments but sent the extra change into customer's savings accounts. Again, the result was a successful innovation.
Unfortunately, innovation is not done in a vacuum. Kelley said that for companies to succeed, they have to innovate twice as fast as the competition.
Executives at Retalix also addressed attendees, which included retailers from multiple channels and vendor partners. Shuky Sheffer, who started as the company's CEO just this past January, said the management team spent the past year forging a renewed path based on customer feedback and innovation.
He said they intended to add a new layer of employees within the company designed to improve customer service and position Retalix to act as a "trusted advisor" on an ongoing basis. Other efforts would include bringing its global expertise to bear on its current delivery systems to improve the quality and time to market for new products, as well as product-development advisory boards that would help them better understand customer needs.
Speaking of larger goals, Sheffer said differentiation by creating a "personalized customer experience throughout all touch points," "increasing wallet share" and "creating flexible, agile architecture and procedures" were crucial.
Augmenting Sheffer's comments, Roy Simrell, president of Retalix USA, Plano, Texas, said the company is responding to the evolving retail environment by providing point-of-sale, loyalty and demand-driven analytical products and related services.
"We have a major focus on improving the customer experience," Simrell said.
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