![]() ![]() “Innovation is really about taking many small gambles,” he says. Wagar’s ready to keep pushing the tech envelope for things like scales that scan produce from alfalfa to zucchini, but within limits. He had risen to practice director of solution architecture when offered the opportunity to return to Golub Corp. In 2013, Wagar joined Mainline Information Systems as its business architect. He moved steadily upward through the company, with promotions to director of enterprise architecture and then to vice president of technical services. began in 2008 when he became manager of information integration. In 2001, he became manager of business intelligence for the Orvis Co. #PROCE CHOPPER HOW TO#“I learned about change management and separation of duties and how to make big IT succeed.” “I was working on a big system that helped me understand the process, the specs and requirements for business innovation,” he recalls. So while working in restaurants in the evening, he began studying computer science at Siena College.Īfter earning his bachelor’s degree in 1989, Wagar began his IT career as a consultant, working with General Electric. While his restaurant career taught him the importance of the customer experience, he was also looking for a better way to support his family that included two young children. “I became interested in where the information went and how it was used,” Wagar recalls. There, he sent data on daily sales, payroll and other information to corporate headquarters using 8-inch floppy disks and a dialup connection line. Rather than developing an interest in technology as a teen, like many, Wagar got his taste of tech while managing a chain restaurant in upstate New York. “Technology is the centerpiece of this change, and we rely on partners to understand how to invest in these changes.” Late bloomer “The grocery industry is under intense pressure to change how it engages with its customers,” Wagar says. It’s helping Wagar to modernize a data center and move to the cloud. Mainline Information Systems is a “trusted advisor in data center technologies,” he says. It’s a crucial step in “engaging customers in a modern, more efficient way,” Wagar says.Īrmeta Analytics provides retail analytics and dashboards and is accelerating Price Chopper/Market 32’s move to a cloud data warehouse, Wagar says. The point of sale system, which allows customers to use coupons and a customer loyalty program, among other things, is being improved in a partnership with NCR Corp. It also enables merchants to see what’s being delivered, what’s getting sold and what needs to be restocked. In an industry with tight profit margins, it ensures proper purchasing and storing of inventory, as well as delivery to stores. “We really value our community feel and try to stick to it.”īut technology, and lots of it, is needed to manage operations and an inventory of 30,000 items. “Our DNA is about treating the customer right and offering the freshest, highest quality food to them at the best price,” he says. The planned merger, announced in February, creates a network of more than 300 stores.ĭespite that growth and his emphasis on technology, Wagar says the customers still value in-store shopping and traditional values as much as e-commerce. Now, as Price Chopper evolves into the Market 32 brand to celebrate the company’s 90th anniversary, it’s also merging with Tops, another upstate New York-based grocer. ![]() ![]() Grosberg expanded a wholesale grocery that had been opened by Lewis Golub, Bernard and William’s father.įirst called Central Market, the stores opened in four upstate New York towns. Price Chopper, part of the Golub Corp., was founded in 1932 as Bernard and William Golub and Joseph E. “Grocery stores have an unbelievable amount of technology used for ordering, delivering, ensuring freshness and safe handling.” Traditions and growth “Someone has to do the shopping, and we need the applications to help them,” Wagar says. It’s one way he envisions technology improving customer service at the chain of stores found from Pennsylvania through New England. Sam Wagar says this video recognition technology isn’t in Price Chopper stores now, but as vice president of IT, he’s looking into it. Sam Wagar | Vice President of Information Technology | Price Chopper ![]()
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