Interview: Domino’s wins hearts and business, thanks to technology

DOMINO’S entered the e-commerce space well over a decade ago, and are now recognized as early adopters in the industry — in Australia and around the world.

Since then, the company has demonstrated its commitment to technology and digital transformation with a number of industry firsts such as drone delivery, app ordering, voice assistant, artificial intelligence (AI), and augmented reality (AR).

IDC, who organize the IDC Digital Transformation Awards every year, just announced that Domino’s has made it to the list of finalists this year as an ‘Omni Experience Innovator’ — for its innovation “Pizza Chef with Augmented Reality”.

To better understand the company’s plans with technology, Tech Wire Asia interviewed Domino’s Group Chief Digital and Technology Officer (Group CDTO) Michael Gillespie.

“We have rolled out our digital solutions to seven of our nine markets, and our online platforms now process more than 65 million orders each year – which is two orders every second.

“Our Full Year Results demonstrate that this digital innovation equates to business value, with our online platform delivering AUD1.9 billion (US$1.28 billion) in digital sales in FY19, which is more than 65 percent of orders.

Over the years, Gillespie insists, the company’s attitude towards digital transformation hasn’t changed. Rather, it is the scale of transformation that has grown consistently with each success.

Obviously, investing in new and emerging technology and staying ahead of current trends and advancements certainly comes with its fair share of challenges, and Domino’s is no different — especially as it attempts to use technology in new and innovative ways.

“We’ve found that developing technology that addresses customer tensions or enhances the customer experience makes releasing products to market easier, as it removes some of the risks and challenges.

“If we know that the technology will solve a key friction or make a tangible difference to the customer experience, then it’s an investment worth making.”

Speaking of innovation and industry firsts, businesses often complain about failing at technology adoption because they’re unable to find the right talent — this is especially true in Australia where some companies have expressed displeasure at the Government’s decision to phase out the 457 visa and bring in a more focused specialist visa.

However, Domino’s doesn’t seem to be struggling to find talent to drive its technology projects at all.

Gillespie told Tech Wire Asia that although it is sometimes tough to capture new ground with no proven industry success to follow, having the right team in place is key to growth.

“We’re lucky to have a world-class digital and technology team who are empowered to solve complex problems, think outside the box and come up with new and innovative ideas.

“We do almost all the work in-house, but also have some great partners that we work with, and a strong relationship with the marketing team to ensure we are aligned and can effectively work together to deliver a world-class experience for our customers.”

Group CDTO Gillespie who has been with Domino’s for more than 10 years now believes that the company has always been an early adopter of innovation and has become pioneers in their industry because of the strong support from senior leaders and franchisees.

“As the saying goes ‘proof is in the pizza’; as soon as they saw the success of our digital platform and the tangible impact innovation could have on the business it was much easier to get buy-in.”

At the end of the day, Domino’s seems confident that the company will continue to innovate and promises to use technology in new and interesting ways to continue to delight customers every day.

“For Domino’s, our confidence in pioneering the digital experience is a result of unwavering customer focus and using technology to solve key customer tension points.

“Our success is ultimately measured by our customers – from how quickly and seamlessly they can place an online order, to how they interact with the platform itself,” concluded Gillespie.

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