Deciding Which Technology Pilots Deserve a Rollout
Evaluated 9 store-technology pilots against clear success measures and a baseline, stopping 5 underperformers before they were rolled out to thousands of locations.
The Challenge
A global convenience retailer with thousands of locations and multibillion-dollar annual revenue was investing in new technologies to improve store operations and efficiency. The initiatives included both software and hardware, including automated systems and robotic technology for in-store operations. With the potential to roll successful pilots out across thousands of locations, the company needed a reliable way to determine which technologies created enough value to justify further investment.
Our Approach
Over 18 months, we worked with project teams to evaluate 9 technology pilots. For each pilot, we established clear measures of success, compared performance against a baseline, and assessed whether the technology delivered enough financial or operational value to justify the cost of a broader rollout. The evaluation gave project teams and leadership a consistent way to decide whether an initiative should move forward, be adjusted, or be stopped.
The Result
Of the 9 pilots evaluated, 5 were recommended for discontinuation because they did not deliver enough value to justify broader deployment. Halting those underperforming initiatives avoided more than $26 million in projected rollout costs. Key outcomes included: • 9 technology pilots evaluated against clear success measures • 5 underperforming pilots stopped before rollout • $26M+ in projected rollout costs avoided The evaluation framework was subsequently adopted as the standard approach for assessing future innovation investments, giving the organization a more consistent and evidence-based way to decide where to invest.