The Kibo team recently hosted its annual Kibo Client Summit – Kibo CONNECT – in Dallas, Texas to bring together clients, partners, and team members. Traveling from all over the world, we’re grateful to connect with digital commerce leaders to share ideas, discuss the latest Kibo innovations, and celebrate each other’s successes.
We had a banner line up of speakers for the event, covering everything from digital transformation and GenAI to channel-less commerce and composable commerce. Below highlights our sessions and key themes from the event.
Kibo Product Vision + Roadmap
Ram Venkataraman, CEO at Kibo, kicked off the Client Summit with Kibo’s product vision, stressing the importance of simplifying digital commerce and making customer experiences seamless across various channels. Ram reflected on how the market had shifted from omnichannel to unified commerce and eventually towards a channel-less approach, all while emphasizing the need for platforms like Kibo to adapt and innovate.
During his speech, Ram highlighted Kibo’s unique value proposition, particularly the ability to offer ecommerce, order management, and subscription services in a way that reduces complexity and costs for clients.
Watch the full session: Kibo Vision: Achieving Winning Customer Experience Strategies
Sachin Sharma, Chief Product Officer at Kibo, shared several exciting feature rollouts across five core themes.
- Streamlined inventory and fulfillment solutions, including enhancements to inventory segmentation, fulfillment SLAs, product substitutions, and more.
- Enhanced commerce experience, including discount extensibility, B2B account capability enhancements, and vector search.
- Client self-serviceability and tooling, including enhanced order routing, additional developer capabilities, and BPM tooling.
- More GenAI & ML-driven efficiency enhancements, including real-time insights, forecasting engine, demand optimizations, and more.
- Strategic technology ecosystem expansions, including Insider, Algolia, Akeneo, delivery solutions, and drop shippers.
Undertaking Digital Transformation in a Sea of Legacy Technology
Like many decades-old companies during COVID, REEDS Jewelers found themselves bogged down by legacy technology and fast-changing customer behaviors – giving online-only competitors an advantage.
Arthur Phidd, Chief Information Officer at REEDS, discussed how the retailer set out to digitally transform with the goal of better understanding their customers and being able to market to the individual shopper. The jewelry retailer invested in cutting edge technology, including Kibo Order Management, revamped its company culture, and developed an omnichannel business model.
The company leverages Kibo to drive omnichannel fulfillment, order routing optimization, and premium customer service. Since October 2023, REEDS has fulfilled over 55,000 orders via Kibo Order Management.
Watch the full session: How to Undertake Digital Transformation in a Sea of Legacy Technology
GIII, a multi-billion-dollar company with brands like Donna Karen and Calvin Klein under their umbrella, is going through a similar digital transformation. Oscar Diaz SVP of Digital at GIII Retail, walked us through why his company is taking steps to drive digital transformation.
GIII is focused on improving the customer experience, unifying data for better insights, access to new markets, and enhanced efficiency. From preparing employees to seeking out expert partners and gathering feedback, GIII has taken a methodical approach to their digital transformation strategy. Most recently, GIII has integrated Kibo Order Management to enhance its digital infrastructure for Donna Karan and DKNY.
Watch the full session: 7 Essential Steps to Achieving Digital Transformation
Navigating the Benefits of Composable Architecture: Insights from Industry Leaders
In a recent panel discussion featuring Arthur Phidd from REEDS, Matt Brinkley from Cracker Barrel, Rajib Das from Ignitiv, and Jon Panella from the MACH Alliance, the advantages of composable architecture took center stage. Arthur emphasized its ability to target specific parts of the system, minimizing the impact of failures and facilitating quicker turnarounds.
Matt echoed this sentiment, stressing the importance of agility in managing complex systems like those at Cracker Barrel. He highlighted the need for ROI evaluation and prioritization in transforming outdated legacy systems with more adaptable composable solutions.
Rajib shared strategic insights into implementing composable architecture, focusing on risk assessment, prioritization of critical components, and organizational change management for stakeholder buy-in. Looking ahead, Jon anticipated broader adoption of composable solutions beyond commerce into marketing, augmented by AI integration to bolster capabilities and adaptability.
Watch the full session: Revolutionizing eCommerce with Composable Technology
Peavey Industries is Reaping the Benefits of Composable Architecture
Despite hurdles like legacy systems and outdated ERP software, Peavey Mart blended existing investments with new tech, like Kibo Order Management, for a seamless online experience.
Shaun Guthrie, Peavey Industries’ Senior VP of Technology & Ecommerce, shared insights around the launch of their microsite, “Chick Days.” Using pre-built integrations and accelerators from Kibo, the team managed to retire outdated systems, leading to immediate success with significant sales and site visits. Looking ahead, Guthrie shared plans for future expansions, including launching new microsites.
Watch the full session: Using a Composable Approach to Microsites: Grow Sales and Gain New Customers in Days, Not Months
Speeding Up Composable Commerce
During his session, Brent Locks, COO and President of Builder.io, shared some valuable insights in speeding up composable commerce. Brent highlighted key strategies, like mastering the iteration loop for sustainable growth, and stressed the importance of a “best-of-need” composable approach for optimizing team efficiency. Plus, he pointed out how a visual CMS solution could be a game-changer, making the journey from idea to reality much smoother.
Watch the full session: How to Speed Up Composable Commerce: From Design to Live in Half the Time
How to Build a Commerce Team
Brandon Finch, VP of Global eBusiness at Jelly Belly, Mike Pierce CEO at Echidna, and Ranjith Maniyedath, Managing Partner at Perfaware, provided valuable insights on crucial considerations, such as deciding between establishing an internal commerce team or partnering with a Systems Integrator (SI). They emphasized the importance of fostering transparent and efficient relationships with SI partners to maximize outcomes. Additionally, they discussed how Jelly Belly revitalized their B2B/B2C business through strategic collaboration with Kibo and Echidna.
Watch the full session: How to Build Your Commerce Team
Elevating the Customer Experience with Kibo Order Management
Michael Luckett, Executive Director of Final Mile and Retail Supply Chain Support & Distribution at Conn’s HomePlus, highlighted Conn’s successful digitization of their supply chain network, comprising 33 ship points and over 500 retail locations. Overcoming challenges such as using AS400 as an ERP system, Conn’s uses Kibo Order Management’s inventory visibility capabilities to streamline operations and provide superior customer experiences.
Watch the full session: Elevating Customer Experience: The Power of Future Inventory, Deliver and Transfers
Zahid Aslam, General Manager of Ecommerce at London Drugs, explored the company’s transition towards unified commerce, allowing customers to purchase where they wanted and receive deliveries how they preferred. London Drugs shifted its focus from transaction enablement to unifying the customer experience, leveraging Kibo’s order routing capabilities to optimize fulfillment strategies.
Watch the full session: Unified Retail – Purchase Where They Want, Deliver How They Want
Kibo Partners Talk GenAI and Multi-Vendor Commerce
Manish Hirapara, CEO of PeakActivity, guided us through the nuances of AI’s impact in digital commerce. From unlocking efficiency to fostering customer trust, Hirapara outlined the advantages and potential pitfalls of integrating AI into digital commerce ecosystems. Additionally, he discussed actionable strategies on effective AI implementation and harnessing the power of GenAI to refine AI models.
Watch the full session: The Future of Multi-Vendor Commerce
Following Manish, Steve Norris, VP of Digital Commerce at Logicbroker, and Sachin Sharma, Chief Product Officer at Kibo, dove into the future of multi-vendor commerce. The discussion uncovered the inherent challenges that enterprises encounter within this complex ecosystem and introduced strategic solutions to overcome them. Steve and Sachin outlined the pivotal role an integrated OMS + Dropship solution plays in automating order management tasks and facilitating seamless inventory tracking.
Watch the full session: How AI is Shaping the Future of Digital Commerce
Kibo CONNECT served as a dynamic hub for global digital commerce leaders to exchange ideas, explore innovations, and celebrate achievements. Through strategic insights and practical examples, it became evident that Kibo’s platforms empower businesses to enhance customer experiences, streamline operations, and drive growth.
Looking ahead, the summit highlighted the pivotal role of collaboration and integration in navigating the complexities of modern commerce ecosystems, positioning Kibo as a leader in shaping the future of digital commerce.
And lastly, a big thank you to Builder.io, Logicbroker, Echidna, Ignitiv, Perfaware, iResponsive Solutions, Trika Technologies, and Success Numbers for sponsoring our Client Summit!