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FINAL WORD
Digital
transformation
lessons retailers
can learn from
the Tour
de France
Retail companies need to be more
aware of how to handle their data in
order to keep up with the pace of digital
transformation. Raj Mistry, Group
Director, Retail – Dimension Data,
discusses the fundamental solutions to
do so, and offers his five top tips.
T
he Tour de France is the biggest cycling race in the world,
attracting 12 million TV viewers for each of its 21 stages
and 6.5 million digital fans from across 190 countries. It is a
testament to the benefits of digital transformation that a sporting
event more than 100 years old can keep innovating and pushing the
boundaries of the digital fan experience. This unwavering obsession
to continually improve products and services is very relevant and
timely for a hard-hit retail sector struggling to grow – especially for
the bricks and mortar stores.
1. Data is the key to unlocking new audiences
Data collection is an area many retailers overlook, especially
when concerning bricks and mortar outlets. Pre-2015, data
collection during the Tour de France was also an extremely
manual and labour-intensive process – with time checks and
cyclist position often communicated by radio during the race.
The Tour de France technical solution places GPS trackers on each
bicycle to collect the real-time positioning of every single rider,
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