HOW M&A ENHANCES RETAIL TECH COMPANY’S CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

As the EVP of Corporate Development and Operations, Brittany Westerman defines 365 Retail Markets’ growth strategy and evaluates new opportunities to expand its product offerings.

365 Retail Markets is constantly evaluating our solutions to enable food service operator customers to better serve the business, hotel and educational campuses that make up their client base.

Initially, our focus was on vending replacement solutions in the business and industry sectors. ese self-service kiosks placed alongside a variety of packaged consumer goods grew into the popular concept, micro markets. Over time, we expanded our o erings to include consumer engagement tools that incentivized consumer behaviors, such as making more nutritious purchases.

As micro market popularity soared, 365 Retail Markets noticed that our customers’ business logistics challenges also grew. Likewise, other external factors, such as the pandemic and capacity constraints, forced technological advancements.

Given our industry trends, the goal was clear — we needed to expand our capabilities while keeping pace with the market. 365 Retail Markets set out to acquire companies that simpli ed our customers’ day-to-day operations. In the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, we completed a series of acquisitions that empowered us to:

• Improve our customers’ stock control and business logistics, leading to 15 to 20% inventory reductions.

• Reduce back-of-house order preparation and consumer wait times in corporate cafeterias.

• Increase e ciency of available sta by o ering more versatile self-checkout devices.

To date, 365 Retail Markets has completed 11 acquisitions, including:

• Acquisitions in 2017 and 2019 that became the cornerstone of our dining product, providing key nutritional information and order-ahead functionality.

• A 2021 acquisition that helped us and will deliver on our promise to workers. We will not turn our backs on those who built this economy.”

Ron Bieber, president of the Michigan AFL-CIO, said it is time to reverse decadeslong attacks on working people.

“ e current worker-suppression laws in Michigan should be a source of shame,” he told the Senate Labor Committee during a Tuesday hearing. “ ey have absolutely nothing to do with good public policy but rather were just a power grab by the rich and powerful and greedy corporations.” e “right-to-work” law, Bieber said, undermines unionized workers’ ability to collectively bargain for better pay and bene ts and has “no impact” on businesses deciding to locate in the state or not. He said when the law’s defenders say it keeps Michigan competitive, that means workers will have lower wages and bene ts.

But Wendy Block, senior vice president of business advocacy and member engagement for the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, said the law makes Michigan more competitive nationally and “especially with our neighboring states who also have these laws. It helps Michigan compete for desperately needed jobs and economic development projects.”

She said the law is a tool and certainly not a “silver bullet.”

“But if a company is choosing between a site in a right-to-work state and in another state without this law in place, right-to-work can positively impact that decision. It is a big factor.

It puts your state in the game.” e law, which took e ect in 2013, was a blow for unions in what is considered the birthplace of the American labor movement.

In 2012, 629,000, or 16.6 percent, of workers were union members and 17.1 percent were represented by unions — gures that had been declining for decades. ere were 1 million union members in 1989, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In 2022, 589,000, or 14 percent, of workers were union members and 15.3 percent were represented by unions.

Last week, Whitmer told reporters she would sign the repeal bills despite the inclusion of $2 million in spending that would shield them from an up-or-down voter referendum. She had criticized the tactic when Republicans used it when they were in power, and in 2019 she signed an executive directive pledging to veto legislation that circumvents the right to a referendum.

Regardless of whether the legislation is referendum-proof, “right-towork” proponents are considering a potential 2024 ballot drive to enshrine the policy in the state constitution.

Contact: david.eggert@crain.com; (313) 446-1654; @DavidEggert00 penetrate the healthcare industry.

• Another 2021 acquisition that added catering management to our portfolio and broadened our international footprint.

Our customers now have best-inclass technology that creates end-user convenience while improving our customers’ back-end operations. An example of this e ort is our Connected Campus. It is a consumer experience ecosystem that connects a location’s 365-based micro market, o ce co ee service, vending and dining technology through a single cloud-based management portal.

As the need for unattended point-of-sale systems grows across more channels, 365 Retail Markets will continue to support a multitude of industries by building and acquiring tools, technologies and team members to service these areas.

Explore how 365 can create consumer convenience and operational e ciency in your facility at 365retailmarkets.com.