Turning Your OMS into a Customer Experience Powerhouse with Mike Micucci

[00:00:00] Jay Topper: The world of commerce is undergoing a revolution. Today's consumer expects a buying experience that is nothing short of perfection. Your company's digital IQ has quickly become a new standard that drives growth and loyalty. Welcome to Chiefly Digital: The digital leader's guide to modern commerce.

Welcome to this episode of Chiefly Digital. Today, I have the pleasure. to talk with Rachel Frederick. She is currently the VP and GM of digital at Sur La Table. Prior to this, she was at The Gap where she was head of digital and business operations and a really fun career that we're going to talk to a little bit today and get into a little bit more detail about that. So welcome, Rachel. 

[00:00:49] Rachel Frederick: for having me. Excited to be here. 

[00:00:51] Jay Topper: I'm excited to have you. We've had a few good conversations already and it'll be, it'll be fun. So, we're going to wind ourselves all the way back to 1997 for the first question, because when we first met While I was putting in an ERP Oracle applications at PRG.com, you were working for Oracle and you were part of the ERP ecosystem there. And then you moved on from there to go, you actually ended up supporting ERPs. Just tell me a little bit about your ERP experience, because I think it's fascinating that both of us early in our careers had, were really impressioned and got very involved with ERPs to learn the business and other things. So. Just talk about that for a little bit. 

[00:01:34] Rachel Frederick: Yeah, um, thanks for saying the year. Didn't, didn't make me feel old at all, Jay. Um, yeah, I started my career out, uh, at Sony Music. Um, I was actually in industrial engineering, doing things like time studies and defining build materials and, you know, I naturally am very curious.

I wanted to know how the entire process worked. Unbeknownst to me, it was the best way I could have started my career. I learned so much. While I was at Sony, um, because I did understand the entire process, uh, they asked if I would be part of the Oracle manufacturing or Oracle ERP implementation. And I was responsible for manufacturing.

And that included, I mean, that was the biggest, Um, you know, the biggest application suite, and it was for five U. S. facilities. So it was a whirlwind of not just understanding and learning so much at Sony about our existing process, but then now I'm implementing Oracle, ERP, learned more than I ever thought I could have.

Oracle got wind or, or knew of me from going through. Some of the training, um, you know, during the Sony implementation, and after we implemented Oracle at Sony, Oracle asked that I come work for them, and that's how I got started, um, working for Oracle, and I moved to the Bay Area, and I was supporting, um, Oracle manufacturing applications within support, which is, you know, and it was in the gold, uh, gold customers.

So, I mean, these were like top ten, you know, top fortune 100 companies, whatever, with Oracle. Um, where I was answering the phone and providing technical support to these companies for manufacturing applications. Giving them not just guidance on how to use the tool functionally and from process perspective, but even providing technical support, right?

Where I'm helping them, I'm telenetting. There you go. Telenetting into their tool to apply patches, where I'm reading their log files or what have you, and then I ended up managing Oracle Technical Support Organization, um, as well as their HR and tax, um, applications as well. But yeah, I mean, ERP, um, and, and what a time to be alive, pre Y2K.

And, you know, I was at Oracle during Y2K when we didn't know what the world was going to do when, when that, uh, date turned. Um, yeah, it was just a fun way to start my career. 

[00:03:59] Jay Topper: Yeah, I, uh, I found a very similar experience that you really have to learn the business processes, everything from order to cash to we were a manufacturing, uh, facility as well, but we use project accounting and project costing because we were more discrete manufacturing, but you have to learn a lot.

One lesson I learned there that I kept with me to this day and through all my different roles was, uh, advice an Oracle leader gave me at the time was that even if it seems counterintuitive, that you should try to bend your processes around what the software was built to do versus bend your bend the software and do all these customizations around the ERP. Was that the same guidance and the same philosophy you learned and followed? 

[00:04:42] Rachel Frederick: For sure, and I think that that's the benefit that I had was not just understanding like how Sony did it, and we did it this way at this one location, but there were four other locations that did it very, you know, maybe differently for the same, for the same process, if you will.

And understanding Oracle and ERP and its built, To be somewhat flexible, but you really need to adhere to the best practices and they were setting you up for those best practices. So it was the best of both worlds in my opinion, but yeah, definitely understanding, um, the way it should work and the reasons why it should work that way.

Um, even when I look back today, right. And I say, To myself, I'm making this decision because I know down the road or like down the path, how it's going to impact or what the implications are or the fallout of the decision I'm making and how it's going to show up in my financials or how it's going to show up in my inventory, my margin. It's just understanding that end to end piece is just so important. 

[00:05:43] Jay Topper: No, it really is. It's just basic core business. It's almost like getting an MBA on the fly, going through something like that. And then, you take that type of software and that type of solution and then, I love you, the brief conversation we had about Blue Martini.

Which is kind of a different end of the spectrum and you had even brought up some of the things that you were working on and conceptualizing at the time that today isn't even yet fully mainstream. Tell me about Blue Martini and how did you make that transition? 

[00:06:14] Rachel Frederick: Yep, so went from Oracle, um, uh, to my first startup, Blue Martini Software.

And, um, true startup, right? Uh, working with some of the best of the best engineers when I think back to, um, sleeping under desks and, and meeting deadlines. And at Blue Martini, we were doing, um, essentially technology for e com. We were working with folks like Levi's, um, uh, Stacks Fifth Avenue, Harley Davidson, Jimboree, some of those retail brands that we all know.

Um, and helping them get online for the first time. It was e comm platform. We were talking about CRM personalization. This is in like 2000, right? Talking about e merchandising. Um, and, you know, I've had conversations where personalization is still hard for some folks, even today, right? And this is in 2000 that we were having these conversations. Wild. 

[00:07:06] Jay Topper: And how hard was it to transition from the kind of the back office and or manufacturing components of a business to all of a sudden now you're on the leading and even bleeding edge of Enabling commerce and thinking about personalization and CRM. Was it a hard transition or was it an easy transition?

[00:07:23] Rachel Frederick: You know, I think because I do come from tech, right? I mean, Oracle was that, um, well, Sony to Oracle was that first taste of technology for me. I think it's still just about understanding, like, what the process needs to be to enable. And we were doing that through technology. So, you know, maybe I was naive or I'm still naive with it all.

But I'm definitely very tech savvy for a business leader and I feel very comfortable with it. So it didn't feel like a leap to me at all. Um, you know, Blue Martini, we were enabling these big brands to sell online back then and, and, you know, the big leap to becoming all of a sudden a brand or retailer.

You know, it was probably the, the eBay days when I went to eBay and then made that transition to GAP. 

[00:08:10] Jay Topper: And, and then before we get to the GAP, then you also went to work for BigCommerce, uh, many years ago, uh, which is a commerce platform that's still in play today. And how was that experience? 

[00:08:21] Rachel Frederick: Great. Again, I was one of the first, if not the first hire in San Francisco.

Um, they were an Austin based company before and, um, bringing us to the West Coast and, and, In product management, building out what I think now is their marketplace, but onboarding the technologies that we know our customers wanted and needed. That was more of a partnership or a, um, a buy versus build, um, um, approach to things and, and how that built out the marketplace.

Um, it was a lot of fun, a lot of learnings even still, but again, it was through that tech enablement of allowing our customers to be successful through our platform. 

[00:08:57] Jay Topper: And you first got into product management there, right? Is that where you first had formal product management responsibilities or was it before? How did you get into that? 

[00:09:05] Rachel Frederick: Sure. Again, I think if you're just naturally curious and you like to build things and problem solve, I, I have probably been a product manager from day one in some capacity. Even when I was at Sony and, and we actually were manufacturing hard goods. I wanted to know how, why, when, you know, how can it be better?

How can I make it more, uh, cost savings? How can I, so I think I've just, I've always had that mindset. Um, but you know, I was even a publisher, um, for a while, custom publisher once upon a time where I owned P& L. And you're essentially a product manager as well. So, I think I've worn that hat, uh, many times throughout my career.

[00:09:47] Jay Topper: But yeah. And always zoned in, another theme that we didn't talk about, but I hear it in your voice with every role you've had, is very outcome based. How can I make the business better? Whether it's your business that you're in, Or it's a business that you're serving, understanding what those metrics are, and very focused on the outcomes of the business. Is that accurate? 

[00:10:06] Rachel Frederick: Absolutely. I would say I'm very, and again, I think that's the industrial engineer in me, right? I'm very outcome based. How can I make it better, faster, easier? Literally was doing time studies, right? With, with a stopwatch and load balancing. I am definitely outcome based and I would say operations is probably a muscle that I gravitate towards because I do think that that is such an unlock if you're truly operationally, I don't know, talented is a weird word, but astute or feel very comfortable in that. Um, it shows up in your business results. It shows up in improved customer experiences. 

[00:10:49] Jay Topper: Yeah, I, uh, you and I have so much in common because I, I think if someone were to call me an operator or, or have a disposition towards operations, I take that like as the ultimate compliment that, that's exactly, yeah.

It feels right and it feels good. Then you went on to the gap. And I think this story is worth talking about a little bit because there's so many unlocks here that I think that, uh, you know, not just for people that are at our stages of our career, but if you're a manager or director and you're, you're starting your journey, That there's some really good finds in here.

So explain what your role was at GAP and then talk a little bit about the, the war room. And I'll probably have some deeper questions around that because I just think that's a fascinating and another foundational role you had, a fascinating experience with real foundational elements to it. 

[00:11:38] Rachel Frederick: I was hired for a role at GAP. I can't even remember exactly what the title was. I'm sure it was in product management. and organically morphed into this other role or opportunity. I had the privilege of working with Noam Paransky and I don't know if I would say, it was definitely probably his vision, but together We built, um, it was coined Mission Control, and the goal, um, was to support all brands and all markets, really from the perspective of, I knew what the financial goals were for each brand every day.

And wanted to understand, are they on track to hit those financial goals? If not, why, what is happening? And so, you know, love data, um, looking at data real time. I didn't pointing to this fake, um, thing that it behind me, but. I literally had flat screen TVs all around this bullpen where you could see the core KPIs by brand, real time.

How was each brand tracking to, not just the financial forecast, but, you know, order levels, conversion, traffic, just to understand the funnel. If there was a problem, what could be happening? Identifying what, what that could be. Find a solution and drive resolution, right? So it's definitely business operations, um, product management, because you needed to understand like what could be happening and find the solution, but be pretty tech oriented because this didn't exist.

It was a change in mindset. I think like an aha moment. You know, voice of the customer feedback. So all brands were on the same tech stack. And I would have customer feedback come in, um, on this big screen TV, uh, live. So you're reading the customer feedback, but also I could see if a brand was really starting to fall off track from a financial perspective.

Was there a tech issue? So I would walk down to the tech area. And I'm by myself. My team does not exist. This is a whole new idea or, or again, way of working. And I would ask the tech team, Hey, did we check something in? Did something happen? And, you know, they would say, yeah, we checked something in about an hour ago.

Why? And I would say, Oh my gosh, this brand is in this big commercial event, friends and family, biggest event of the quarter. Why would we check something in from a tech perspective in the middle of the day on a big commercial event? And, and Jay, like, you know, this. The tech and the brand teams, like they don't always talk, right?

The business and the tech teams don't always talk. Yes, they are literally like separated by like a floor, right? But they don't always talk. And that was my aha moment. I am technical enough to understand the needs to make these tech changes, you know, for whatever reason, and translate that into brand speak, and like why this is important, and, and guide the conversation, and vice versa.

Tell the tech team, hey, I know risk if we don't do this, but I also know risk if we do and we miss the mark. So I need you to pause, right? So I was that go. Um, go between, between business and tech, um, and built out a team that the business all of a sudden started to rely on and, um, to help, um, keep us on track and make sure we were hitting those numbers.

[00:15:01] Jay Topper: So, and, and so you're in the middle here and you're kind of focused on a combination of things. You're, you're focused on the metrics every day and watching anything that may get out, out of whack. You're focused on what the tech team is doing. You're focused on what the brand and the merchant goals are.

Who were your audiences, you know, coming into this? Like, were you getting it from both sides continually? Like who was the, the main consumers of this mission control, which I want to call a war room, but I had a boss a couple, couple companies ago. Say she didn't like the word war room, so we called it something else, but I think we called it the peace room, but it really is like a command central.

So, who was, who was benefiting from this and who started to rely on it? 

[00:15:42] Rachel Frederick: Great question. So, by the way, it probably took me six months to even make my first hire on that team. I really wanted to understand where I sat, like what was the real need? What did that look like? Again, who, who were my customers and how could I really provide value?

I remember going to my, some of my first, um, business meetings, right, with, with, um, Gap Brand. And the VP of digital would hold these, these weekly hindsights, like we all retailers, we do. And, uh, I remember them saying, Oh, you know, Something happened over the weekend, um, and impacted business. And I knew what that something was because I had already looked into it, but I didn't see anything.

I was new here. And so after the meeting, I was like, Hey, by the way, here's what happened over the weekend. And quickly they were like, Oh, how did you know that? And who are you? And, and how, what, how could we have known earlier? Right. By the end of it, My customers, funny enough, my, I would say my number one customer were our consumers, our customers.

I wanted to know, oh, there's feedback coming in, um, customers are having an issue with this area of our funnel, and I have so many stories. An order is late, and, and, and they were waiting for this product, uh, this, this funnel. For school pictures, and there's a lot behind it. Um, and why it was important. Um, the father was in the military and the son wanted to wear a camouflage shirt for his school pictures and it was going to be late.

And the woman, the mother, um, wrote in and left feedback that it was late. And I remember reading that probably at midnight and immediately looked to find out why was it late? Could I figure out how to get it to her? And what did that look like? My number one customer was always our end customers. And I would make sure my team and the team I hired felt the same way.

The people that I actually hired that were some of my best hires, came from customer service because they knew how to service the customer. So that was my, my number one customer. Um, internally, my customers were absolutely the brands working with the brand GMs, the presidents, their CFOs. Um, and then of course the tech team as well.

It wasn't just to make sure the business was supported, but I wanted to make sure our tech team was supported so that they, you know, and the, and the two were talking to each other. Also, our product management team, when we, when we launched BOPUS, I remember, um, take rate was good, but, but I was expecting something else.

And it was faster for me to bring one of my, um, one person on my team and literally walk down to the store and do a quick check on inventory for BOPUS because I thought we had a problem. And it was faster to identify it that way, physically walking down there. Versus we didn't have the, the report or the alert set up.

Yep. Right. So then I could actually go back to the tech team and say, Hey, here's what I just identified by walking down to the store looked, and I need you to look to see if it's a bigger issue. So I would say, you know, the tech team was also, um, one of my customers as well. 

[00:18:45] Jay Topper: You know, I, uh, uh, when I worked at Vitacost, which is part of the Kroger company now, but before they were, this is, uh, I don't know, three tours of duty ago ago.

We had the big screens, uh, in the wall, and we actually tracked hourly sales, uh, based on expectations and historicals, and we called them blue bars. And if an hour went by and they were, you know, outside of tolerance, they would become red bars, and if they were way above, they would become green bars. And we also had the, the customer, you know, sentiment rolling through and tried it.

We weren't quite as formal as you were. But man, there is nothing more humbling than reading customer feedback, uh, both dissatisfiers for, you know, life changing events, just buying, like you said, a top or ordering flowers or some healthy food that they're ordering because of dietary restrictions down to this individual, you know, 100 AOV.

Very humbling. We also had a few instances where we had a coupon go viral and all of a sudden the blue bars would go green really fast. It's like, we shouldn't have double sales this hour, something's wrong. And we'd immediately, you know, go find that we had something viral on the other end too. But it's a mentality, right?

You get that mentality going in the company. Was this 365 days a year? Did this, these things run? 

[00:20:00] Rachel Frederick: 3, 4, 7, 365. Absolutely. And like I said, the first six months it was just me. And I'm not joking when I felt very, um, responsible and also interested. Like, I love this, right? Holiday, I live for holiday. The sense of urgency and really to understand who are my customers, what can I do, what does that look like?

And I wanted to make sure I got it right. And that's why it took me so long to identify Who I needed to hire, what skillset, and what did that look like. So it was just me, um, but I also felt like that really gave me, or allowed me to earn that clout that I needed to prove myself and to prove what this role was going to do and what it was going to look like, and the value that it added.

[00:20:46] Jay Topper: If you're in retail and you love retail, and I know you do, and I know I do, holiday, that's, that's where it's at. That's, that's showtime. That's like the Super Bowl. Even when things go wrong, the ability to pivot and to show that team, that operational mindset to pivot is, is super critical. And of course, KPIs have been a theme on this podcast and the importance of KPIs and not just looking at them a day or a week or a month in arrears, but looking at them as they happen.

So your brain. You can start to see things, you know, instead of trying to reconstruct something previously. So that's, that's really cool. And then before we get to your current role, I have a, uh, a C, CEO of mine at my, at my last company, uh, at Chico's, she was fond of saying retail is detail that, that everybody doesn't matter what level of the organization you're in, you need to understand the business, you need to get into the weeds, you need to under, you know, see what's happening in a performance.

And going back all the way from your ERP days when you had to do that, now all of a sudden you're at the gap and you're in a more senior role, but now you're not just understanding detail, but you're actually propagating that detail out to others and rising the tide so that all boats rise, you know, all boats, you know, lift with a rising tide.

And you're really in a leadership role now helping others see the value of this. And that's a compliment, but it's also a question is retail is detail, like getting into the weeds, no matter your role. Do you subscribe to that? 

[00:22:14] Rachel Frederick: A hundred percent. If you said 

[00:22:16] Jay Topper: zero percent, I was just going to say podcast over, we're done.

[00:22:19] Rachel Frederick: Um, I read customer feedback at night. If I feel like I'm, um, overwhelmed reading customer feedback. That is how I ground myself. It is a, yes, I have my financials that I'm, again, I wake up, um, it is, I'm in holiday. So, you know, we, you wake up at three 30 and you immediately check your numbers for yesterday.

I knew how I was tracking before I went to bed, but things can happen in three hours and I just want to make sure I'm still good. Right. So it is real time. It is understanding like where I'm at. But I do think that there are those other KPIs that, um, you know, maybe I'm not looking at all the time, every single day, but I do believe in understanding those weeds or getting in the details makes you a better leader.

Um, you know, you and I have talked a little bit, Jay, about, you know, who, who are the good leaders that I've had in my career and, and the why's, and, um, I will tell you that The people who have, you know, who stand out to me from like, well, they were a great leader. They were the ones who understood the weeds with me.

Maybe they weren't in the weeds all the time, but they understood. They weren't asking me to do something that they wouldn't do themselves because they, they knew the value that you were asked of what they were asking from me. And I just think it's important to support your team. You need to, you need to know those weeds.

You need to know those details. 

[00:23:39] Jay Topper: Some of the CEOs I've worked for, I've always been some, oftentimes, uh, with many of them amazed at the breadth of their capacity to go deep, you know, whether it's, you know, in merchandising and finance and e commerce and store operations and planning and allocation and design of product is like, no matter what the area, the most successful CEOs I've worked for.

Could go down into the detail and hang. So now we bring up to your current role, which is a brand, I won't show it again, but I did show you my 50th anniversary Sur La top dish towel because we're big fans of the brand. And I know the brand, you know, had a little bit of a roller coaster ride, but feels strong now.

And you have a role there, uh, that's, that's critical. So first of all, tell us about the role. 

[00:24:28] Rachel Frederick: Yeah, so, um, VP, GM of digital, the breadth of what I'm responsible for has definitely grown since I've been here. I'm responsible for not only our e com or direct to site team, But I'm also responsible for marketplace, paid performance marketing reports to me, CRM or loyalty reports to me, analytics, um, operations.

I have an operations team. Um, we also have a culinary operations team for our culinary business, and then we have a lawsuit. Uh, prevention team, um, fraud team that reports to me as well, and I'm responsible for Omni, right? So, you know, launching the Omni capabilities, which makes the stores, um, you know, my partner since I'm, uh, we're launching Omni, I need them to fulfill and makes them my customer because, um, I'm responsible for driving traffic into their stores since, since the marketing piece reports to me.

And they're a competitor, right? We're always fighting for those dollars. 

[00:25:23] Jay Topper: And tell me about the culinary program, because some of our audience might not realize what that is, and I love the, some of the, your explanation of that when we caught up before this. 

[00:25:33] Rachel Frederick: Yeah, you know, um, we have a culinary program where 90 percent of our stores have commercial kitchens.

We have resident chefs on staff, where you can take a culinary class from one of our chefs. You can learn to, um, cook something, bake something. We have date night classes. The cool thing is, though, not only are you learning from an actual, you know, chef, um, accredited chef, um, but you're also So, probably most likely using a product that you're interested in buying anyway.

So, you know, you're almost doing that, um, try before you buy in real life while you're actually making food that you can eat there. We also have kids camps where, you know, kids have an interest, um, in cooking and baking and, and we have camps that we run, uh, in spring, summer, and winter. Um, where kids can take three to five day, uh, camps at any given time.

[00:26:26] Jay Topper: That's really super cool. And it, it really brings a, you know, I think of buying a car and you go, you take a test ride, maybe a test ride, another one, then you buy a car. Here you're going into an hour or longer class to use, you know, a kitchen tool and learning how to use it right and how to be most effective with that tool, which is longer than sometimes you actually spend in a new car.

But that brings a whole different element of CX into play, right? When you're not just selling product and getting it out the door, but you're actually teaching people how to use that product by experts that their whole life is dedicated to nothing but that. Right. And is that, is that's got to be fun.

[00:27:05] Rachel Frederick: It's fun and definitely is what sets us apart in my opinion. Right? They are that authoritative voice. It's not, they're not, and I'm using air quotes, just a store associate. Although our store associates. Go through brand training and, and top notch, so love our store associates. The chefs, you know, know their stuff and, and again, it's their, their certified chefs, right?

They know what they're talking about. You're learning the right way. Um, you're getting their professional opinion on why they're, why they love something, how they use it. And, you know, when I think of my conversion rate online versus a store's conversion rate, I'm always trying to learn from them, whether it's, you know, product merchandising, which is obviously very different.

Um, but product merchandising, the way that you're talking about their product. Um, and the chefs. So I'm, you know, it's a big focus for me for the next really three year roadmap is I'm always thinking about how can I bring more of that chef authoritative voice into my online channels, um, just to drive that, that conversion, but really that understanding, get questions answered preemptively.

Um, yeah, so, so that's definitely what I'm trying to, to bring through, um, to my channels as well. Thank you. 

[00:28:23] Jay Topper: Yeah, and you just highlighted something else that's near and dear to my heart, having worked in Omnichannel, uh, uh, several, several gigs, is that having a digital first mentality, uh, when you think of Omnichannel or connected commerce, whatever anybody wants to call it today, it's not just bringing digital everywhere, it's learning from all the different channels and taking the best lessons of those, because I know when I was at Chico's, You know, learning what the store associates did and how they treated customers and how they recommended product.

And it's just so personal and it's so, you know, intimate that trying to breathe, bring some of that to life digitally can have a really big impact on conversion. So it's the sharing of this information that creates an omni ecosystem, not just shoving digital down, you know, digital commerce down everyone's throat.

Similarly, there's things that digital does, the way they measure their website. That in today's world with cameras and other things, you can start to get that real time transactional information inside of a store. So I love that sharing of, of, of best practices across all the different channels. When you look at AI and it's everywhere, right?

It's prevalent. And I don't really do dedicated AI conversations that often because it's, you know, there's especially in retail, I think there's a, a generally a, yes, it's coming. Yes, I believe. Yeah. But we're going to do things that make sense for our business and that are proven out and that are actually going to impact those outcomes.

So, it's a little bit, slightly more conservative than what the market is doing to prepare those tools. Where do you and your company look at AI and where some of those benefits can come from? 

[00:30:03] Rachel Frederick: Yeah, that's a great question. So, Sur Latop is owned by CSC Generations. CSC Generations, you know, private equity company who, is always looking to acquire companies that may need, um, financial or, or tech, you know, technical help, right?

They're in a bad spot. Um, CSE is very innovative in the way they think about things. AI is probably a backbone or, or definitely a main muscle that they flex a lot and the way they think about things. Having said all of that, right? It's really about, you know, we've been using AI without even you knowing it, right?

Machine learning. That's, that's the piece of AI, um, that we've been using for many years. Um, I have many years. And so I think when we talk about AI, it's really important. You know, product recommendations. What do we know about you propensity wise to know that we know you'll know what you like before you tell us, you know, what you're like or what you're looking for.

But really it's also about just efficiencies too. How can we be more efficient? Um, whether it's, you know, creating. Creative assets. How can we be more efficient and effective with that? Um, leveraging AI. So, I would say it's not necessarily a mandate or a go get, but rather it's a tool within our toolbox that we want to use as a company just to be more proficient and effective in the way that we operate.

Um, and the way that we think about what our customer wants and how can we deliver to them what they want in a very streamlined and efficient and effective way. 

[00:31:42] Jay Topper: And all the vendors you have in your portfolio are considering they should all have their individual AI story. So to your point, we're already using AI and ML, and it's just getting up to educate and the, the, the people that are using that product that you have a story.

I don't always do a shameless plug, but I will here. I is. We're big at fabric into operational excellence when it comes to AI, and that is not so much focusing 100 percent on the customer experience because we don't build front ends, but on the things in order management, product catalog, drop ship that give the users inside the company, you know, give them information and predictions, uh, where they can make changes inside, you know, the sort of the systems that run commerce.

And make it a lot easier and faster and more intelligent to bring operational excellence. You know, we look at Amazon, it's not just about two day shipping, but they do everything so well. So how can we adjust our products to do, do really well? If you look at Sur La Table and you, you look out over the next year or two, what do you think the biggest opportunity is?

And what do you think the biggest challenge is? From your seat or from the company's seat, really any way you want to frame it. 

[00:32:52] Rachel Frederick: From my seat, like I said, I talk a lot and I think a lot about. Um, the culinary piece and what does that look like? How does it show up in my business? We do, I know, online culinary, but it's really the in store and the chefs that I really want to pull through, um, my channels.

You know, you walk into a store and there are so many Sensories, that you're seeing a demo, you're hearing conversations, you're visually getting inspiration, um, because of the way something's merchandised, right? Um, you're smelling the kitchen, right? If anyone out there has technology that is scratch and sniff online, hit me up.

But I'm really trying to identify what those, um, opportunities are and bring them online. Last year, I launched a digital brand specialist, flew some of our resident chefs in, um, to HQ, and we recorded a hundred short videos, product videos, where the chefs were demoing and talking about the product and why they like it.

And we've seen great results from that. And again, it was just, again, the in store learning and bringing it online. And I want to do more of that. You know, I do have conversations with my stores team and I say, Hey, what's plaguing you? What's going on? Where's your friction? And even if it's, Oh, how can we get our store associates, um, trained quicker, right?

Well, that's going to benefit me as well, um, for all the reasons we've talked about before. And so I'm always looking for ways to unlock opportunities, whether that's in store or online with my partners or for myself, um, looking for those unlocks. And Jay, it gets back to the operational piece. Right?

Doesn't it? Yeah. The end of the day, right? Um, so that's definitely. And breaking, 

[00:34:31] Jay Topper: and breaking down the silos that you broke down as well. Absolutely. If, if you don't have silos and you're all rowing in the same direction, magic can happen. 

[00:34:39] Rachel Frederick: And it does. And that's exactly, um, how we are operating. Yes, we have a P& L where we're, we're responsible for our own P& Ls, but I'm happy to say, like, this is, this is a team that we have that truly is.

You know, has broken down the silos. 

[00:34:56] Jay Topper: That's fantastic. And I will say when I go into a store and when I walk by a Sur La Top store, we walk in, my wife and I walk in no matter what, and we usually break apart because different things interest us. Not only is it visually appealing and some of the displays and the merchandising looks really cool and appealing, but But you can talk to an associate and sometimes you don't necessarily know the tool you're looking for, but you know what you want to be able to do.

Like, Hey, I want to be able to make soup on my stove top, but I also want to be able to cook a roast in the oven with the same thing. What, what do you got? And they all are, it's like Home Depot for crying out loud. They're all very knowledgeable of the product and that's, and that, and that's what you need in the store.

And that's what needs to come across online. You know to answer people's questions because they don't always know what they're looking for. 

[00:35:46] Rachel Frederick: Absolutely. 

[00:35:47] Jay Topper: Yep. All right So you you've had an awesome career. We have all these awesome synergies and If you were talking to a director, uh that that you don't know assume there's you know 30 50 that'll listen to this podcast and you had to give a word of advice or two or a couple sentences of advice of Hey, in retail, how do you get, you know, how do you elevate yourself?

What are the most important traits or the best, you know, piece of advice you could give a director or a manager that want, that has ambition to, to, to elevate within the organization or another organization? What would you tell them? 

[00:36:26] Rachel Frederick: I think it is so important to ask questions and I think a great leader understands the difference between someone asking questions and being questioned.

Don't be afraid to ask questions. You, you know, stay curious. Learn, understand what happens before you and what happens after you. Where are you in the chain or in the cycle? And understand the decisions that you're making and how it impacts others, right? I, I believe in all that. And number one, though, if I can say anything, it is be a customer.

Be your customer, be an advocate for your customer, do right by your customer, and it will absolutely show up in your business results, um, your net promoter score, right? Your customers are going to be happy, um, but always keep that lens of, of doing what's right for the customer. 

[00:37:21] Jay Topper: Yeah, I don't think, uh, I think everybody would benefit from reading customer feedback as it comes in live, uh, Regardless of what role you're in, uh, I think that's incredibly powerful.

All right, Rachel Frederick, I had a distinct pleasure spending the last 30 or 40 minutes with you. I knew it was going to be fun. I've been looking forward to it, uh, after we had our, our pre call. And, and all the brands you've worked for that I have a, uh, a place in my heart for many of them. So, thank you very much for joining us, I appreciate it, and I hope you have a great day.

[00:37:52] Rachel Frederick: Thank you. Thanks so much, Jay.

[00:37:58] Jay Topper: Well, that was an awesome episode of Chiefly Digital with Rachel Frederick, and when I look back on our conversation, there's a few key takeaways that I have summarized and would like to share. Um, And right from the words of Rachel Frederick, number one is that know your business and get into the details of your business and not just the function you manage, but when you hear about her ERP background, getting to know the manufacturing processes, the financials, The more you can know how your business operates, the better.

Number two, curiosity. Big fan at Chiefly Digital on the concept of asking questions, being fearless, and learning, continually learning. Eventually that creates a culture of everyone wanting to learn. And the silos get broken down. And the third one is not just know your customer, but walk in your customer's shoes, be a customer, read what your customers are saying.

Sometimes it's joyous and sometimes it hurts your heart, but to really understand and empathize with your customer. So, just a great background, great experience Rachel has. We really appreciate it. That's it for this episode of Chiefly Digital. You can find us on YouTube, on Spotify, on Apple, and on LinkedIn.

Thank you. And we'll see you the next episode.