Imagine running a 79-year-old jewelry chain and not even knowing how long it takes to ship an online order. That was Reeds Jewelers — until their new CIO, Arthur Phidd, showed up and said: “We’re fixing this mess!”
📉 Before:
- Online and in-store = totally disconnected
- Customer data scattered like glitter in a hurricane
- No one knew what was working… or what wasn’t 😬
💡 Enter: the “Center of Excellence for Data & Decision Support”
Basically a nerdy Avengers team using Qlik Sense to unleash data superpowers 💻⚡
💥 First win?
They found out online orders were secretly draining in-store inventory — leaving real customers empty-handed. 😱 Solution: fix inventory flow → boom 💣 better service, happier customers, fewer angry calls.
📦 Then they noticed something weird...
📦 People from South Africa, Colombia, Canada, and the UK were placing orders through Amazon!
So they quiet-launched an international site — no marketing, no buzz… and it still made $250,000+. 💸💸
But wait — it wasn’t all smooth sailing.
Employees were like: “Is this data stuff going to replace me?!” 😨
Arthur said: “Nope. It’s here to help you, not fire you.”
He used John Kotter’s change management playbook like a Jedi uses the Force.
🎯 Now they’re going FULL AI:
- Smart dashboards ✔️
- Cybersecurity powered by machine learning ✔️
- Real-time store associate recommendations ✔️
- AI that whispers “Hey, she’s a VIP, offer her a diamond cleaning!” 💎🧠
Reeds isn’t just selling rings — they’re using data to predict love stories 💖📊