Elly Yates-Roberts |
British food-to-go chain Greggs has deployed a ‘click and collect’ pick-up method at its stores using Microsoft Azure Active Directory (AD) External Identities.
Before the Covid-19 pandemic impacted the daily operations of retailers and hospitality firms worldwide, Greggs had a complex and disparate network of IT systems in place.
“Multiple systems meant that our customers couldn’t use the same account across all of our systems,” said Tim Fieldsend, lead digital architect at Greggs. “As part of our mission to be the customers’ favourite for food on-the-go, we’re aspiring to break new ground and deliver an industry-leading digital experience that complements and enhances our in-store experience.”
The chain already provided customers with a range of digital experiences, including a loyalty programme accessible through its mobile and web apps. However, to meet the growing needs of its customers and adapt to the challenges created by Covid-19, the Greggs IT team decided to implement its ‘Click + Collect’ capability, using Azure AD External Identities.
“We wanted a lot of flexibility to use different tools for multi-factor authentication and a range of SMS providers so that we could deeply customise the customer experience, making it seamless,” said Fieldsend. “The goal was for it to feel native regardless of the platform, like all of our digital experiences. Azure AD External Identities was the best choice for our complex migration. It offers fantastic value. Besides being flexible and powerful tooling, it’s very cost-effective.”
Since working on the collaboration, Greggs has now implemented the solution in more than 2,000 of its stores. “The pandemic ignited an ongoing atmosphere of change in the digital world,” said Geraint Evans, head of digital at Greggs. “We’ve invested in world-class talent at Greggs. The other part of our strategy to lead in our industry is forming close ties with a technology company that can support us through a time of accelerating change and help us achieve our innovation ambitions, even with millions of customer identities to protect. That’s why we appreciate Microsoft.”