Retail technology team members, and the many who benefit from their efforts, have reasons to celebrate as they achieved an incredible milestone the week of July 8 by adding their 300th store to RORC as an AFS supported point of sale.
“The continued growth shows the commitment by RORC to stay ahead of the never ending demands and advancements we are seeing within our membership and a key indicator to the AFS technology team that provides services for all in-store technologies that we continue to meet the demands of our customers.,” said Chad Cameron, vice president of information technology at AFS. “It’s amazing to see what we can accomplish when we all come together.” The journey to achieving this goal involved many late nights and early mornings, showcasing the team’s commitment to implementing technology tools that benefit member retailers and their guests.
The milestone store, Castle Mountain Grocery in Montana, marks a significant achievement in the rollout of the latest RORC version. The first store to have RORC installed was Whites Market in West Yellowstone, Montana in 1996, demonstrating the long-term commitment and evolution of this technology within the company.
RORC version 7 represents a significant technological advancement for these stores, offering new capabilities that enhance the customer experience during the checkout process. The retail technology team’s achievement goes beyond mere numbers; it directly impacts the customers in these stores. Guests can now enjoy quicker and more efficient checkouts, making their shopping experience smoother and more enjoyable. The improved speed is also a great benefit to the cashiers as they strive to help customers during the checkout process.
The team’s accomplishment underscores the critical role technology plays in today’s retail landscape, where speed and efficiency are paramount. As they continue to make great progress toward updating all stores, the retail technology team’s success is a shining example of what can be achieved when a team sets a goal and works relentlessly to accomplish it. Their achievement is not only a win for the team but also a win for the customers who will benefit every time they shop.
“Seeing this picture of Rick Devine brings back some good memories of the early days of AFS with RORC,” said Garth Horton, IT Sr. Tech Training Specialist. “Rick, who was the president of RORC and head developer at the time. The first operating system for the POS lanes was Windows 3.11, and the first back-office system, RORC DB, ran off a Progress database. I remember a bunch of us sitting in the office at Whites Market Place with our laptops open, building their item file from scratch. Others would grab products off the shelf and bring them back to us while we added the item UPC and other information. We had to do this for every item in the store because we didn’t have an item file from another store to start with. The store was transitioning from non-scanning to scanning, so the rest of the team was there hanging tags with prices on them. It was quite an adventure for sure.”
RORC 7 is now running in all nine states serviced by Associated Food Stores, and the team has doubled its RORC locations since 2004. This widespread implementation showcases the extensive reach and impact of the technological improvements, benefiting a vast number of stores and customers across multiple states.