This month Sainsbury’s launched a digital lab hackathon; bringing together its IT team and staff from the wider organisation to improve customer service.
The digital lab was developed earlier in the year to house 180 developers and designers to work on technology for in-store and online use.
Employees across the country submitted ideas for systems that would fix a problem or improve customer-facing services.
Digital and technology director for Sainsbury’s, John Rudoe, said: “It’s an example of a real change and transformation of how we make technology.
“Often we think IT is just the team down the corridor that nobody every goes to visit. This is a change to create something new and diverse.”
The teams included a range of developers and user-interface designers developing digital products for the Sainsbury’s brand.
Rudoe said the products used might not necessarily be implemented but the event was designed to drive transformational thinking for its staff.
Head of digital experience at Sainsbury’s, Charlotte Briscall, said: “Sainsbury’s was very traditional. We needed to create a space where everyone could be co-located. It was all about creating a flexible space for people to work how they wanted.
“It’s about bringing the new and the old together.”