AO brings in Jasmin Allott as Director of Enterprise Platforms and ERP
Online electricals retailer, AO, has hired Jasmin Allott as Director of Enterprise Platforms and ERP.
In the newly created role, Allott will work with the pureplay’s 300 strong, in-house tech team to deliver digital transformation across the AO Group, including the implementation of a global ERP system.
She joins from advertising and marketing specialist, dentsu international, where she served as Director of Technology - Business Platforms.
She says: “I couldn’t resist the opportunity to join a business at such a pivotal time in its journey. I’ve been impressed with AO’s journey to date, I am excited to help as we move forward into this next chapter.”
AO’s Director of Group IT, Carl Phillips, comments: “We are thrilled Jasmin has agreed to join the team and at such an exciting time for the business.”
“Over the last 12 months, customers have experienced a better way to shop for electricals and with Jasmin’s wealth of experience, we look forward to continuing to drive innovation through our tech team.”
RTIH Innovation Awards
AO was recently named Most Innovative Pureplay at the 2020 RTIH Innovation Awards.
The category rounded up tech deployments, pilots etc to decide which e-tailer was the most consistently forward thinking and customer centric in 2020.
AO impressed our judging panel by partnering with Tesco to launch its first ever physical retail experience. It is working on five store-within-a-store concepts as part of a six-month pilot with the grocery giant.
Also last year, it expanded its logistics operation and went on a recruitment drive as sales rocketed during the coronavirus outbreak.
Tiffany Lung, Retail Analyst, commented: “It’s a good move to expand its online presence with a store-in-store concept with Tesco as a means to also counter the Argos/Sainsbury’s venture.”
Whilst Luke Phillips, Programme Director, Studio Retail, observed: “AO recognise that the most innovative thing they could do was stop being a pureplay.”
“In some categories clever digital tools can only go so far to fill the experiential gap. By choosing the right partner and keeping the scale appropriate they have expanded their market at low risk.”
An AO spokesperson said: “In a challenging year, everyone here has worked so hard to deliver the best possible experience for customers and it’s rewarding to see our achievements recognised by the judges.”
“Over the past 20 years, we have built both successful infrastructure and a passionate team which meant that we could support customers and provide a lifeline during the unprecedented situation.”
They added: “We really invested in our operation during 2020, growing our logistics network, introducing new technology and creating hundreds of jobs.”
“Everyone has seen the huge potential of online retail over the past year and we’re looking forward to discovering more innovative ways to impress our customers in 2021.”
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