Jul. 9 at 4:08 PM
$SBUX to use AI to create tools which could replace software packages from
$MSFT $IBM &
$ORCL
Starbucks is building alternatives to a Microsoft system for inventory tracking, an IBM tool for asset maintenance mgmt & POS system to replace Oracle Simphony (barristas have been working on this POS replacement for several years)
Some of the internally developed software could launch by the end of next year, subject to testing results
CTO: "There's clear opportunities to reduce the spend in software"
Starbucks spends
$400M annually on software - the move is part of a broader turnaround effort to cut
$2B in costs
Starbucks enterprise tech team is on track to reduce its budget by
$30M this year - this includes cutting
$10M in software spending & saving another
$13M mostly by reducing contractors from professional services firms
Starbucks has been encouraging tech workers to use AI, including factoring usage into their bonuses
Starbucks primarily partners w/ Microsoft Azure as its foundational cloud hyperscaler to power its global AI & data infrastructure. Azure acts as the core infrastructure for Deep Brew, Starbucks' proprietary enterprise AI engine. Azure connects retail IoT data (like smart espresso machines), predictive analytics, & backend mgmt tool
$AMZN AWS powers the Starbucks Digital Flywheel, handling massive real-time scale for the mobile app, ordering pipelines, & customer reward accounts
Computer-vision AI inventory tracking tools (historically backed by 3rd-party partnerships like NomadGo) were recently discontinued after frontline baristas found them prone to errors in messy, fast-paced store environments
