Hy-Vee Wins 3 Tech Awards
Hy-Vee Inc. has received three technology awards from the Technology Association of Iowa at the organization’s annual Prometheus Awards ceremony. Hy-Vee was honored in the following categories: CEO of the Year, Creative Technology Solution of the Year and Software Development Technology Company of the Year.
The Prometheus Awards recognize individuals and companies influencing Iowa’s nearly $11 billion technology industry.
Randy Edeker, Hy-Vee’s chairman, CEO and president, received the CEO of the Year award for his inspirational leadership and innovation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Under Edeker’s guidance, Hy-Vee added enhancements to its Aisles Online grocery ordering service, created a digital COVID-19 vaccination scheduler, launched virtual dietitian services, introduced Hy-Vee Scan & Go mobile payment, among other actions to help make customers’ lives easier and safer during the height of the public-health crisis. Edeker also ensured that Hy-Vee offered new benefits to its associates.
Hy-Vee also received the Creative Technology Solution of the Year award for its digital COVID-19 vaccination scheduler, which gives patients a quick, easy and efficient way to arrange COVID-19 vaccination appointments. This solution was key to helping Hy-Vee become an early COVID-19 vaccine provider through the Federal Retail Pharmacy program, which has enabled the grocer to administer more than 2 million COVID-19 vaccinations across its eight-state market area.
Hy-Vee additionally took home the Software Development Technology Company of the Year award for such cutting-edge technology solutions as improvements to its Aisles Online grocery ordering service like adding a grocery payment option for SNAP/EBT customers, adjusting its time-slot strategy to enable more online grocery orders and deploying new order fulfillment software to simplify order fulfillment.
“Technology is paving the path forward at Hy-Vee and is intertwined in every aspect of our operations,” asserted Casey Decker, Hy-Vee’s EVP and president of digital media. “Over the past several years, we have heavily focused on attracting the best tech employees to our company so we can continue to provide creative solutions that will make our customers’ lives easier, healthier and happier, both during a pandemic and beyond. Our investment in top talent has kept our company at the forefront of digital innovation, and these awards certainly reiterate the importance of the work we are doing.”
Employee-owned Hy-Vee has a team of more than 86,000 employees and operates more than 285 retail stores across eight Midwestern states, with sales of $12 billion annually and more than 91,000 employees. The West Des Moines, Iowa-based company is No. 34 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2021 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America.
