OPERATIONS / SUPPLY CHAIN

St. Louis - Panera Bread has unveiled a series of integrated technologies to enhance the customer experience at its restaurants. The new “Panera 2.0” initiative brings together new capabilities for digital ordering, payment, operations and consumption for patrons who choose to eat in as well as for those who order to go. In test for several years, the solution is now live in 14 of the chain’s locations and is slated to be deployed in nearly all locations over the next 36 months.

Bentonville, Ark. – Wal-Mart will carry Wild Oats organic food items later in April with a new, more affordable price point on products covering a broad variety of categories. Wal-Mart estimates customers will save 25% or more when comparing Wild Oats to national brand organic products.

Boca Raton, Fla. -- Office Depot Inc. has been named to the 15th annual list of America’s Top Corporations for Women’s Business Enterprises (WBEs) by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC). This marks the 12th year that Office Depot has been named to the list.

Salt Lake City -- Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne has relinquished his role as chairman of the company. In other moves, co-president Stormy Simon was named president of the online discount retailer.

Byrne will continue to serve as CEO, while current executive vice chairman Jonathan Johnson assumes the chairman responsibilities Byrnes has held since 2006.

Atlanta -- Miller Zell has named James Warner VP of digital innovation, responsible for driving integrated experiences, digital brand engagements and relevant technology solutions into the overall shopper journey.

Previously Warner worked with W3 Design, Momentum Worldwide and Moxie Interactive, where he led consumer-centric design and technology development for tier one retailers and global brands such as Coca-Cola, Nokia, Verizon, Red Bull North America, American Express, 20th Century Fox and Nike.

Minneapolis -- Target Corp. is introducing “Made to Matter – Handpicked by Target.” The collection brings together 17 natural, organic and sustainable brands to introduce new products.

Los Angeles – The board of directors of Guess Inc. has appointed Joseph Gromek, increasing the number of directors to seven and bringing the total number of independent directors to five. Gromek will also serve on the Compensation and Nominating and Governance Committees of the board.

Dallas – Paragon Software Systems Inc., a provider of vehicle routing and scheduling optimization solutions, is introducing Paragon HDS (Home Delivery System) to the U.S. market. Paragon HDS is designed to enable home delivery and home service companies to offer more accurate delivery times while improving fleet efficiency.