The $4 trillion U.S. retail market thrives on convenience, per a 2024 NRF report, but clunky online-to-store processes can frustrate customers and strain workers, costing retailers billions. A single delayed pickup can lose a sale and trust. One innovator is fixing this. Sandeep Reddy Gundla, a Lead Software Engineer at Macy’s Inc., re-architected the store fulfillment platform, cutting delays by 50% and making shopping smoother for millions.
Retail fulfillment, bridging online orders to physical stores, is complex. A 2023 Deloitte study notes that 70% of fulfillment issues stem from disconnected systems, slowing pickups and overburdening staff. As e-commerce grows, retailers like Macy’s, with $24 billion in revenue, need seamless systems to keep customers happy and stores efficient, from Atlanta’s suburbs to New York’s flagship.
Imagine Lucy, an Atlanta mom, racing to Macy’s after work. Her daughter needs a dress for a school event tomorrow. She ordered her daughter’s dress online for in-store pickup, but fears a long wait. At the store, her order is ready in minutes, the scanner beeping crisply. Priya sighs in relief, her evening saved. Or consider Frank, a Macy’s colleague, whose dashboard tracks orders in real time, easing his hectic shift. These are the lives Sandeep Reddy Gundla’s work touches, streamlining retail for customers and workers alike.
Overcoming retail hurdles
Sandeep grew up in India, watching his family navigate crowded markets for last-minute needs. Their joy at quick service inspired him to simplify shopping. With a Master’s in Computing and Information Systems from Youngstown State University and 15 years in Software Engineering, he joined Macy’s in Atlanta in 2021, driving its digital transformation. “I see Lucy’s rush, Frank’s effort,” he says. “Technology should make their days easier.”
Sandeep faced a challenge: Macy’s fulfillment system was fragmented, with legacy platforms slowing Buy Online, Pickup in Store (BOPS), Ship to Home (STH), Buy Online, Ship to Store (BOSS), Curbside, and Locker pickups. Customers like Lucy faced delays; colleagues like Frank juggled errors. A sluggish system could cost Macy’s millions in lost sales. Sandeep’s solution was a re-architected Store Fulfillment Orchestration Platform, integrating APIs, dashboards, and locker systems to speed orders. By connecting stores and shoppers, he kept Macy’s thriving.
Building a seamless flow
Sandeep’s platform is a digital bridge, moving orders from click to pickup in minutes. Built with Spring Boot microservices on Google Cloud Platform (GCP), it uses APIs to sync inventory, orders, and locker systems like Luxer. Real-time dashboards, coded in React, let associates like Frank track tasks. Hosted with Kubernetes and Terraform, it ensures reliability across 500 stores. By streamlining fulfillment, it delivers orders to Lucy and eases Frank’s workload, keeping stores humming.
Impact that resonates
The platform’s impact is transformative. At Macy’s, it reduced fulfillment SLA breaches by 50%, per internal data, ensuring timely pickups. Colleague task efficiency rose 30%, freeing staff for customer service. With retailers losing $50 billion annually to fulfillment issues, per NRF, Sandeep’s work saved millions in revenue. For Lucy, it meant grabbing her daughter’s dress without stress; her smile lit up the store. For Frank, clearer dashboards cut his overtime, letting him coach his son’s soccer team.
In Atlanta’s Buckhead, Macy’s stores anchor malls, supporting 5,000 jobs, per local reports. Lucy’s quick pickup fuels nearby cafes; Frank’s efficiency draws loyal shoppers. Across 500 stores, the platform handles 10 million annual transactions, per Macy’s data, boosting communities. Nationally, it supports a 15% rise in omnichannel retail, per a 2024 Deloitte study, making shopping faster and stores stronger.
Technical details
The platform’s core is its agility. Sandeep’s Spring Boot microservices, hosted on GCP, process 50,000 daily orders, per internal metrics. REST APIs sync inventory with Luxer lockers, achieving 98% uptime, per project data. React dashboards update in real-time, cutting errors by 40%. Kubernetes scales services, while Terraform automates deployments, meeting PCI compliance. GitHub Copilot, integrated by Sandeep, boosted coding speed by 20%, per team records, ensuring rapid delivery.
Sandeep’s expertise shaped this. His AT&T work on microservices honed his cloud skills; at Vanguard, he mastered secure APIs. His SAFe and Azure certifications guided agile delivery, while retail insights from Macy’s stores tailored the platform to real needs. His mentorship of 10 engineers, noted in reviews, ensured team alignment, making the platform a retail benchmark.
Shaping retail’s future
Sandeep’s platform sets a standard. Adopted across Macy’s, per internal feedback, it was praised at a 2024 NRF summit for omnichannel excellence, aligning with Gartner’s push for real-time retail. By mentoring engineers often over coffee in Atlanta, he’s building future leaders. Per project notes, his AI pilot for colleague performance promises smarter workforce management. His work drives jobs in retail hubs, with IDC noting a 12% rise in retail tech employment.
Sandeep’s leadership bolsters Macy’s $24 billion empire. By aligning tech with customer needs, he secured vendor trust, per team records, driving partnerships. His workshops upskilled 50 colleagues, sparking innovation. At community events, he shares retail insights, echoing his roots. As omnichannel grows, his platform is a model for speed and trust.
Sandeep’s path from Indian markets to Atlanta’s tech scene fuels his drive. He sees Lucy in his sister’s rush, Frank in his own team’s grit. His platform doesn’t just move orders; it saves time, builds trust, and powers retail’s heart.
A future of ease
As AI and cloud reshape retail, Sandeep Reddy Gundla’s vision expands. His platform could predict order surges, making pickups instant. By centering people in Lucy’s busy life, Frank’s steady shift proves tech can do more than process orders; it creates joy. In a retail-driven world, his work ensures stores thrive, shoppers smile, and communities grow, from Atlanta’s malls to global markets, powering a seamless tomorrow.
