Do it Best Group has received the Northeast Indiana Innovation Community’s 2026 Mark Michael and NEI Innovative Company of the Year Award, recognizing its development of practical technology that helps independent retailers complete and grow.
Presented as part of the Northeast Indiana Innovation Community’s annual Innovation@Work awards, the honor celebrates companies using innovation to drive growth and strengthen the region. For Fort Wayne-based Do it Best Group, that work includes developing artificial intelligence tools, expanding access to retail business insights and creating new ways for locally owned stores to connect with customers.
Among those tools is HardwareIQ, an AI-powered solution developed in-house by Do it Best Group.
Recently previewed at the Do it Best and True Value Fall Market in Indianapolis, HardwareIQ is designed to help store associates quickly access product and project information, strengthening their knowledge and supporting the personal service customers expect from their local hardware store.
Do it Best Group is also expanding the ways members can use their own business data. Retail Pulse, available to Do it Best and True Value members with compatible point-of-sale systems, provides greater visibility into store performance. Expanded capabilities introduced at Fall Market include SKU-level analysis to help retailers identify opportunities in pricing, assortment, margin and inventory productivity. Members can use those insights to make practical decisions about the products they carry and how they sell them.
Looking ahead, Do it Best Group is developing a loyalty and ecommerce mobile app planned for early 2027 that will extend the local store experience to customers’ phones. Planned capabilities include product search, real-time availability, rewards, purchase history, fulfillment options and mobile payments. A Best Rewards app will give independently branded stores access to the same capabilities while preserving their own store identities.
“Technology creates value when it helps a member serve a customer, make a better decision or capture a sale,” said Ken Widner, chief information officer at Do it Best Group. “Our responsibility is to make these capabilities easier for our members to adopt, use, and scale with confidence. By combining practical tools with the guidance of our team, we put the strength of our co-op and our brands to work for independent retailers.”
Helping retailers adopt new technology is another part of the company’s approach. An all-new Innovation Hub at Fall Market offered live demonstrations and access to company experts, giving members an opportunity to ask questions and explore how the tools could fit into their daily operations. Do it Best Group gives independently owned businesses access to shared resources and technology while preserving the local ownership, identity and personal service that distinguish their stores.
“I’m incredibly proud of the people behind this work. This award belongs to the team that keeps challenging what’s possible, experimenting with new ideas, and turning those ideas into something useful,” said Widner.
Through that work, Do it Best Group connects its investment in innovation with its broader purpose: helping independent businesses build stronger operations and serve their communities.
