Meet Juan Castillo, Product Manager at Mercadona Tech

Juan Castillo (ex-McKinsey) is a member of the Product Management team at Mercadona Tech. He is always on the go. Not easy to find a free slot in his calendar.

Before our conversation, he mentioned that he would be visiting Colmena, working in our office in Valencia, and traveling to Madrid to catch up with our team there in the same week. A usual schedule for someone in a Product Manager role. However, talking to Juan, one can see that he feels engaged and embraces the ownership of the Product he develops. He admits that the opportunity he got at Mercadona Tech is not usual.

Not every day you can impact so many people’s lives, creating the new reality of online grocery shopping countrywide.

What are the most valuable skills of a Product Manager?

I would say it’s a combination of hard and soft skills, and a lot of common sense. You must actively listen to your customers, team, and other stakeholders. It is the key to understanding customer needs (not necessarily what they want!) without losing the business perspective to ultimately provide value to the company.

It can often be a challenge, with the additional constraint of having limited time and resources — that ́s why prioritization is essential. You decide between what customers need and what is feasible, maximizing that benefit-cost ratio. I would say finding a balance is the essence of this role.

What brought you into Product Management? Have you got inspired by someone?

I would say a sum of coincidences. I’ve always had a passion for technology and the work done by Big Tech companies. During my engineering degree, I tried to learn everything I could about software development and data science, hoping to start my career in that sector. However, I ended up working in Management Consulting instead, influenced by relatives who told me that gaining knowledge in business would be a beneficial asset for my future… which I don’t regret doing.

The Product Manager role requires technical and business skills, and I found myself quite comfortable with that mix. The role is a constant challenge, and I love it.

In terms of inspiration, Big Tech companies in the US and their working methodologies always fascinated me, and I think they have set a standard that companies from other regions are still struggling to adopt. In Spain, I got the chance to meet Jose Ramón Perez Agüera, who convinced me to join the product team at Mercadona Tech and from whom I learned the “american” way of product development. He is a reference in the sector and was very lucky to learn from him. After joining Mercadona Tech, I was able to really appreciate its culture, approach to technology, and, most importantly, its People.

In Product Management, solving problems is a daily struggle. What are your favorite tools or methods of working?

At Mercadona Tech, we work with Agile. I know it is a broad concept (sometimes misused), but in our case, it consists of learning and iterating fast to provide value as soon as possible. We usually work in two-week-long sprints, that allows us to keep the focus on the most critical features and stay aligned as a team. Also, having efficient communication and working in small autonomous teams facilitates that agility.

We use Jira for daily progress, Notion as a repository to share key learnings and analysis, Metabase/BigQuery/Python for data analysis and dashboards, and my personal favorite, Slack, to communicate with each other. I appreciate the fewer emails I get working at Mercadona Tech.

What made you choose to work at Mercadona Tech?

With no doubt the possibility of having a real impact on the project I work on. Online groceries are a growing market with many challenges, and having the chance to be part of it is quite an opportunity. Mercadona Tech is a rare case where you get the best of both worlds: a big company´s (Mercadona) support and the agility of a startup.

What is the best and most challenging thing about your role at Mercadona Tech?

My favorite part of working here is the autonomy you get. Each team gets to decide on its objectives and how to achieve them.

One of my biggest learnings from being a Product Manager is that keeping everyone happy is tough. You need to get used to it and choose the best for the business. There is no perfect product decision, and you make numerous trade-offs that will only satisfy some stakeholders. You need to think about the business outcome and long-term vision rather than immediate positive results.

What impact do you have in the expansion/growth of the project currently?

My “Organization” team aims to ensure the warehouse and delivery workforce of Mercadona Tech is sized to meet the demand, giving the best possible service to customers in an efficient way so that the business is profitable.
Given that labor is the second highest cost after COGS and has increased in the last years due to inflation and salary policy, it is crucial to have excellent workforce management to keep the business profitable and sustainable in the long term.

What is your team’s main focus right now?

I would divide it into two main areas: On one hand, we are working on demand forecasting and resource planning at a year level to have a stable workforce despite fluctuations in demand (thanks to a good distribution of workers’ days off and working hours). This reduces last-minute hiring or idleness that can seriously hurt efficiency and working experience.

On the other hand, we are developing internal tools to have more traceability and control of the personnel’s daily organization and tasks. The aim is to reduce administrative tasks and make better decisions on resource planning thanks to having quality data.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to become a Product Manager?

It ́s a position where things change constantly; you must be open-minded and eager to learn and face new challenges. You will be a connector between various parts of the business and will need to rely on data to support your decisions. Never be shy of asking when a problem is unclear and questioning how things are done.

Juan, what´s your favorite read and podcast?

Book: INSPIRED: How to Create Tech Products Customers Love by Marty Cagan

Podcast: Decoder with Nilay Patel

Thank you for your time, Juan! I really appreciate it!