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Do it Best Group received the 2026 Mark Michael and NEI Innovative Company of the Year Award for technology initiatives aimed at helping independent hardware retailers. Its cited projects include the HardwareIQ AI tool, expanded Retail Pulse analytics and mobile apps in development, including one scheduled for early 2027.
Do it Best Group, the Fort Wayne-based hardware cooperative, received the 2026 Mark Michael and NEI Innovative Company of the Year Award from the Northeast Indiana Innovation Community. The award recognizes the company’s technology work for independent hardware retailers, including artificial intelligence tools, retail data analysis and mobile applications.
The award was presented through the Innovation@Work awards, an annual program recognizing companies that use innovation to support business growth in northeast Indiana. The reported award citation focused on Do it Best Group’s development of tools intended to help its member retailers make decisions and serve customers. The report does not provide further details about the selection process or other candidates.
One cited initiative is HardwareIQ, an internally developed AI tool designed to help store associates find product and project information. Do it Best Group previewed the technology at its Do it Best and True Value Fall Market in Indianapolis. The source describes its intended use, but does not specify when it will be broadly available or how it will be integrated into member stores.
The company has also expanded Retail Pulse, a platform that gives Do it Best and True Value members with compatible point-of-sale systems information about store performance. New capabilities introduced at the Fall Market include SKU-level analysis of pricing, assortments, margins and inventory productivity. Do it Best Group is developing a loyalty and e-commerce app, scheduled for early 2027, with planned product searches, real-time inventory availability, rewards, purchase histories, fulfillment options and mobile payments. A separate Best Rewards app is intended to offer similar capabilities to independently branded stores.
Technology Aimed at Independent Retail
The recognition places attention on a practical challenge for independent hardware stores: adopting digital tools while retaining local ownership and a distinct store identity. Product information, inventory visibility and sales analysis can inform day-to-day decisions, but the award itself does not establish that the tools have improved retailer performance or customer outcomes.
For members, the proposed apps could bring shopping, rewards and payment features into a mobile channel, while Retail Pulse’s additional SKU-level data could give participating stores more detailed views of products and margins. Those potential benefits depend on availability, adoption and how useful the features prove in practice. The company says its initiatives are designed to help members improve operations without giving up their local identities.
The award also signals that technology development is part of Do it Best Group’s strategy for supporting its retailer network. The company’s Innovation Hub at the Fall Market gave members a place to see demonstrations and speak with staff about implementation. That support may matter to smaller retailers that need guidance as well as software, although the report does not detail the resources or services offered.
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Tools Shown at the Fall Market
Do it Best Group serves independent retailers through the Do it Best and True Value banners. The report identifies the Fall Market in Indianapolis as the setting for demonstrations and announcements related to several of the projects cited for the award. It does not give the market’s exact dates.
The initiatives are at different stages. HardwareIQ was previewed, Retail Pulse received added analytical capabilities, and the loyalty and e-commerce app remains in development with an early 2027 target. The company also introduced the Innovation Hub at the 2026 Fall Market for demonstrations and conversations about putting technology into use. The report does not state that every feature is available to every member.
“Technology creates value when it helps a member serve a customer, make a better decision or capture a sale.”
— Ken Widner, chief information officer at Do it Best Group
Availability and Results Still Unclear
The report does not say when HardwareIQ will become generally available, which members can access it, or whether it will require particular systems or services. It also does not provide user testing, adoption figures or measured results for HardwareIQ or Retail Pulse.
The mobile app is scheduled for early 2027, but the source does not give a specific launch date, confirm that the schedule is final, or explain whether all planned features will arrive at launch. Details about the separate Best Rewards app, including its timing and availability, are also not provided. The award’s selection criteria and the number of companies considered remain unspecified.
Early 2027 App Target
The clearest upcoming milestone in the report is the planned early 2027 release of Do it Best Group’s loyalty and e-commerce mobile app. Its stated feature list includes product search, real-time inventory availability, rewards, purchase histories, fulfillment choices and mobile payments. The company has not announced an exact release date or confirmed that every planned capability will be available at launch.
Do it Best Group may provide further details through member communications or future market demonstrations; no specific announcement schedule is reported. Retailers will be able to judge the tools’ practical value as access and implementation details emerge. For now, the award recognizes the company’s initiatives, while their reach and measurable effects on stores and customers remain to be established.
Key Questions
What award did Do it Best Group receive?
It received the 2026 Mark Michael and NEI Innovative Company of the Year Award from the Northeast Indiana Innovation Community through its Innovation@Work awards.
Why was the company recognized?
The award report cited technology intended to support independent hardware retailers, including AI tools, retail data analysis and mobile applications.
What is HardwareIQ?
HardwareIQ is an internally developed AI tool designed to help store associates access product and project information. Do it Best Group previewed it at its Fall Market; the report does not give a general availability date.
When is the mobile app expected?
The loyalty and e-commerce app is scheduled for early 2027. No exact launch date is provided, and the report does not confirm that all planned features will be ready at launch.
Has the technology been shown to improve store performance?
The source describes the tools and their intended uses but does not report measured performance results, retailer adoption figures or customer outcomes.
Source: hardwareretailing.com
