Home Depot plans to hire 1,000 IT pros as it builds the tech behind One Home Depot strategy

Home Depot plans to hire about 1,000 technology pros in 2018 as it ramps up to deliver on its digital transformation efforts.

In December, Home Depot said that it would invest $11.1 billion over three years to meld its digital and physical shopping experience, improve its delivery capabilities and bolster its supply chain and workforce management systems.

The new workers will mostly be housed at its Atlanta, Austin and Dallas technology centers. Home Depot added that it needs engineers for software and systems, UX design and product management.

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Home Depot's efforts revolve around melding data flows and experiences for customers. CEO Craig Menear outlined the rationale:

Our customers no longer think of us in terms of separate channels. They don't think of us as a brick-and-mortar channel and a digital channel separately. We want to enable the engagement with a seamlessness across channels, but candidly, that's not how we were built. Now there's a lot of work that has been done, but we must continue to tie together that seamless flow of information across all channels for both our customers and our associates. So as the customer continues to blend the channels of engagement with The Home Depot, we must invest in the One Home Depot experience.

Specifically, Home Depot 2020 investment plan includes:

• Revamping Home Depot's fulfillment and delivery options.
• Leverage data across Home Depot and "de-silo" operations.
• Enhance the experience across channels and improve productivity.
• Invest in technologies to service customers and make associates more productive.
• Focus on the science of merchandizing to meet local needs, improve in-stock rates and optimize assortment.
• Use data to better segment and market to various demographic groups.

If successful, Home Depot expects to deliver 2020 annual sales between $115 billion and $120 billion with a return on investment capital as high as 40 percent.

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