Digital Disruption
Digital technologies are evolving and changing at a growing pace, and our business strategies are lagging behind. We need a new strategy for a new digital age.
Cloud is the IT platform for the future, and when the platform change, the leaders change. It´s not the new technology platform that disrupt you, it´s the new businesses models enabled by the cloud platform.
Mobile is everywhere, and buyer journeys have multiple mobile moments that needs to be supported. Companies building the most effective buyer journeys master four interconnected capabilities: automation, proactive personalization, contextual interaction, and journey innovation.
Internet of Things allow you to connect everything. You will then know where everything is at all times, which will allow for more automation (e.g. managing inventory), more insights (e.g. upselling products), better security (e.g. track items at transit or rest), better efficiency (e.g. improve supply chain), and new economic models (e.g. pay for what you use).
Artificial Intelligence allows you to use robots and software to automate processes and tasks. Disruption comes from doing things smarter, faster, or cheaper than your competitors. Outsourcing may reduce costs by 1/3, but robots may reduce it by 1/9.
Demographics is destiny. New generations prefer digital channels over in-person visits to bank branches, insurance agents, realtors, etc. Even traditional industries need a click-to-brick strategy with a seamless buyer journey.
Privacy fails will hurt your brand and career. Customers like proactive personalization and contextual interaction based on their behavior and location but will immediately leave companies they find creepy and disloyal. This comes in addition to the GDPR implications of non-compliance.
Digital Transformation
Information-based innovation – use historic and real-time information to predict and change the future
UPS optimizes a driver’s route using advanced mathematical models, data from planning systems, and customized map data that account for customer needs, service commitments, and business rules (e.g. prioritize routes in the US that allow the driver to go right on red when there are traffic lights). It also allows “what if” analysis and decision making based on changes. Big savings come from the attention to detail since 1 mile is worth $50M, 1 minute is worth $14.6M, and 1 minute of idle time is worth $515K for UPS.
Santa Cruz Police Department uses historic information to forecast when and where a crime is most likely to take place - and how officers could be deployed preemptively to stop them. This helps the police department serve more citizens with less staff since they receive 30 percent more calls for service but with 20 percent less staff than in the year 2000.
University of Kentucky is using historic information about students that dropped out to identify existing students that may decide to drop out, and then engage with them before they decide to drop out. They have also gamified it by showing students their K-score in the mobile app with recommendations for how to improve their score.
Mobile-based innovation – develop click-to-brick mobile strategies
Royal Caribbean Cruise Line is using a mobile app to better engage cruise guests and sell services. The guest app includes features such as accelerated check-in, the daily planner, onboard accounts, as well as the ability to book various items such as shore excursions, specialty restaurants and other onboard activities. Royal Caribbean Cruise Line is also planning to use mobile facial recognition technology in port to allow guests to skip check-in lines, and allow guests to use their smartphone to help to navigate around a ship's many pathways, unlock cabin doors automatically for the cabin's occupant, track luggage from the time it arrives at the pier until it is delivered to the rooms, leverage AI to as a digital assistant, and get drinks delivered to them wherever they are on the ship.
UBER is often mentioned as an example of mobile innovation, but there are still lessons to be learnt from their automation, proactive personalization, contextual interaction, and journey innovation. The app simplifies the process of booking a ride, it shows you where the car is, it alerts you when it has arrived, it shows you what route the driver is taking, and it automates the payment process with a receipt by email. Uber is not limiting this to cars, and they are now planning to connect people to bikes, buses, car rentals, and maybe even flying taxis.
IKEA Place app visualizes how IKEA items would look like in a home or office. The Augmented Reality app allows a growing list of more than 3,200 items to virtually placed in living rooms, bedrooms, or offices. Furniture is correctly sized down to the millimeter, and users can walk right up and get a close up look at fabrics and colours. This makes it easier to buy items from IKEA, but it also reduces the number of returns and boost customer satisfaction.
Internet of Things-based innovation – connect everything to improve sales, service, and support
Levi´s Stadium, home of the San Francisco 49ers, features nearly 17,000 Bluetooth beacons to better engage visitors. The beacons help visitors use the Levi’s Stadium app to find their seats, the nearest restrooms, and concessions. Food and drinks can be delivered right to their seats. In the first season, 30 percentage of visitors downloaded the app generating $2 million in revenue from food, beverage, merchandize, parking, and in-app sponsorship.
Rolls Royce engines for aircrafts, helicopters, and ships are equipped with sensors that collect data from different components, systems or sub-systems within the engines. The monitoring happens in real-time, be it at 36.000 feet or in the middle of the ocean, and the data is sent to a display in the control room at the vessel and at the Rolls Royce monitoring center. This improves the service offer by knowing well in advance what spares or exchange units are likely to be needed, so that they can be available at the right location at the right time. It also helps them maintaining an optimal level of spare parts, reducing the cost of parts storage, and rationalizing production of spares, with economic advantages to all parties.
The Port of Rotterdam is adopting Internet of Things for real-time tracking of containers, determining optimal stacking, shortening customs time, optimizing supply chain, and easing the transition to automated terminals. This will improve port efficiency and help to make Rotterdam the most attractive port compared to its competitors.