The “Toys R Us" analysis holds lessons for digital transformers everywhere.
"A complete dinosaur, with poor vision and no idea of how to make digital work hard by having it complement their biggest asset.
My point is, I think many people will approach this closure from an innovation and disruption angle as another retailer bites the dust. Whereas I see it as just a simple failing to understand it's strengths, understand it's weaknesses, and having a knowledge and understanding of where to focus."
from Adam Smith Managing Director Rawnet
Digital Transformation Leaders, Chief Digital Officers and CIOs have to know what customers want and anticipate what they will spend money on. Digital disruption is often an excuse for failure to understand customer behaviour and needs.
See "Know what your customer wants".
Digitising shit processes just speeds up the delivery of shit and might save some money in the process. Staring with the customer and working backwards is the best approach to create an optimal customer experience. Not start with technology and seeking a problem to solve.
And planning the transition from the old model to the new. Transition from old legacy systems and change management are far harder than licensing sizzling digital platforms. Witness the number of insurers that implement a new cloud platform in one country and just cannot afford the time and money to do so in their next largest market. Why?
- The legacy systems are different
- The business rules are different
- The products ate different
- Most importantly, the customers are different.
Luckily there are answers that won't cost the earth and make the transition non-disruptive. And mean you don't have to throw away the legacy systems which still stand in the books as valuable assets.
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I guess that’s why I dislike the term ‘disruption’ - it’s bollocks. There’s a growing trend that brands need to be constantly innovative and change the market as the only way to grow. While that’s true to an extent, let’s not forget that its customers at the heart of everything - and as long as you service them in a more convenient way than your competitors, that matters more. Innovation isn’t always 100% synonymous with customer convenience.
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