Kevin Benedict Ponders the Future

The military strategist Colonel John Boyd wrote that success depends on three things, 1) People, 2) Ideas, and 3) Things, in that order.  People have to be trained to think and do the right things, using the right ideas (doctrines, strategies and tactics) and then utilize the best things (equipment, materials, design, etc.) that you can.  In my new report, “How Digital Thinking Separates Retail Leaders from Laggards,” we focus on the differences in thinking between leaders and laggards.  Here are some of our key findings: Digital commerce outpaces brick-and mortar. Already a significant retail driver, digital commerce is predicted to increase in importance by 68% for surveyed retailers between now and 2020. This trend has motivated many retailers to invest strategically in digital technologies. Digital leaders outperform digital laggards. There is a correlation between companies with strong revenue growth and digital leadership, and retailers with a higher percentage of online

Technologies help us deliver on a business strategy.  Without a strategy, there is no rationale for deploying technologies.  In addition, there is no rationale for digital transformation, unless there is a need for business transformation.  If you believe this as we do, then strategy development will be a priority.  Strategies, however, are developed under the guidance of a doctrine.  The purpose of a doctrine is to create a high level understanding of what we we want to achieve with our strategy, and the concepts that must be employed to achieve it. An organization’s doctrine will guide strategy development, and the tactics needed to achieve a goal. An example of a doctrine is, "We will be a fast follower, and excel at quickly manufacturing and delivering popular fashions." With this doctrine, the company can now develop strategies that align with the doctrine. Many executives consider digital transformation important, but an IT issue.  We, however, believe IT serves

George Lucas, creator of Star Wars, once said, “You can’t do it unless you can imagine it.” In our latest research on the future state of work in the retail sector, we find many industry executives struggling to imagine where the future is leading them and their organizations, not to mention the role digital technologies will play along the way. Traditional retailers are challenged by rapidly emerging new business models, such as Amazon Go and Facebook’s launch of its digital commerce platform, Marketplace. Moreover, pioneering companies in the sharing economy (i.e., Uber) are expanding from their initial markets into areas such as food delivery, while insurgent retailers, such as Sun Basket, are combining digital and social media platforms, mobile apps and massive volumes of new data to encroach on retailers’ territory. These nontraditional competitors are changing the rules of the retail game via disruptive strategies. To better understand the strategies and technologies that

As part of SAP's IoT Influencer program, I had the honor of interviewing Hitachi's Rob Tiffany on Industrial IoT platforms, mobility platforms and the role of artificial intelligence at Mobile World Congress 2017. ************************************************************************ Kevin Benedict Senior Analyst, Center for the Future of Work, Cognizant View my profile on LinkedIn Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict Subscribe to Kevin's YouTube Channel Join the Linkedin Group Strategic Enterprise Mobility Join the Google+ Community Mobile Enterprise Strategies ***Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinions. No company is silly enough to claim them. I am a mobility and digital transformation analyst, consultant and writer. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

Amazon knows me.  Oh boy, do they know me!  Our dog thinks the deliveryman is part of our family.  Amazon knows what I like, and does their very best to create a wonderful and personalized experience for us by using their "system of intelligence" to provide it.  Amazon Prime membership now offers movies, music and audio books in addition to other membership services all tailored to my family and me.  Alexa, Amazon’s hit home bot, can be set-up to automate my home and much more to enhance convenience and comfort.  All of these offerings and services are designed to improve and personalize my experiences so I will feel inclined to increase my business, loyalty and commitment to Amazon.   Airlines, on the other hand, seem determined to drive their users away in 2017.  From personal experience, airlines don’t seem interested in your welfare or quality of experience, or what you like, what kind of trip your are on, or how much current and future business you can provide them.