In Boise, Idaho our local downtown retail chocolate shop, “The Chocolate Bar” transitioned into a chocolate factory and direct delivery service seemingly overnight as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. We have also seen other stores quickly reacting. Costco now limits the number of shoppers inside their stores, while dramatically ramping up online ordering with home deliveries. Whole Foods is now providing three ways of shopping locally: in-store shopping, online ordering with drive through pick-up and online ordering with home delivery. All of these new and expanded options represent fast transitions to new or additional sales channels.
Fast transitions, or what military strategists often refer to as “fast transients,” are the ability to quickly transition from one position to another. Today we are seeing examples of fast transitioning across many different areas including retail stores, restaurants and businesses as they attempt to meet their customers where they are. In a recent interview my colleague, Rich Sherman, Senior Fellow, Supply Chain Centre of Excellence at Tata Consultancy Services called this, “Channel Switching.”
