Digital Strategy, Operating Models & Technology Implementation Insight

Looking at the current news, we can see VUCA — volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity — unfolding in real time. Amid this chaos and uncertainty, people are suffering from ambiguity and are having a hard time making judgments about the truthfulness of information, especially whom to believe. This Advisor provides some insight into our VUCA world and some of the skills and abilities people have at their disposal.

To remain successful and to disrupt instead of being disrupted, best-in-class B2B organizations are recognizing the increasing importance of “the customer experience” to maximize value. Consequently, they have initiated profound transformations to develop customer preference and maximize margins.

Now is the time for risk managers to focus on real-time analytics and proactive loss prevention, rather than administering risk systems related to operational processes. Here, Craig Wylie looks at how to use the AI/ML technology in practice; the capabilities that need to be in place; best practices for communicating risk and risk mitigation strategies; how to avoid “crying wolf”; rebalancing globalism and outsourcing.

The most critical element of a digital shift is the identification of a clear need or opportunity that digital technology can address. Successful enterprises continually examine their marketplaces along with how those marketplaces are changing. They also look at both their processes — and how to carry them out better, faster, and cheaper — and new technologies that could open up hitherto infeasible opportunities. 

The time-honored approach to quantifying markets is to work outward from a specific technology or tool to a targeted customer who will potentially use the technology in myriad ways. These potential markets with applicable benefit from the technology are then tabulated into initial total addressable markets (TAMs). In turn, the TAMs help justify strategic investment in an organization or the investment round in a startup.

Economic lockdowns in the COVID-19 crisis have quickly and severely compromised the automotive supply chain and dealerships worldwide in unprecedented ways. The recession after the crisis will cut global car demand by multi-digit percentages in 2020, followed by a slow recovery that will lag GDP rebound by one or two years. By the time car sales reach pre-crisis levels again in two to three years, powertrain electrification and digitalization will have made additional advances, just as buyers are returning to the market. This confluence creates opportunities in the automotive crisis recovery for those in the industry who set themselves on the right course now.

Today’s corporate world requires companies to look for a clear purpose for their business ventures, beyond solely maximizing profits. This purpose — or the why — is essential for future success in an ever-changing, increasingly digital business environment. As this Executive Update highlights, today’s companies must not only convince their customers of their offerings, but they also must convey opportunities to their investors and company strategy to their employees through the flywheel concept.