Building a Better Tomorrow : Global Transformation with the Platform Model
“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.” — Charles Darwin
The great acceleration has given us a precious opportunity to evaluate the way we do business and prioritize for a post-covid world — a world more hyper-local than ever before, but also more global and interconnected. It has also given entrepreneurs the opportunity to influence what that world will be like. As Mirakl’s CEO, it’s not a responsibility I’ve taken lightly.
Impact & Purpose “Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction.” — JFK
Post crisis, people and companies are searching for Purpose. Purpose to do business equitably, responsibly, transparently and with inclusivity. Mirakl joined big and small tech companies to sign the Tech For Good pledge earlier this year, which emphasizes positive impact in education, labor and diversity. This reevaluation, this need to reassess a company’s core mission, is natural after a crisis and a step in the right direction. Today, purpose is a differentiator. According to Deloitte, purpose-oriented companies have higher productivity and growth rates, along with a more satisfied workforce who stay longer with them. Research shows 30 percent higher levels of innovation and 40 percent higher levels of workforce retention than their competitors. These are powerful indicators — and a shift that will be transformational in defining the relationship between businesses and their customers, in B2B and B2C markets.
Adrien Nussenbaum and I built Mirakl under a clear mission — to revolutionize B2B & B2C commerce. And we are continuing to build the team — anchored in expertise — that can rally behind that mission. Our purpose and mission was important then, but it is even more important today. We have seen dramatic disruptions accelerated by the crisis, that have completely changed the retail landscape and consumer behaviors. Today, revolutionizing commerce also means helping it evolve, thrive, connect to new consumers, and meet altered omnichannel expectations. Transforming commerce today means helping businesses survive; keep their employees working and supporting entire communities in the process.
Agility & Entrepreneurial Spirit “Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.” — Warren Buffett
The transformational change sweeping companies around the world goes beyond the quest for purpose. The crisis also highlighted the power of start-ups, scale-ups and the entrepreneurial culture to withstand crises. Big corporations are now seeing an increased need for nimble, creative teams that have the freedom to make decisions and pivot into new ways of working. As we continue to evolve, this becomes particularly important — to retain our grit, our drive; the “stay hungry, stay head” mentality — to remain anchored in the core values that have brought us to this point, and ensuring they continue to guide us effectively through Mirakl’s growth.
To answer the needs of the new realities confronting us, agility is key. We’re seeing a sudden need for inclusive commerce, to protect artisans; we’re seeing decentralization and a sudden flow of economic growth outside traditional big-city hubs. We’re also seeing new business opportunities, thanks to these shifts as well as access to new pools of talent with shifting expectations. As an entrepreneur, this is an incredibly exciting time to be growing. And this, all thanks to technology. While digital transformation was an avenue for economic growth in the last decade, in this decade it has reached a new level of digital maturity and allowed for these deep-rooted changes to take place. In the post-Covid world, technology no longer simply enhances people’s lives, it has the power to transform every aspect of it — from ways of working to healthcare, retail, banking — and improve it significantly.
The Marketplace Model “That is the nature of emergencies. They fast-forward historical processes.” — Yuval Noah Harari
We’ve seen a huge accelerator of trends in the past six months. But let’s not forget that they had started long before Covid. eCommerce, new ways of working, changing consumer behaviors and digitization were not born in 2020. But the why; the sheer importance and urgent need for the marketplace model in today’s world is worth exploring.
When we were forced into lockdown, when supply chains were disturbed in key markets, we suddenly saw the importance of marketplaces — as ways for talent to congregate, as ways for people to offer their services, as ways for artisans and specialists to sell their crafts and specialty goods. I’m thinking about delivery services for restaurants that had to pivot during lockdown but initiatives taken by Z-tech, an innovation group part of Anheuser-Busch Inbev whose mission is to: e mpower small and medium-size businesses to change the world through technology. Concretely for them, it has meant using Mirakl-powered marketplaces to help SMBs by connecting merchants with diverse suppliers, delivering fair and timely access to essential goods, anytime.
This is the power of the marketplace model; to be trusted and dependable one-stop-shops; business accelerators, even in the midst of a global pandemic. An agile tool that allows businesses to pivot quickly, creatively; a tool anchored in customer-centricity and options: in-store pick-up, drive-in, straight-from-seller delivery. Marketplaces are an entrepreneurial, transformational tool that have helped business survive the shifts and disruptions. In 2020, we saw 110% GMV growth and over $3.1B transacted on Mirakl-powered Marketplaces. We’ve also seen drastic increases over Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales with GMV increases of over 60% YOY in Europe, US, Canada and Latin America across the board and a striking more than 90% increase in Australia. These numbers are astounding. But they are proof that the marketplace model isn’t just having a moment — it is defining the future of retail and the way we support our local communities. There is no going back from this.
Authentic Customer-Centricity “There is only one boss. The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else.” — Sam Walton
Today, business priorities are clear: digitization, customer-centricity, and agility. And the future belongs to consumers who are smarter, more opinionated, purpose-driven and engaged than before the crisis.
The companies who have survived this storm — the ones that found ways to be nimble and support their local communities in the process; and the start-ups and scale-ups that came up with solutions to better serve people and society — have grown and developed more in these past 6 months than then they had in the past 10 years. This is the silver lining of this crisis. Growth. Adaptation. Evolution. Today, we are seeing companies take greater responsibility to help solve the world’s challenges. We are seeing pledges to build a better tomorrow. We are seeing companies commit to sustainability initiatives; to giving back to local communities and the people at the heart of their ecosystems; we are seeing commerce reevaluate its global impact and a rise in the circular economy take root. And finally, we are seeing a greater focus on what the consumer needs. And as this consumer-centricity makes its way back into the heart of every mission, we can be proud that we have not let this crisis take the best from us. In fact, we can rejoice in the long-term changes that will positively impact society, thanks to these accelerated trends. That’s a powerful outcome we can all rally behind.
Originally published at https://www.linkedin.com.
