WHY IT MATTERS: Digital Transformation

Needle is part of a new set of solutions and companies that provide tools, technologies and services to help retailers enter the world of "fan sourcing" or "curated commerce".

The concept is simple: there is too much offering on the web and it is difficult to decide what to buy online, even with enhanced descriptions, high definition pictures, reviews and ratings. This due in part because we have come to not trust them, and in part because we rely on recommendations from people we know or from experts, rather than the promotion marketing material that brands and retailers prepare.

This is what needle appears to provide. It facilitates the creation of a network of "advocates" that can speak to your potential customers and inform them on the products you have to sell and determine which is best for your customer. One on one, personalized shopping.

OK in reality they are pimped-up sales reps, paid when they sell you a product. Nothing new here. But the way in which they sell, online rather than in store, may mean that shopping for a TV on amazon wesbite tomorrow will feel a lot more like going to a Best Buy store today.

Hope you find them useful

I see a downside from having showrooms attached to warehouses.

Distribution centers are often located in areas convenient for distribution (low real estate costs, proximity to highways, etc.) but not so much in prime real estate where consumers go to browse. I am sceptical  of the model, not sure it scales and I do not expect amazon to open a showrooms next to each of its warehouses.

However, the need to see and feel and touch products in certain categories (cars, electronics, food, etc.) will scream for showrooms in the future, along the lines of previous posts I wrote such as this one:

Amazon warehouse & operations and Apple stores trace the future of brick-n-mortar stores via @bi http://sco.lt/5pCgBl

I find the critical areas they highlight interesting.

Here is my take on it:

1. Data security must become a board topic: security and privacy should be board topics, with data being one aspect of it. Or sliced the other way around, digital technologies should be a board topic, data being one aspect of it. No matter, this should be an area of focus that is tracked by internal auditors.
2. Data security must be handled holistically across functions: absolutely. Where I come from (capgemini enterprise architecture), security was like governance and spawned across business, data, applications and technology domains.
3. Data security should be thought of as leveraging a risk-based approach: I agree, you must understand and evaluate security risks to mitigate them

I find this post by Ben Horowitz and this article on musk and jobs on cnn money both very inspiring and somewhat related. They both make passion the center of work, the sole purpose that leaders must have.

I have not seen this much, maybe because it is immensely difficult to achieve when real world knocks in - investors, sales, vague requirements or exploring a completely new field where there are non recognizable landmark. 

Another amazing source of material from Matt Carroll, this time on eCommerce models. his insights are part of an ebook that I recommend and this blog post provides additional information and updates. Thank you Matt!