The industrial paradigm shift: from product to service
Those of us who live and why not 'eat' in the industrial sector have great challenges to face in terms of sustainability, technological adoption, digital talent, hyper-personalisation, Time2Market, Industry 5.0, etc. Among all these challenges, there is one that, from my point of view, arouses greater interest and relevance: the transformation of the B2B2C marketing model and the shift from product to service.
The first major impact that the technology made was on optimising operational costs and reducing product Time 2 Market. This technological evolution opened up countless avenues that allowed not only a better understanding of our processes and products, but also of our users and suppliers. It was precisely this point that led our sector to stop and reflect on an important question: we know ourselves, but what about our customers? What do they want and think about us, the industry and the competition? Why do they buy from us and why don't they?
Knowing what our customers want is an important challenge. Offering it to them is an even greater challenge. Our asset is a finished product, the benefit of which is its industrialisation and mass sale. So how can hyper-personalisation, the only path to competitiveness, be monetised?
Anticipate the present in order to be the first to offer them the future
As if this were not enough, the paradigm is further complicated by the fact that the question is not only about what our customers want, but also about what the current and future social and market trends are. Or to put it another way: what they will want and/or need. We must be able to anticipate the present in order to be the first to offer them the future, without a doubt. Henry Ford set the tone with his famous quote: "If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have told me faster horses".
The path the industry has chosen to take is crystal clear. The real profit lies in the service or services that we can offer by leveraging on our final product, which will provide our assets with that much sought-after hyper-personalisation and, therefore, those marketing margins that will allow us to remain competitive.
To sustain this a priori simple to understand paradigm shift has required years of technological evolution which, thanks to the emergence of hyperscalars, supercomputing and data as a fundamental seed for decision making, have paved the way to where we are today.
Hyper-personalisation
Netflix was one of the pioneers in using machine learning to deliver personal experiences. But that is no longer enough. Amazon foresaw the future of online sales and fast delivery. But that is no longer enough. Apple brought beauty to what was once pure functionality. But that is no longer enough. Spotify or Airbnb transformed the world of music or the way we travel. But that is no longer enough. Almost nothing is enough anymore.
Knowing our customers is no longer based on satisfaction surveys or market research. It goes much further. We will have to be able to imbricate ourselves in their daily lives, their tastes through actions, know their digital footprint, and as we have proposed, anticipate the future by knowing the social trends, the factors of influence in each of the markets and thus analyse everything as a whole. And all this, well mixed, will give us the best of cocktails.
The fundamental ingredient is data, the real value of any company
Obviously the fundamental ingredient is data, the real value of any company. The business continuity of the industry depends on how we use it, as well as the sources we use for decision-making. With these premises in mind, Izertis can provide expert knowledge thanks to the professionals working in this field with sectorial experience in the governance and exploitation of data, as well as in the capacity to transform it into information that can be leveraged in business, without forgetting security as a key exponent.
Finally, success stories, the use of AI Gen, or any other type of Artificial Intelligence will be a MUST, but it is still the end of a national highway to frame us at the beginning of an interstate. So let's build the national road with the necessary lanes, sufficient guardrails, and the required roundabouts, because only then will we get to the interstate.
Arthur C. Clarke wrote: "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic". And I couldn't agree more. Magic is perception, it is transparency; just like technology, a medium that must be invisible to business.
Izertis can be that 'magician' that accompanies you in the fulfilment of your challenges. It is no longer just about transformation, it is about reaching that interstate of capabilities through an unprecedented and inexorable digital metamorphosis for the business continuity of any company.