Managers have a hard time when it comes to focusing on their strategy and even creating one. This is not surprising as operations take a lot of effort and they need to be maintained. But knowing where your business wants to go allows for more focused work and better results. Jord Brethouwer at Bol.com and Rayan Bannai at Squared took the stage on the 22nd November at our Last Mile & E-Com Online Event to talk about how logistics can support and improve e-commerce strategies.
When you look at your strategy, you might fall victim to the misconception that it is something done just once every year. But for Jord Brethouwer at Bol.com and Rayan Bannai at Squared such a way of looking at it, means that companies are making themselves vulnerable to changes and risks. Jord looks at how organisations need to structure their operations and what are the pillars for successful strategy.
4 Pillars
The first one is flexibility. It is important to be able to evaluate your strategy and change when there is the need for this. Don’t get stuck behind a decision just because it has pre-agreed. Market conditions change constantly and your strategy needs to be the same.
Following this is quality. Not just the product that you provide needs to be good, but the service. This is extremely important for e-commerce brands, as the only time they interact directly with the brand is at the delivery point. Sustainability is clearly another pillar. We all have an interest in being more sustainable and the business needs to reflect that. Finally is the convenience and the need for easy and speedy delivery.
Data-driven
But to understand that for Rayan it is important to be data-driven. Such an exercise should include all parties in the company and the most important partners. Your strategy is not isolated from the outside world. You need to be able to know what you want and what are the wishes of your customers too. ‘You need to know what the demand is and your supply options are,’ Rayan explains.
You can watch the full discussion with Jord Brethouwer at Bol.com and Rayan Bannai at Squared now. And more from Last Mile & E-Com Online Event here. ✷
