In the digital age, software has enabled innovators like Uber and Tesla
to gather crucial data about customers and create revolutionary
offerings to serve them. Meanwhile, many well-resourced incumbents
struggle to develop extended digital relationships with customers.
That’s partly because it’s hard for companies to change their
established business models. But the authors point out another
inhibitor—there are repercussions up and down the value chain. The
authors explain that successful upstarts do not just capture and use new
data effectively; they also break from traditional reliance on outside
partners for sourcing inputs and distributing and servicing products.
They keep more functions in-house—a necessary part of launching an
innovation. But if incumbents do likewise in their own efforts to take
advantage of digital technology, they risk upsetting longtime
relationships with suppliers, distributors, and other collaborators. To
navigate this new world, the authors advise managers in traditional
companies to think about the macro trends that will shape their industry
in the future, agree on a digital strategy to address customers’ needs
in the long term, and develop better metrics to monitor progress.
Incumbents must also create new business opportunities for partners so
that everyone benefits from the new ecosystem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]