By Ken Silay, partner, Innovator’s Equation
We have seen the future of retail, and we are not ready for it. We have been discussing omni-channel or some form of it for the last few years and most organizations are still struggling with execution. In a recent published article in the Washington Post, the jury is even still out on the success of the poster child for omni-channel, buy on line-pick up in store or click and collect. The article identifies that “fully 60 percent of such orders (click and collect) placed on Cyber Monday ran into problems, one study found. The wrong items were received, or orders were cancelled because the product was no longer in stock. Sometimes there was no notification (that) an order was ready.” One shopper was quoted as saying “I will never do in-store pickup ever again, that’s how bad it was for me.”
While no one is saying we shouldn’t continue to perfect the omni-channel offerings, the prudent organization will keep one eye on today’s requirements and one eye scanning the future. Yes, omni-channel will continue to be important, but perhaps equally as important will be your organization’s ability to channel its corporate intelligence and develop a genius for innovation.
An ancient philosopher once said that “the lucky person passes for a genius.” I believe that luck is when preparation meets opportunity. You must prepare for the future, or you won’t be ready when the opportunity of a lifetime presents itself. Innovation doesn’t just happen; it’s a combination of blue sky thinking and a structure to deliver. If an organization can ever expect to sustain innovation, it must develop a genius for innovation. One definition of genius identifies realizing the power of new combinations. It’s not necessarily the implementation of a single idea. In retail, it’s how you combine technologies and processes to change, not just meet, customer expectations. I’ll use some non-retail examples to illustrate the point.
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