The world is changing and it’s becoming more technological and digital. With this, it is already a fact that people are really adapting and adhering to new ways of consuming any type of product and/or service.

According to the Brazilian Electronic Commerce Association (Abcomm), between January and November 2020, online purchases grew 70.3% compared to 2019.

Invoicing reached R$115.32 billion, 69.6% more than the previous year.

And one of the leverage points of all this movement, caused especially by this period of pandemic (caused by Covid-19), was the closure of physical stores.

Companies had to adapt and migrate their businesses to e-commerces and those who were already selling online had to scale and expand their operations.

According to this Abcomm study, 150,000 new online sales channels were created in this pandemic period, while the monthly average was 10,000. In other words, these data indicate that the sector has undergone a major transformation.

Speaking of online commerce, if this was already a growing market, both the pandemic and the growing wave of digital transformation only accelerated this movement.

The invoicing buying and selling products online, grew 41% in 2020, with more than 194 million orders made by Brazilian consumers in the year.

According to data from the Webshoppers study (Ebit/Nielsen & Bexs Bank), this was the highest percentage increase since 2007 and sales totaled around R $87.4 billion in the period.

But if you are in this sector or have a business impacted by it, you must be asking yourself now: what’s next? What is the future of post pandemic retail?

 

Go digital or die!

That’s right! Regardless of what your retail business is, from fashion to supermarket, digitization is the thing!

During the first quarter of 2021, Neotrust data show that there was a continuity in the growth of online sales in Brazil.

According to the study published in Exame, digital retail had revenues of R$ 35.2 billion in the first quarter of 2021 – an increase of 72.2% over the same period of the year past.

This year alone, 78.5 million online purchases were made in the period (volume 57.4% higher than in 2020), with an average ticket of R$ 447.90, 9.4% higher than that registered in the same period of the previous year.

All this increase makes businesses increasingly digital and more secure, focused on consumer needs and with a more flexible and adaptable operating model.

And this goes far beyond adopting new and better technologies!

Being a digitized organization is using digital technologies to enhance business models . For example, new and more new service channels, services through mobile applications, updates that help to improve the relationship with the customer.

Already a process of digital transformation goes far beyond the adoption of the best technologies. It encompasses several practices, tools and, above all, a new organizational culture.

The change companies that want to have a competitive advantage today need to make is much more about people than technology. This process is guided by:

• • Customer-centric organizational changes;
  • Supported by a servant leadership;
  • Along with a new corporate culture;
  • By leveraging technologies that enable people’s autonomy.

 

In other words, if this whole process of digitization and digital culture is still not happening in your organization, you are losing money!

 

How to initiate these changes in practice

To be truly digital, it is important to understand that some pillars are the main ones to start this digital transformation process:

 

Culture

As mentioned before, it is very important that there is a change in the organization’s culture, as this is one of the main areas that show if a company is truly digital.

After all, it all boils down to a change of culture and mindset.

In this pillar, the main changes that we see in the day-to-day work here at Agile.Inc helping companies are:

• Really put the customer at the center of your business;
• Having a culture of applied innovation;
• Empower teams, but with high alignment;
• Create a culture of “not being afraid of failure” and
• be more transparent in actions, decisions and plans 

 

Internal Capabilities

Your company teams need to start solving more complex issues, so they will need to have new skills and be able to follow the transformation.

It is important that the professionals in your organization:

• Know how to work with new technologies (Big Data, Blockchain, Machine Learning, among others);
• Have agility in product development,
• Have a lean management in product design;
• Make use of design strategically.

 

These are some of the skills professionals need to develop to be more digital, depending on the context of each business.

When it comes to buying and selling online, for example, there will be several other specific skills that are important to adopt.

 

Structure and Governance

How is your company organized? The way your company’s structure and governance is composed shows whether it is still in a traditional or digital paradigm.

To find this out, you need to raise some questions, such as:

• How are the areas of the company structured?
• How to break the organization’s silos?
• How is the budget defined?
• How are initiatives prioritized?
• How is work tracking done transparently?
• How to create greater operational efficiency, for example with automation?

 

These are just a few examples of issues that are addressed during this transition from companies that work in a traditional way, to those that are already suited for the digital age.

That’s why it’s important to have the right experts helping you in this process of change, pointing you to the best oneway of structuring your company to be more modern and technological.

 

People

Do all members of your teams know their roles and responsibilities? In an organization with a digital culture, it is important to have these issues resolved clearly, to have more engaged people.

• Roles and responsibilities (noting that it’s no use just being defined, but must be followed and monitored in a natural way by everyone involved),
• How are people motivated;
• And which leadership model to apply.

 

Business Models

The fifth pillar that we believe is essential for a process of digital transformation is to think of new business models for these new forms of consumption – which are increasingly adaptable.

As we mentioned earlier in this text, the way people buy services and products is changing and companies need to adapt as quickly as possible.

Your business may already have some of these pillars already well developed, others less so…

For us at Agile.Inc, there is no rule of thumb as to which area needs to be worked on first, however, we strongly believe that some points are driving levers for a company’s transformation, such as :

• Develop and empower leadership;
• Develop and empower teams in a custom way;
• Apply and implement Agility concepts to work more efficiently and effectively.

 

In closing, it is worth noting that the entire process of change, especially a digital transformation and the implementation of new technologies and/or a new way of working, is complex and full of uncertainties .

But it is in an environment like this where the best innovations emerge, with simple solutions that generate much more value for an organization and its customers.

 

Our final tip is to gather the best experts you can to help you with this digital transformation and we can help you with that! Talk to one of our consultants and understand how we help large Brazilian companies to modernize their businesses.