A software company struggled to

There is a huge difference between competing in a market and disrupting a market. When competing, a company tries to make a similar product in a given market segment, then competes against incumbent products on price or features to gain share and hopefully profits. When disrupting, a company produces a whole new product that creates or changes a market, then dominates share and profits in that segment. Why do so many established and often well managed companies IBM in the mid 1980’s felt that the future would be much like the past and a result didn’t have to change much. They did not realize how much microcomputers would replace the functions of their bread-and-butter business, the mainframe. The net result was tens of thousands of people were laid off, with the company suffering the first losses in its history. Struggling with disruptive change #1 – RIM The BlackBerry smartphone maker (RIM) is in deep trouble – but Apple was once in even worse trouble with even less time to fix it. Steve Jobs did bring Apple back from the edge of bankruptcy and today it is one of the most valuable companies in the world, but the speed of innovation is ever-faster. A company that’s fallen behind might never catch up. Will RIM (Blackbarry) catch up? The company had been steadily selling phones up until late 2010 or early 2011, until its The sad fact is that all of this could have been avoided. The company was slow to act in the wake of Apple’s smartphone bombshell back in 2007, believing th...

• The majority of digital transformation efforts hit roadblocks and fail • GE created a new digital business unit but was focused on size instead of quality • Ford started a new digital service that was separate from the rest of the company instead of integrating digital solutions • Procter & Gamble didn’t consider the competition or impending economic crash • These missteps can spell doom for digital transformation, but all three companies managed to try again with better success It’s important to note that although these companies failed on their initial digital transformation efforts, they were able to make adjustments to succeed in the future. A failed digital transformation doesn’t spell the ultimate end of a company, but it can be incredibly costly in lost money, resources, time and credibility. GE In 2011, GE started a major effort to assert itself in the digital software space by building a huge IoT platform, adding sensors to products and transforming its business models for industrial products. It took the next step in 2015, when it created a new business unit called GE Digital. The goal was to leverage data to turn GE into a technology powerhouse. Despite pouring billions of dollars into GE Digital and its thousands of employees, the company’s stock price continued to drop and other products suffered. GE Digital quickly became stuck in the pattern of having to report earnings to shareholders and was Lesson: Focus on quality, not quantity. GE tried to do too much...

Sixty percent of workers said new software had occasionally or frequently frustrated them within the past 24 months, according to a new survey* by Gartner, Inc. In fact, 56% of users said new software had made them wish management would bring the old system back. “The The global Gartner survey of 4,953 technology product and services users in April through June 2021 revealed three ways in which users can impact enterprise software adoption: Personal Adoption The survey found that 81% of software users have taken some kind of action – positive or negative – after a notable experience with software. For example, 40% of users have resisted using applications after a negative experience by using minimal features, avoiding or delaying use. After a positive experience with an application, however, 41% of users spent more time delving further into its features. “Depth of application usage can have a significant impact on the value an organization receives from software. That perceived value becomes important when renewal or upgrade time rolls around,” said Roth. “Consumption of new features helps Influencing Others to Adopt or Avoid The survey also found that users frequently share their opinions on software with peers, with IT and with business leaders, either proactively or in response to requests for input. This “word of mouth” can start a chain reaction that influences whether others adopt or avoid applications. Forty-two percent of survey respondents said they have complaine...

The challenge A software company struggled to retain customers through subscription renewals because it could not predict possible customer churn in time. Sales managers and sales executives lacked a central repository of information on past transactions, accounts’ key decision-makers and product-related details and other issues that were necessary for sales expansion. The company reached out to Cognizant, a long-standing partner, for help. It had decided to move all its transactional systems to the cloud and needed to enhance its predictive analysis and churn probability capabilities. Our approach Using an agile delivery approach, Cognizant incorporated machine learning (ML) into the company’s analytics model to elevate its 360-degree view of customers. By applying ML, the client can now proactively take steps to retain customers who are about to discontinue their service and are unlikely to renew their contacts. It can also prioritize high-value customers. Cognizant leveraged Cloudera to host transactional data and Hive to transform the data. By automating the extract, transform and load functions to Cloudera, the client collated data from multiple sources into a central location for easy access and analysis. Preprocessed, customer-centric data provides a 360-degree view of each customer, and that data is fed into the QlikView dashboard. The Apache Spark in-memory processing engine determines customer churn probability and identifies potential cross-sell/upsell opportuni...

Flasch is an old hand at EVs, having owned several, including a Tesla Model S he drove for 100,000 miles. (“I essentially lived out of that car for nine months during the worst of COVID,” he said.) He makes YouTube videos about his experiences with EVs; in his day job, he develops EV charging stations and infrastructure for a major convenience store chain. Software problems have emerged as a major roadblock to the entire Volkswagen Group’s electric vehicle plans. So much so that VW Group CEO Oliver Blume is due to outline a revised software strategy at the carmaking giant’s supervisory board meeting on Thursday, December 15th. The meeting has been described by outlets Automotive News as a “reality check,” where Blume will be expected to present a more grounded plan to realize VW’s ambitious and expensive electric dreams. “The Volkswagen Group is undergoing the biggest transformation in its history,” a VW Group spokesperson said in an email. “Our NEW AUTO Group strategy sets out a clear roadmap up to 2030 for us to become a sustainable software-oriented mobility provider. We have to transform ourselves and acquire completely new competencies if we want to play a leading role in tomorrow’s mobility market. Software will become the new differentiator.” The Volkswagen Group’s software problems are well-documented and reflective of wider issues facing many legacy automakers. As they aim to compete with new players like Tesla and Rivian and transform their vehicles into essentia...

On Aug. 29, 2019, the clothing retailer Many companies use bankruptcy as a means of debt reduction rather than an opportunity to correct the processes that led to the debt in the first place. One example of this is Filene’s Basement. A purveyor of high-end discount or off-price clothing, the company was severely rocked by the Great Recession which forced the closing of 11 of its 36 stores. The company sought three Chapter 11 bankruptcies within 12 years before it finally collapsed. Stacker took a close look at the various public companies that have recently announced bankruptcies in order to curate the following gallery of 15 companies struggling to survive. To make the cut, companies had to still be in operation and forced to undergo structural changes due to current finances. This may include store closings, changes in product listings, or public announcements of change. Thie gallery further focuses on retail and food service companies, as these businesses typically have the largest public presence and therefore the most sentimental weight for its consumers. More than When these companies go away, so do parts of our collective past. But companies must find a way to adapt to changing times if they intend to stay relevant. Keep reading to see which of your favorite companies made the list. You may also like: Like Sears Holdings, JCPenney had the bad luck of being a small retailer in the land of giants. Though the company was a mall staple, the decline of the traditional ma...

With But after a spate of high-profile failures, there are signs that vendors and customers are working hard to ensure the success of their ERP projects. Panorama Consulting Solutions, which regularly surveys businesses on the outcomes of their ERP projects, shows in However, the measure of success has been historically at odds with the number of projects said to be overrunning or underperforming, as Panorama has noted that organizations have lowered their standards of success. It may be, too, that companies wish to avoid the reputational damage that comes from failure, and instead prefer to redefine success as whatever they get. Sometimes the only sign something has gone wrong is when the parties head to court — and the full details of the dispute rarely come out. But however success is defined, we’ve assembled here some dramatic ERP flops from over the years and tried to glean wisdom from the wreckage. 1. Mission Produce: This avocado will self-destruct in five days Mission Produce packs, ripens, and distributes avocados all over the world, and prides itself on its ability to deliver just-ripe avocados year-round. In November 2021 it turned on a new ERP system intended to support international growth with improved operational visibility and financial reporting capabilities. Then everything went pear-shaped, and suddenly Mission no longer knew for sure how many avocados it had on hand, nor how ripe they were, with many of them ending up unfit for sale. It had to buy in fr...

During the Covid-19 pandemic, most businesses have adopted new ways of working. Many employees have gone remote, interacting with customers and coworkers virtually. Others continue to go to a workplace each day, but perform their jobs very differently. Everyone is doing their best. But how productive have companies actually been during the pandemic relative to where they were before Covid-19? The short answer: It depends on the company. Some have remained remarkably productive during the Covid-era, capitalizing on the latest technology to collaborate effectively and efficiently. Most, however, are less productive now than they were 12 months ago. The key difference between the best and the rest is how successful they were at managing the scarce time, talent, and energy of their workforces before Covid-19. Companies that were stars before the pandemic have continued to shine. Those with less stellar performance have struggled mightily. To elaborate, in our 2017 book • The time each employee has to dedicate to productive work each day, without distraction from excessive e-communications, unnecessary meetings, or bureaucratic processes and procedures; • The talent that each worker can bring to their job and, importantly, how an organization’s best talent is deployed, teamed and led; and • The discretionary energy each employee is willing to invest in their work and dedicate to the success of the company, its customers and other stakeholders. The companies that are the very be...