Summary of the E-Connect Europe Virtual Edition – February 7-11, 2022

On the 7-11th of February we gathered e-commerce Professionals across Europe in our Live Virtual Broadcast to discuss the current movement towards e-commerce and digital adoption across the manufacturing industry.

The headline for the event was Winning the race for digital commerce, since this is an aspect that has been fast tracked over the last couple of years. Some have learned how to master the art of retaining customers by relentlessly changing business models and value propositions to maintain their competitive edge, but some are still struggling with finding their new position on the map.

As manufacturers are looking toward the future, there is a need to change the way to approach online sales and global expansion. This means setting out new objectives for sales, deciding what type of commerce platforms to choose, what technologies to invest in to support expansion initiatives, and more, all in order to boost your online revenue and execute a global strategy that yields successful results in an increasingly digital and competitive environment.

My main 3 takeaways:

• Customer data in the center – it is clear that even though we have discussed the concept of data driven organizations for long, now is the time when organizations fully embrace the value of that data and apply it every step of the way in the decision making process. Any data that will help you map your customers’ buying journey will facilitate a more seamless experience.
• Business models and new revenue streams: As we move into a more online driven reality with increasingly picky customers many of our discussions touched upon the value of providing e-commerce to meet your customers online; to be able to in an omnichannel approach, with several touchpoints, maintain and retain your customer relations. Being able to interact with the customer in a transparent way also sets the scene for a smoother transition into the so-called ”experience economy” and the predicted increase of outcome and performance based service contracts.
• Knowing your value proposition: As the industry is undergoing a transformation based on the customer experience and the added value of services we also face a redefinition of our sales methodology. It became clear that many still need to re-engineer their own value proposition towards their customers making sure it contains all the vital aspects of the overall service lifecycle and therefore is a driver for increased revenues and profits of operations. Bringing your products and services online could also reshape the sales organization and how they work with customers, most likely in a more consultative way.

There is a great journey ahead of us where many are investing and expanding in the digital space. We have also learnt how to act and operate online, and the industry will face a different kind of hybrid communications with their customers going forward.

Now we will look ahead to see what the future has in store for us and we hope you will join us in our continuous discussion on how to enhance digital commerce in manufacturing across Europe!

Lisa Hellqvist
Managing Director
Copperberg