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Retail transformation

We’re all clearly seeing the increased pace of our retail industry’s move to online. Marks and Spencer hooking up with Ocado Retail Ltd; the new strategy from Kingfisher plc, driving a mobile-first and Agile culture vision; and Amazon starting to really disrupt the online grocery market.

Transformations like these clearly require a change in how a company operates and often how it is structured, which, alongside the current need to cut costs, is why there is so much operating model change underway in retail. With the peak golden quarter of trading approaching, now is the time to get this right.

Pointers for success

Remember to establish clear ownership from the top: transformation journeys are never straight forward and unforeseen obstacles will be thrown your way. Strong and unequivocal support from the senior team will help steady the ship and help you navigate your way through
Design top down against agreed principles: the transformation solution must join up with no gaps or duplications, so define this first and put in place the governance required to ensure all stick to it. Agreed principles are often a good way to define this and gain agreement
Drive a cross-organisation, joined-up plan with strong communication: this has to be done as one initiative, with all involved pulling in the same direction, or your business results will be disjointed. So, build one overall plan and let everyone know the part they need to play
Execute brilliantly and at pace: if you have the previous points in place, then you can drive delivery hard, confident in the knowledge that you will bring the whole organisation and your customers with you, driving growth into the all-important golden quarter and peak trading period.