Digital Business Compass: Handelskraft 2018 »Moving Towards Digital Excellence« Now available to download

Handelskraft celebrated its eleventh anniversary and we proudly looked back on a productive 2017 full of experiments and innovations. But more important than the past is the future. Especially in digital business, interactive retail, time passes twice as fast and one can hardly believe that the times in which a webshop was the ultimate solution of the digital transformation, are hardly a decade old. In the meantime, digitisation means the seamless interaction of people and machines in marketing, sales, and services across all channels – online and offline.

In order to meet the demands of networked customers, whether as consumers in B2C or business customers in the B2B sector, entrepreneurs need to think outside the box. What brought enthusiasm a few years ago is now expected by customers, partners, and employees alike. The quality of the digital user experience decides more and more about the entrepreneurial success. Their excellent implementation requires know-how!

The changes are immense and the challenges for retailers and manufacturers are technically, organisationally, and culturally diverse. So we are all the happier and proud to publish our sixth Trend Book in a row, with this edition also being the first also available in English, with Handelskraft 2018 »Moving Towards Digital Excellence« we are happy to provide leaders from business, e-commerce, sales, marketing, IT, and digital decision makers with a free compass for their digital business, that gives them a concrete overview of the most important digital trends, innovations and industry developments, without getting lost in the buzzword jungle.

Make business, not buzzwords

Our steps through the digital world have become secure. We seamlessly switch between the digital city centre, the digital commercial and industrial area, and a networked home. Our experience is transformed from excited joy about the comfort gained to high demands on the user experience.

In order to best serve users’ needs, companies are putting data at the centre of things. Customer data, product data, order history, campaign KPIs, and more. All the data is poured into tools intended to provide an excellent digital experience under the heading Big Data. Personalised and adapted to all channels. Cloud and artificial intelligence are set up as an as-a-service solution that is at manageable costs.

XaaS: Everything-as-a-service is a popular buzzword right now. That magic technological pill against digital transformation pain that promises short-term improvement. On risks and side effects, ask your digital agency, because, in the long run, XaaS should be seen long-term as a postponement of entrepreneurial challenges of data quality, the business model, the differentiation of old and new competitors, the platform strategy, the corporate culture, and employee development rate.

Unquestionably, data and data-based information is a powerful tool that is smart to use. But behind every digital device, there continues to be people, who need to be impressed by certain offers. They have a sense for the subtle differences and decide which offer they trust and which they do not.

The only direction towards digital excellence: Forward!

On just under 100 pages, Handelskraft 2018 offers views into future commerce between the marketplace and its own platform, providing insights into excellent omnichannel user experiences and demonstrating the potential of the world of data from blockchain to predictive analytics for businesses. The expanded Facts and Figures section provides current e-commerce ratios and, for the first time, beyond.

How does a brand become fit for digital transformation and remain an attractive employer? How does innovation management succeed and what kind of opportunities does voice commerce offer? Handelskraft 2018 »Moving Towards Digital Excellence« shows all of this and is now exclusively available for retailers and manufacturers to download. Request a download link, here.