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mark_osborn
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Last week I wrote about the digital core and the crucial role it can play in helping consumer products companies undergo major transformations to redefine their businesses and capture market share in today’s highly dynamic digital economy.


One of the most powerful incentives for deploying a digital core is achieving greater agility in your operations – specifically the ability to make adjustments in real-time and deliver in-the-moment customer experiences. This kind of agility is increasingly essential if you want to remain relevant in today’s more complicated consumer landscape.


We were fortunate to have renowned digital strategist and management consultant Brian Vellmure serve as one of the keynote presenters at our inaugural Best Practices for Consumer Products Conference earlier this year in Atlanta.


Few people are as knowledgeable about the intersection of business and technology in today’s economy as Vellmure. In his presentation, “The Digitization of Everything and the Pursuit of the Ideal Customer Experience,” he spoke to the importance of CP companies keeping up with modern consumers who have more channels, more paths to purchase and more choices than ever - while also being more fragmented and having more expectations.


One of the most important expectations modern consumers have is that they will be able to get what they want, when they want and how they want it. Or as Vellmure put it: shortening the distance between desire and manifestation.


Consider the case of Mink, a start-up cosmetics company that’s pretty revolutionary in that it doesn’t actually produce any packaged cosmetics products.


Instead, the company offers 3D-printing technology and a mobile app that allows consumers to pick a specific color that they encounter in their daily lives – from a magazine cover, a flower petal or virtually anywhere – and print it as a wearable cosmetic color right in their own home. Now consumers can, as Mink phrases it, turn “any phone, camera or laptop into an endless beauty aisle.”


This is a perfect example of giving consumers what they want (the ability to choose their own color), when they want (print-at-home convenience) and how they want it (device flexibility). On top of that, Mink’s business model significantly benefits from reduced costs in areas such as market research, staffing, inventory and logistics compared to traditional cosmetics companies.


It's no wonder companies like Mink are disrupting traditional consumer products business models and threatening established companies, especially considering that brand loyalty is on the decline. Companies like these are proving that it’s no longer only about delivering a great product – it’s about delivering a great experience that serves consumers in their moments of need.


So how can you make it happen?


It all ties back to the digital core, which can help you orchestrate all of the elements across the value chain that create, impact or improve consumer experiences. This can include better managing your supply-chain relationships to be more agile, being able to see what’s happening in the market through the Internet of Things, connecting your workforce to help employees work smarter, faster and better, and listening to and engaging with consumers through social media and trade management.


Remember: Missed moments are missed opportunities with today’s consumers.


Learn more about Digital Transformation for Consumer Products at Consumer Products. Reimagined for the new economy.