Plenty of software vendors and systems integrators have amplified their digital transformation messages during the COVID-19 crisis. Understandable - cloud applications have made work-from-home easier, eCommerce has exploded, video has become the killer app.
In the interviews I have been doing with various C level executives and presentations I have recently seen there are plenty of use cases where digital technologies have significantly changed the rules for many sectors
- Dave Watson of Health2047 says during this crisis, the UC San Francisco health system saw 50% of outpatient visits move to telemedicine. It was 2% prior to that.
- Doug Belden of Hillsborough County talks about how driver testing has been transformed by mobile and thermal technology
- Listen to Christian Klein of SAP and Lutz Meschke, Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board at Porsche describe in the SapphireNow keynote how the auto industry (more broadly, mobility now) is being electrified and digitized.
- Daru Phirozkhanavala, former CTO of BP had talked about how digital technologies have been reshaping the energy giant. The new BP CEO, Bernard Looney talks extensively in this interview about how digital technologies have allowed for more remote drilling at significantly lower economics (see starting at 28:30) and also about zero-carbon efforts and electric vehicles.
Emphasize digital, de-emphasize brick and mortar would appear to be the path forward. Starbucks has launched a new store format: "Starbucks Pickup is tailored to customers who prefer to order ahead and pay through the Starbucks mobile app for pick-up, or those who want their Starbucks delivered to them by placing an order through Uber Eats". A concern is accountants will see the lower real estate costs (and related hygiene costs) and over emphasize this format. Starbucks could risk damaging its "third place" brand. If all you compete on is your product, the barriers to entry your music, your wifi, your social gathering place, your digital nomad workplace concepts have given you in the past will be reduced. I have already seen it in the behavior of my daughter as she scopes out other coffee shops which allow for dine-in with appropriate distancing. I can see my wife disappointed as Barnes and Noble opens up but does not allow for people to linger or re-open their cafes.
I see, however, plenty of companies which are also re-imagining the physical, brick and mortar experience (some would add the spiritual and social experience) - for customers, employees, suppliers and others. We are already seeing an explosion of experiments blending CX, SCM and HCM disciplines, and adding to that mix medical and automation expertise.
Drive-thrus and store pickups
Drive-thrus have been a fixture of American fast food since they were first introduced in the 1930s. But look how they keep evolving. Today, they are tech savvy with digital displays, intercoms, conveyor belts, bar code scanners and credit card readers. Chick-fil-A is one of the chains that already moved to two lanes of drive-thru at some of its stores. During this crisis, they have taken drive-thru to another level. More of their order takers are "outside" the store. They go up to cars to take orders and process payments. That of course, means much of the hygiene and the technology has also moved out.
A variation of drive-thru is in store pick up technologies. Walmart has giant Pickup Towers in its bigger stores which scan barcodes on your mobile app and deliver boxed products.
Walmart also has a grocery curbside pickup service - you order through the Grocery app, then select a pick up time. There are multiple lanes where they bring your order to the car. The towers and the curbside pickup have helped Walmart's eCommerce efforts significantly during the crisis.
I have tried both options. The Tower is easy enough, but in one case a pack of Starbucks Via could have easily been delivered via the Tower, but I was told I should have ordered it through the Grocery app and picked it up outside. So I had to reorder it, and when I went to pick it up the order had been cancelled. However, while waiting curbside I spoke to a couple of customers and they said they loved the service as they could plan a drive around the pickup time.
Banks and pharmacies adopted drive-thrus a while ago. Now the reach may be spreading. Valvoline allows you to stay in the car for your oil change, and not go to the waiting room. The techs don't come into your car or touch the keys. You can pay via mobile phone. In reverse, Carvana is making the used car purchase and delivery experience much more digital. I have written this post two years ago, but the experience is even more relevant today
Home deliveries
Every time I have left home in the last couple of months I have seen an Amazon Prime truck in the neighborhood. I talked to one of the drivers. He told me his first delivery is often at 5:45 am, his last one at 9 pm. Another driver allowed me to look inside his vehicle - a marvel of using every square inch. Their mobile apps help then navigate, organize their delivery manifest, take photos of delivered items. In many ways, they are remarkable in their simplicity compared with massive investment UPS and Fedex made in the past in automating their trucks. The Prime truck is, however, a small cog in the Amazon distribution network which includes nearly 50 cargo planes, over 20,000 tractor trailers, and 75 massive distribution centers, I had written about the impressive automation at one of the fulfillment centers here. Amazon is spending billions on hygiene in its physical infrastructure during the crisis - see details here.
We have long been used to pizza deliveries. Papa John's and other chains have taken the concept to the next level - contactless delivery
Services like Instacart which shop for you and make home deliveries have been on a tear during the crisis. Their CEO told BusinessWeek “In a matter of a couple of weeks, we were already ahead of our end-of-year goal (of shopping volume). A week later, we were ahead of our 2021 goals, and a few days after that, we were ahead of our 2022 goals. And so, at a certain point, we stopped counting.”
We are starting to see increased interest in drone and autonomous deliveries.
In the meantime, human delivery has to navigate a new set of challenges. With so many people working from home and kids not at school, a postman told me his biggest worry used to be people's dogs - now it is kids playing and people bicycling in their neighborhoods.
Physical work places
As communities start relaxing their lockdowns, offices, plants and warehouses are starting to open up. That is requiring its own version of careful planning. Some providing essential services never completely shut down.
Jeff Robertson of Maxar Technologies described in this interview the reopening protocols he has been factoring as they reopen physical sites. Cushman and Wakefield has come up with their concept of a "six feet" office with temperature checks, distancing, disinfectants. Designers are re-imagining work spaces and surfaces to be anti-microbial and easy to disinfect. Salesforce describes its elaborate office re-opening plans here. They also have a new offering called Work.com to allow customers to formalize their own re-opening protocols.
As someone pointed out - decades ago, the big question used to be whether men should take their hats off if there was a lady in the elevator. Now, Disney's FastTrack concepts and mobile apps are being used to ensure appropriate social distancing in that cramped space.
Vendor virtual events
Most technology vendors have moved their events to a virtual format. Apple's WWDC next week will be one of the largest (over 23 million registered across 150 countries), and likely one of the most innovative.
We are going through an intense period of experimentation. Either as presenter or participant I have been used ON24, Zoom, MS Teams, Google Meet and StreamYard. Facebook Messenger Rooms, Zoho Meetings and many others will soon join the party.
On the CRM Playaz show last week, there is a section starting at 55:00 which discusses how vendors events will likely evolve. Paul Greenberg comments they will move from "theatric" to "cinematic").
Continued physical world experiences
Rahul Samant of Delta Airlines described to me contactless check-in, HEPA filters, electrostatic foggers, empty middle seats, masks and other changes in the flying experience.
Sarvesh Mahesh of Tavant described how the mortgage refinancing market has been on fire. But that notoriously paper intensive process refuses to be completely digitized. It has led to notaries using side by side cars in the homeowner's garage and in "porch signings".
Mobile banking app usage has rocketed during the crisis but has led to a FBI warning about fake apps. Don't give up on your coins and notes yet.
Unlike Amazon or Walmart, Costco is still very dependent on brick and mortar and it has been fascinating to watch the subtle and not so subtle changes at the store. Carts being disinfected after every use, signs outside showing out of stock items, masks required inside store, no dine-in allowed in the food court, Plexiglass dividers everywhere including the restrooms, distancing markers on the floor and fobs to pay for gasoline.
Finally, need to point out many tech vendors screaming digital transformation had offices which used to be playgrounds for millennials and many had Michelin quality buffets for them. I hope they now don't end up with a nursing home vibe. If for no other reason than that, I hope folks make re-imagining brick and mortar and omni-channel experiences as important a priority as their digital transformations :)
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