Commerce Talent and Governance Pressures Surface in Transformation Projects

Digital commerce initiatives tend to start with conversations about technology. Much of what ends up as a problem further down the road has nothing to do with technology at all. Talent and governance pressures are starting to surface as companies expand their commerce vision.

Companies embarking on a journey of digital commerce transformation often realize that they lack talent capable of driving large-scale transformation efforts. Technical experts know their platforms, commercial experts understand customer needs. Integrating the two viewpoints is often very hard.

That becomes especially true since digital commerce projects become increasingly complex, spanning more and more areas of an organization. Product information management, pricing strategies and fulfillment processes belong to different departments, pursuing their own agendas. Small decisions have impacts on several departments.

That's why digital commerce transformation services are increasingly requested not just for their technical expertise but also for their ability to drive change and facilitate communication in organizations. Service providers are increasingly called upon to provide project and program management expertise and governance frameworks.

Training and coaching are also turning into a major challenge. Employees have to adjust their workflow and redefine their job responsibilities. Uncertainty about how new processes affect one's work can slow down the adoption of the new technology.

It's also common to underestimate the amount of internal coordination required once the solution goes live. Digital commerce platforms are constantly evolving through introductions of new products, changes to pricing and processes. Without clear ownership, such systems become hard to manage.

It also brings additional pressure on corporate leadership to approve investments in the system and define priorities for its evolution. That becomes increasingly challenging when governance structure isn't well defined or departmental agendas conflict.

Thus, service providers increasingly operate as change facilitators rather than technical consultants. Ability to build communication lines and drive decisions that aren't going to be made otherwise becomes essential.

It's becoming increasingly critical when assessing digital commerce transformation services. Technical capability is certainly important, but the experience in managing organizational complexity is becoming equally crucial. Companies realize that commerce modernization requires not just a system upgrade but a completely new way of doing things.

The rise of governance and talent pressures is an indication of the next phase of digital commerce transformation journey. Organizations that invest in digital commerce platforms but neglect ownership and governance issues will have to deal with implementation challenges long after the software deployment is done.