The digital economy is your pathway to profitable growth

Produced by BrandConnect, a commercial division of The Economist

Companies need a plan for the digital economy. Those that fail to engage, that fail to adapt to the power of tools like data analytics and AI, will go obsolete. It may not happen right away, but it will happen, according to Lynn Wu, assistant professor of Operations, Information and Decisions at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business. 

A plan, however, must be more than just putting a commerce platform in place. All the business impacts of digital must be considered. The end state, ideally, is a new business model that delivers revenue using digitally enabled customer experience across all channels, touchpoints, and fulfillment capabilities—even returns and refunds.

This kind of transformation requires leaders who are prepared to fundamentally assess how they operate. It can also require looking to outside experts and technology providers and even empowering functions, such as IT, that play a crucial role in evaluating, selecting and implementing the technology that will underpin the strategy.

Read the article to learn more about a company that created more direct relationships with their customers and to learn how customer data can benefit the commerce experience.