How composable commerce simplifies complexity and 3 more great takeaways from CommerceNext

By Michael Scholz

In the US, NRF and Shoptalk have established reputations as the titans of commerce/retail conferences. However, CommerceNext has accomplished a curated and intriguing community of senior retail leaders. I’ve attended it for the past couple of years, watching it grow in both size and industry relevance. Held at the New York Hilton, this year's event wrapped up last Thursday and was a resounding success for commercetools. The show floor was consistently busy and our sales team was able to connect with many customers, partners and prospects. We also had a handful of fantastic meetings with some really big brands (think Madison Square Garden big!). 

The highlight of the event, at least for me, was the keynote presentation I gave on Day 2, “How a Leading Medical Technology and Life Sciences Company Unlocked Composable Commerce’s Speed, Scale and Simplicity.” I had the pleasure of interviewing Devang Modi, VP of Digital Strategy at Bausch & Lomb about his company’s digital transformation journey. The story he shared is amazing and incredibly inspiring, especially for any leader considering embracing composable commerce to drive business growth. 

An almost 175-year-old company, Bausch & Lomb has a lot of complexity in its commerce operations. Well-known as one of the world’s largest manufacturers of contact lenses, it also makes pharmaceutical products and surgical devices, operating B2B, B2C and B2B2C distribution models in almost 100 countries, as well as utilizing marketplaces and social media as marketing channels. Devang explained that the company’s main challenges are not only that their digital commerce capabilities vary from country to country and region to region, but product availability, regulations and pricing also vary. 

Last year, the company embarked on a journey to harness its eCommerce and digital experiences across its business units, geographies and commerce use cases to create a seamless, consistent journey for customers. They looked at multiple platforms but none could deliver the flexibility and scalability Bausch & Lomb needed. Devang told the audience that while they were not specifically looking for a composable commerce solution, the approach ultimately won them over. 

They decided to test out the composable approach with their biggest, most complex use case first — B2B2C — with the vision of creating an experience that could support both the needs of its eyecare professionals (ECPS) and their patients. Devang said that, by taking a cross-functional, collaborative approach, the company went from “zero to beta” in just four months, with the new composable platform already delivering a customer-centric experience that is fully unified on the backend while supporting customized frontends. The company is getting ready to launch the new platform to the public and is already working on expanding composable commerce across all business units. 

Check out the video of the presentation to gain a greater understanding of Bausch & Lomb’s journey to composable commerce.

Of course, there were other great takeaways from the conference in addition to Devang reinforcing that composable commerce is the best choice for businesses today. Here are a few insights to consider as you continue your digital journey.

1 . Time to value is a top priority

It’s no surprise that many business leaders were talking about struggling with tight budgets. What’s interesting is that, as a result, business leaders are taking a pragmatic approach to buying new technology. They’re looking for digital transformation projects that can deliver an immediate impact and start generating value from Day 1. Basically, organizations are not willing to wait 12,18 months or more to start seeing a return on their investment anymore. The folks I spoke to are focusing on finding the right project for right now, one that can be implemented quickly and deliver results faster than traditional replatforming/digital transformation processes.

2. The right people are as important as the right product 

More businesses are realizing that just making smart technology investments isn’t enough. Digital maturity has become a bigger part of the conversation, specifically as it pertains to an organization’s tech talent. It seems more leaders are realizing that, without people with advanced knowledge and skills, you can’t fully leverage the capabilities of modern technology. Many of the attendees I spoke to are asking themselves, “Is my team at the digital maturity level I need them to be? If not, what kind of capabilities do we need to get there?” 

The question they’re really trying to answer is, “Who does my next hire need to be?” 

3. Substance wins over sales speak

I spoke to multiple business leaders who said they are seeking authenticity from tech vendors. They don’t want to hear about products or services they don’t need or benefits they don’t care about. Case in point: Two of our customers told me that too many vendors just want to talk about what they’re doing with AI and how it can help their business. The thing is, neither company is entertaining anything AI-related right now. They want vendors to understand what they are looking for before explaining how their technology can help them get there. This is where authenticity comes in. Listen before you pitch. Be transparent and specific. Overselling on additional features, modules, tech, etc. isn’t going to work. When in doubt, refer back to takeaway 1 – time to value is the top priority. 

I’m looking forward to more learnings this week at MACH 3!