Digitalisation : 5 types of company according to their degree of digitalisation

As a reminder. Digitalisation refers to a set of processes that consist of transforming traditional processes, objects, tools. Or even professions using digital technologies in order to make them more efficient. You can find the complete definition of digitalisation here.

To this end, here are 5 types of companies according to their degree of digitalisation.

The wait-and-see company

A category that encompasses a large number of companies. They are waiting, following digital from afar. And when these companies finally take action, it is already too late or the measures taken are the wrong ones. For example, the Peugeot sales force is still equipped with Blackberry or Kodak and has not reacted to the arrival of digital photography.

The Impressionists

These are the companies that give the appearance of being digital companies but in reality, have no real strategy. They take care of their image with a website or job creations such as Chief Digital Officer. But without transforming their organization.

The outsourcers

This category represents companies that do not wish to fully integrate digital within their organization. They use the excuse that “digital is not their business” and prefer to delegate it to one of their subsidiaries. Which will be independent of the parent company. As an example the creation of “SNCF trips” by SCNF (France’s national state-owned railway company) to handle online sales. A subsidiary that has now overtaken the traditional SNCF sales system in popularity.

The integrators

Faced with the advance of a more digital world, these companies choose as a strategy the acquisition and integration of a more competitive structure in this field. This is the choice made by the Casino group in particular when they acquired the e-commerce website CDiscount. This strategy allows integrator-type companies to rapidly acquire digital know-how. In the case of the Casino group, this acquisition has allowed them to play on the leverage of products and personnel. Casino was able to distribute products for sale online by taking advantage of CDiscount’s know-how.

The transformers

These are the companies that have reached the final level of digitalisation. Indeed, they have succeeded in integrating the levers of digital transformation within their organization. In this way, they are able to produce goods and services in an optimal way and remain at the forefront of the race for performance. These companies are characterized by a flatter structure and projects managed by very different skills (designers, developers, marketers…) but working together. Finally, they have succeeded in building a corporate culture geared towards the client’s benefit. In the category of transformers, we find the world leaders in digital technology such as Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Amazon…

Finally

Now it’s time for you to identify what type of digital business your company is in. If you wish to evolve towards a “transformer” type company, Powerlab has the know-how to help you.

If digitalisation is a subject that interests you, find all the articles on this subject here.

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