SAP completed the acquisition of hybris on August 1st to “help businesses deliver seamless commerce experience to customers. A very interesting acquisition, even though the rumours have been around a long time. For example, Matt Hamshire has asked Ariel Ludi, hybris CEO a few times over the years about SAP, and after the accouchement Ariel conceded that “of course we had to wait until the price was right”.
Last week I got my first presentation of hybris by one of our joint partners, and I must admit that I was blown away and also surprised of the capabilities/possibilities the solution offers.The key thing is the massive paradigm change in the buying cycle/landscape and that companies (whether they are B2C or B2B companies) needs to adapt quickly.
Summary of my takeaways from the presentation:
- The customer is more than ever in the center.
- The customer journey includes more channels then before (computer, smartphone, social media, tablets, telephone, stores, printed materials, etc.). Companies need to be able to meet the customer on their ground 24x7.
- The customer decides which channel they want to use and when to use them, which makes it challenging for companies to offer a streamlined offering and message throughout the different channels.
- The customer is forcing the change by changing buying patterns and the way they want to interact with the companies. (For example the second screen.)
- It matters that they customer buy, not in which channel they are buying trough.
- The B2B segment has a massive potential for e-commerce and up sell potential when B2B employees needs to order spare parts etc. They won’t
be satisfied with a less attractive buying experience as then when they order something for them self.
