| An essential driver of the digital transformation is disruption within the competition. Increasingly, new market players are pushing into an ever more saturated markets. This is due, in part, to globalisation where international companies – often without a physical presence – are pushing into local markets. On the other hand, technological progress, especially digitalisation, has significantly lowered market entry barriers, enabled new business models and enhanced value chains. Large e-commerce companies compete online against numerous small and medium scale, highly specialised companies and even private individuals, who use auction and trade platforms for their sales. Disruptive digital platforms such as Uber or AirBnB are questioning entire business models. Branded companies focus on direct sales and their own customer retention tools and therefore skip parts of the „traditional“ value chain. In this increasingly complex, dynamic world, the competition is becoming stiffer. Companies find it more difficult to differentiate themselves. Enabling customer-centred access to markets is becoming essential, given that digitalisation creates a transparent market. Customers can research and compare offers more quickly. Furthermore, there are new decision-making options between different (international) providers. The barriers to change are low. The customer can reach a new provider with a suitable offer or with an attractive look & feel with a single click. |