Andres Perez's Profile

Thanks for sharing this very interesting article. It is fascinating to learn how Nuro is facing some challenges produced by COVID-19. I believe that the main challenge that self-driving cars will have in the future is regulation. Although self-driving cars will be safer than humans, regulators will be more strict with the companies. The COVID-19 creates a unique environment in which companies are getting exceptional permits. Companies should use this opportunity as a pilot. The successful experience of this companies in the next months can be used as examples to promote regulation that allows self-driving cars. Nuro will have to continue investing in technology for improving its customer experience and reducing costs for competing in a sector that will have the presence of big players (e.g. Uber, Google).

Thanks for the interesting article! I found fascinating how Nextdoor can help reducing the negative impacts of COVID-19. I completely agree that the company should focus on developing an strategy to going back towards a normal situation or a new normal. In relation to alternatives that you proposed, I believe that although the three initiatives are excellent options, the small business support and potential government partnership are relevant for the monetization of the platform. The second initiative related to continue building neighborhood ties online can be important for then selling the case to the government, but will not necessarily generate direct profits. Finally, the company should analyze the geographic expansion of the company since there are important fixed costs in the development of the platform.

Nicholas, thanks for the very interesting post. I completely agree that COVID-19 affects importantly the traditional business of Disney, while it presents an opportunity for the streaming service of the company. Although I agree that multi-homing is a possibility in the streaming area, I believe that competition of multiple platform can lead the reduction of margins for the company. While in the traditional business the company has a competitive advantage (there are no many direct competitors in the resorts), in the streaming sector they have more competitors. I think that the actions that they have taken are correct, but I believe that their long-term success will be dependent on its traditional business.

Hi Sneha, this post is fascinating. I think it is very interesting the the use of big data in the sports sector. In particular, I believe that Nike has a competitive advantage versus smaller players since it has high volume of data and cash for investing in the developing of new technologies. Other big competitors such as Adidas are pursuing similar actions (https://d3.harvard.edu/platform-rctom/submission/how-digitalization-is-supporting-adidas-expand-the-reach-of-fast-fashion/). I believe that data analytics will be an essential tool for surviving in that highly competitive market. As you highlight in the article for strengthening the analytics capabilities Nike should continue investing on recruiting data scientists to increase its capacity in data analytics. That could be challenging considering the competition for attracting talent with other traditional tech companies (e.g Google, Amazon, Apple).

James, thanks for the post. This is very interesting!

I found fascinating how the company creates value in a world where communication is essential. For me a point that is critical is the fact that the process is simple (assess, develop, improve). The company should maintain that important characteristic. A more complex process would reduce the number of people that use the platform.

Going forward, I think it will be interesting how the company tailor the product for different countries. The basics of communication depend on the culture. The AI algorithm will have to take into account that factor when assessing the communication performance of that individual.

Thanks Alli for the very interesting post!

It is fascinating how Spotify has grown in the last years. In my personal case, almost every person I know uses Spotify. I completely agree with you with the fact that Spotify has to continue investing in privacy and in articulating the value proposal for artist. Although I agree that Spotify has a competitive advantage based on strong network effects and a high number of customers, I believe that the platform should monitor the action of competitors. Competitors with a lot of cash such as Apple and Amazon could attack with aggressive promotions to take clients from Spotify platform. For that reason improving the customer experience is the best way to compete against other platforms.

Sneha, thanks for your comment. I agree that the network-clustering is not as big as in the case of Uber or Lyft. However, since there is an additional cost of buying a car from other state (e.g. transportation cost), not all cars have the same weight for a person browsing to buy. For that reason people would prefer to buy cars within the same region.

Thanks Megan! It was fascinating to read this post. It is very interesting to see how you compared a typical price-driven commodity business with Drizly, which operates in a very regulated market.

Despite that differences, I still believe that in every marketplace the main driver for being successful is the customer experience. I agree that Drizly can use data to improve customer experience. Based on my personal experience, I believe that Drizly should do a better work on training the stores. I have experienced different quality on the service depending on the stores. Although the company has implemented a rating tool, it is not easy to access the reviews and the number of reviews is very low. To reduce the impact of local competition the company should focus on improving the customer experience in each one of the 100 cities in which it has operations as well as increasing its brand awareness.

Thanks James for sharing this interesting post! I completely agree with you that the company has strong network effects while it has relatively low risks of disintermediation. This company remembers me the ZBJ case. Although ZBJ has much higher disintermediation risks, both companies have challenges in terms of domestic competition and potential international expansion of the company.

Regarding the former, as you mentioned in the blog, the entry of another platform to the same market is an important threat since customers can do multi-homing. I believe that although it is very difficult to face that problem, the company should strengthen its value proposition and analyze alternatives to secure exclusivity with companies. In addition, involving users in improvements is a way to strengthen the relationship with customers and improve the service. Higher competition will impact how the company monetize the service, and the only way to reduce that impact is by differentiating from the competitors.

Regarding the later, ZUBALE can learn from the initial failure of ZBJ in its expansion to the US. When analyzing the potential entry into new markets, ZUBALE should understand the competitive landscape as well as assigning the correct resources to support the growth outside Latin America.

Loti, thanks for the very interesting post. I completely agree that Glovo has been focused on long-term sustainability of the company. To illustrate, the company has closed operations in some markets in which it is not profitable because of high competition (e.g. Egypt). In addition, the company has started offering other services as new sources of income. For example, the company has implemented shared kitchens, which supports the operations of small restaurants. This is also helpful in terms of logistics, since building kitchens in optimal locations helps reducing the delivery times.

In terms of sustainability, I believe that the main risk is the competition with players that have an aggressive strategy (e.g. UberEats). To face this difficult challenge Glovo should continue differentiating through best in class customer service (delivery time, reliability) and strengthen the value of its brand.

Thanks Rocio, for your interesting comments. I completely agree with your points. Regarding point 3, I think that insurance products should be offered in the medium-term, not in the short-term. In the short-term, the company is focused on improving the logistics (to be prepared for the potential entry of Amazon). The company is also focused on boosting its fintech platform. Offering insurance in the short-term would be a distraction for the management team since it requires additional work with regulators.

Thanks Bastian, very exciting post! Although I completely agree that Garmin lost the opportunity to maintain a leadership position on the industry of digital maps, I would not classify Garmin as a loser of the digital revolution. Although the company drastically lost value, it was able to recover by focusing on other areas. As you highlight in the article, the aviation and fitness segments has allowed the company to boost its revenues. From 2012 to 2018, the company has been able to increase year by year its revenues. The potential of the business is reflected in the value of its stock, which has increased from 37 USD (Jan 2016) to 96 USD (Jan 2020). The introduction of new technologies and features such as a golf watch with special sensors and preloaded courses, or digitization of marine marine mapping. For me, Nokia is a looser of the digital era, but Garmin is not a loser, since it was able to adapt its business and deliver good results.

Thanks Leah for the interesting post. I completely agree that the reward loyalty program is an effective initiative to reduce the customer churn due to the entry of new coffee players. However, I believe that it is even more important to improve the customer experience by creating new products that match with the evolving preferences of customers. As you mentioned in the article, data will play a critical role in the future to offer a more personalized service. Starbucks has developed some initiatives in this line. For example, in 2019 Starbucks installed 1,900 Mastrena II expresso makers, which have IoT sensors for preventive maintenance purposes. This initiative will allow Starbucks to reduce machines’ failures, reduce customer wait time and improve customer experience. In the future, Starbucks should continue working with data to improve their products and increase customer retention.

Megan, this is a very interesting article! I completely agree that rethinking the big blue box has allowed IKEA to increase the efficiency of their processes, reduce costs and improve customer experience. Doing some additional research I found that IKEA’s effort to strengthen the online channel has allowed the company to increase online sales in 43% from September of 2018 to August of 2019 [1]. Although the digitization of the company operations is a key area that will allow IKEA to maintain its leading position in the furniture industry, the management should continue focusing on the development of useful and safe products. The case of the IKEA’s dresser that killed a 2-year-old kid, shows that there is a risk that the company loses focus on the development of products.

[1] Business Insider. “IKEA’s online sales surged.” https://www.businessinsider.com/ikeas-online-sales-surge-43-2019-9. Accessed on February of 2020.