Guy F. Courtin – Vice President of Industry and Global Alliances, Tecsys.
Many statistics confirm the continual growth of e-commerce. Morgan Stanley estimates that by 2026, nearly 30% of retail will be carried out via e-commerce in North America. But in a world dominated by digital—consumer markets in particular—a company’s “ground game” is what will empower brands to reach the next level of performance.
What Is a Ground Game, And Why Does It Matter?
Digital permeates all aspects of our personal lives. The utilization rate of telehealth has stabilized at around 22% in the United States. The number of digital higher education degrees available from both traditional and for-profit schools continues to increase. More Americans are buying homes online without physically visiting the properties first. With new virtual devices from companies such as Apple and Meta, Americans will likely continue to transition to digital environments in just about every way they can.
But despite these changes, the ground game has never been more important. Borrowed from a political metaphor, improving one’s ground game means establishing a strong localized presence in the areas one hopes to influence. And evidence shows that consumer brands that improve their ground game are more likely to lead in their space.
Why Digital Brands Are Falling Short With Real Logistics
Most consumer brands are struggling with their ground game today. That’s partially because consumers expect more from distribution channels: faster delivery, greater flexibility and more sustainable shipping options, among others. According to a 2023 study, 8 in 10 e-commerce SMBs claim the shipping experience accounts for at least half of consumers’ overall e-commerce experiences. However, the study also found that 71% of consumers contacted e-commerce companies’ customer service teams about shipping and delivery problems from online orders.
Now, Amazon, Alibaba, eBay, Mercado Libre and other e-commerce giants are defining how consumers receive goods from e-commerce purchases. These are wholly digital brands, and consumers may think of them primarily in terms of their online presence. But these brands are also some of the biggest ground game investors in consumer industries today.
Improving Ground Games In Two Consumer Industries
Today, a competitive ground game may feature a combination of next-generation warehouses, some of which are integrated with brick-and-mortar stores, connected through a host of distribution and parcel delivery options. Here is a closer look at two industries where these systems are evolving at an accelerated rate: consumer retail and healthcare.
Reinventing Physical Retail Stores
The evolving dynamics of retail compel consumer brands to redefine the use of their physical stores. Giants such as Target and Walmart are at the forefront of this transformation. By expanding their physical store presence, these retailers aim to increase foot traffic and strategically position their stores as centralized distribution hubs from which they can fulfill online orders in their localities.
Amazon is among them. The company owns or rents 23.8 million square feet of retail store space in addition to more than 22 square miles of warehouse space. This is the foundation of its ground game—the critical infrastructure on which Amazon relies to maintain its success.
By leveraging stores’ proximity to customers, these retailers expedite delivery times, reduce shipping costs and enhance the overall customer experience. Additionally, they get the greatest possible value from their physical spaces, breaking down barriers between traditional retail and e-commerce operations.
Transforming Healthcare Distribution Channels
The rise in “from-anywhere” telehealth underscores a need for greater efficiency and reach in the healthcare ground game. Simply put, the delivery of vital medications and equipment must catch up with consumer habits. Telehealth services can consult, diagnose and even prescribe, but the physical delivery of medicines, equipment and supplies is the element that completes the circle of care. That’s why innovations—including drones, automated delivery vehicles and modernized distribution networks, such as those described above—are becoming important aspects of a new healthcare distribution establishment.
Formal healthcare is becoming more interconnected with physical retail locations. Retail-healthcare partnerships not only facilitate an easier distribution of healthcare products but also make receiving care more convenient for patients.
The evolution of these models may extend to other areas, integrating other consumer industries in unconventional ways. Whatever the case, their success hinges on a well-coordinated ground game, ensuring physical locations have the inventory and capabilities they need to meet consumer needs.
How’s Your Ground Game?
The potential of digital continues to captivate businesses, investors and consumers. But the future is more than just digital—it is digital capabilities powered by robust, efficient and innovative ground game strategies.
The ground game holds the key to sustainable success in e-commerce markets such as healthcare, retail and others. Investments in physical logistics and technologies, innovative use of retail space and strategic positioning of distribution hubs will ensure that brands can live up to their promises of efficiency, fulfillment and customer satisfaction.
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