Matthew GriffinFounder, President and Futurist, 311 Institute
G7 · G20governments advised
850+keynotes
102countries
17codexes
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About this keynote
Firstly, thank you to Carlos and the team at Cow Hills who invited me to be the keynote speaker at their annual get together in South Africa to present on the Future of Retail at the glorious Suikerbossie Restaurant overlooking in Hout Bay, where South Africa’s largest retailers, including Shoprite and Woolworths, gathered to hear about the latest trends impacting the industry.
During my keynote I covered a wide range of topics, from the emergence of new product design and manufacturing technologies, such as Creative Machines and 3D holographic printing, right through to the emergence of the first fully autonomous retailers which will usher in the industry’s third wave of disruption and only serve to further compound the disruption wrought on the industry by the arrival of E-Commerce in the early 2000’s, as it helps retailers everywhere change the economics of the industry, eliminate supply chains and inventory, and move to an on demand business model.
See the keynote in full
To add even more fuel to the fire though, as if trying to navigate two industry wide disruptions in just a couple of decades wasn’t enough, this latest trend is being driven by none other than the e-tail behemoth Amazon who, as I discuss during the presentation, are now on route to become the world’s first fully autonomous retailer where everything from product design and manufacturing, through to fulfilment and delivery are autonomous and performed by machines.
As I’ve discussed many times before, exponential technologies like the ones I discuss in the presentation not only make the likelihood of entire industries being disrupted in new ways more plausible and easier than ever before, but they also help accelerate the rate of disruption itself.
Inevitably, as executives in the retail industry are about to find out first hand again, this means that the amount of time between disruptive events, and the cycles of disruption themselves, are get increasingly shorter over time, ultimately meaning that companies need to be always on the look out for the next wave of disruption and be ready to both defend against it and lead it.
311 Intelligence
What this means for your leadership team
Autonomy is the next wave.
E-Commerce disrupted retail in the early 2000s. Autonomous retailers now add a third wave on top of it. Retailers are automating design, pricing, warehouses and delivery, and edging towards stores run by machines.
The economics move to on demand.
Autonomous retail helps retailers change the economics of the industry, remove supply chains and inventory, and sell on demand. New design and making tools such as Creative Machines and 3D holographic printing support that shift. Shorter supply chains mean fewer parts, fewer steps and less stock to hold.
Disruption cycles keep shortening.
Exponential technologies make disruption easier to start and quicker to spread. The time between disruptive events is getting shorter, which compresses business planning cycles. Leadership teams need a standing watch on the next wave, ready to defend against it and to lead it.
Three questions for your next leadership meeting
Which parts of our design, fulfilment and delivery could machines run?
How much of our inventory and supply chain would an on demand model remove?
Are we ready to both defend against the next wave and lead it?
The trends and technologies behind this session
From the 311 Starburst, the 311 Strategic Intelligence Unit’s map of the technologies and trends shaping the next 50 years.
What does this session mean for retail organisations?
It means a third wave of disruption is forming, led by retailers that run design, manufacturing, fulfilment and delivery with machines. Organisations should expect pressure on supply chains and inventory, and plan for an on demand model.
How do autonomous retailers relate to this keynote?
They are the core of it. Retailers are automating design, pricing, warehouses and delivery, edging towards stores run by machines. Amazon is described as on route to become the first fully autonomous retailer.
How does the accelerating rate of change relate to retail?
Faster adoption and shorter corporate lifespans compress planning cycles. For retail, this means less time between disruptions, so strategy must be reviewed more often and not left to a fixed cycle.
How can 311 brief our leadership team on this?
311 offers a private executive briefing or leadership workshop, tailored to your sector. Sessions are held in person first.
Bring this to your leadership teamA private executive briefing or leadership workshop, tailored to your sector. In person first, anywhere in the world.
Analysis by the 311 Strategic Intelligence Unit, from Matthew Griffin’s session and 311 data.
If Matthew gave this session today
Hundreds of emerging technologies, mapped for industry.
The codex explores hundreds of emerging technologies and their implications for global culture, industry and society, the long-range view that any 2080 infrastructure strategy depends on.
