You may think migrating your legacy commerce platform to a modern Microservices-based, API-first, Cloud-native, Headless (MACH) solution will lead to endless working hours, interminable meetings and losing control over your job. Plus, your company will probably tell you it’s not in the budget. But deep down, wouldn’t you rather work at a leading, innovative company? It’s likely your IT team would too. So, it’s time to say yes to transforming your business – and yourself.
Be honest. How much stress does your legacy commerce platform cause you? Do you get frustrated when IT can't add new channels, countries, product lines or business units to your eCommerce? What about when the next big seasonal campaign is approaching and you have no idea if your infrastructure can handle the traffic spikes? Or worse: your disappointed boss informs you that you’ve failed to meet sales targets, customer loyalty goals and/or develop that super important feature in time?
And then the real kicker happens: you read about all the revolutionary trends that your company is unable to go for while your competitors are opening new channels, generating higher sales and doing so much better across the board. How can you not feel jealous? This reinforces what you already know — your eCommerce infrastructure needs an overhaul. At the same time, your subconscious still questions, "Is the risk worth the reward?” and "What will this mean for me, exactly?"
Well, here’s the plain truth: many executives have been in your exact position. They realized that the only way to move forward is to stop making excuses, push past their hesitations — and commit to a complete transformation of their commerce. No one will lie and tell you that it’s an easy process. It’s not. That said, once you’re operating on a modern composable solution, you’ll discover that, yes, you can cross the chasm, and when you get to the other side, there really is a world of limitless commerce possibilities.
#1 - Change your work for the better
Do you run around the entire day trying to fix bugs or find shortcuts to increase conversion rates? You probably also attend endless meetings to find a solution to some recurring problem and constantly get emails from colleagues that say "Sorry, but no, that won’t work." You’re in firefighting mode all the time — and it’s exhausting – but, you’re used to it. It’s baked into your routine, even if it drives you crazy.
Now imagine: What if, Instead of always problem-solving in the here and now, you get to focus on the future? Instead of continually finding short-term answers to long-term problems, you're exploring AI technology solutions that can increase sales and customer loyalty, discussing new commerce channels and markets, and brainstorming ideas to boost your company’s innovation output. Wow, that would be a big change!
That scenario happens every day at companies with modern commerce architecture in place. Transforming your eCommerce infrastructure doesn’t mean you’ll work less — it's just that your work becomes more meaningful, future-oriented and strategic. You can accomplish great things with a technology foundation that’s flexible enough to handle the demands of your customers (and your board). Plus, that constant search for workarounds to get your job done? No mas!
#2 - Book a holiday during Black Friday without fear
Do you get heartburn or break out in hives every time Black Friday approaches? That’s because previous experience has shown you that your seasonal campaigns are more of a burden than a blessing.
When it’s go-time, every part of your plan is torn apart if your eCommerce system cannot handle traffic peaks. You strategically coordinate promotions, carefully plan the kickoff, sales start rolling in, then boom, your website crashes! Mayhem ensues. The dream of blissfully sleeping to the sound of waves crashing on the shore? Not happening. It’s you standing in your kitchen at 3 a.m. on a conference call with your alarm pre-set for 6 a.m. No wonder your anti-aging skincare costs are through the roof!
But, what if you could take a holiday during Black Friday? Here’s a secret, it’s possible — if you’ve integrated cloud-native technology into your eCommerce infrastructure. Only then can you have confidence your tech stack will scale automatically…infinitely. Now that you know the secret to scalability, go ahead, make that reservation, get on that plane and enjoy Black Friday by the beach with the biggest cocktail you can find. You’re welcome.
#3 - Boost your career ambitions
Imagine boasting that you helped your company increase sales by 25% or lower operating costs by 75%. Oh, what a dream, right?
Case in point: when the fashion retailer Express migrated to a modern MACH-driven commerce solution, they went from releasing updates every two to three months to multiple weekly releases. What’s more, consumer goods brand Danone was able to create a direct-to-consumer (D2C) strategy in a matter of weeks to help worried parents buy baby formula amid a product shortage crisis. Being part of such initiatives could look pretty good on your CV, right?
Brands with flexible, scalable modular commerce architecture in place can add and adapt new functions, frontends and touchpoints at high velocity, so they can experiment and iterate quickly. They’re able to turn ideas into reality, make the impossible possible, and make themselves look darn good in the process! Fact is, with the proper eCommerce backbone, you can increase revenue AND make your career dreams come true.
#4 - Never replatform again
We’re not joking. We know you lose sleep just thinking about re-platforming! We get it. Transforming any part of your business is a massive undertaking and so many things can go wrong. You may be afraid that the project will be out of control, cause major disruptions or break down altogether.
But fear not, because with modern composable commerce, you don’t have to go all “Big Bang,” and cut over to a new eCommerce system overnight. You can opt for a phased migration plan, launching and testing features one at a time, running your legacy platform in tandem with your new tech stack and controlling your rollout every step of the way!
And once it’s fully live and running smoothly, you can gloat in the glory of knowing you’ll never again have to re-platform. Say goodbye forever to your antiquated platform and hello to a future of limitless commerce possibilities. Do you really need to think about how amazing that would be?
#5 - Spark joy like never before
You’ve probably tidied up your wardrobe using Marie Kondo’s famous catchphrase “keep only what sparks joy.” Likewise, during your commerce transformation, discard what you don’t need in favor of what fits your requirements now and in the future. Ask yourself: Does this technology spark joy or force me to accept a less-than-stellar solution?
With a modern commerce solution that sparks joy, teams can work together seamlessly, avoiding unnecessary finger-pointing and conflict. The days of fighting to get even tiny things done are a distant memory. New ideas are welcomed with open arms and you hear ‘yes’ all the time. The underlying architecture directly impacts what people can do and how they work together, giving companies the power to break silos like never before. Trust me, once a company goes MACH, they never go back. In fact, the retention rate for commercetools headless solution is 96 percent.
Indeed, as Marie Kondo says, “life truly begins only after you have put your house in order.” Your legacy commerce platform served its purpose, but it’s time to reorganize your commerce “house.” Don’t feel bad, just say thanks for what you’ve accomplished together – and move on.
The time to say YES is now
It’s a human trait to get the heebie-jeebies when on the verge of transformation. In the hopes that the need to adopt modern commerce goes away, you may even hear yourself repeating Eastman Kodak’s mantra, “Why fix something that isn’t broken?” Don’t, because it won’t. Deep down, you know it’s just a matter of time… and lest you forget, Kodak’s mantra led the company to bankruptcy during the digital photography revolution. You don’t want to be caught up in the same kind of cautionary tale, do you?
Buck up already and get going on your modern commerce transformation journey. It won’t take long to see the myriad of ways it improves the way your company runs commerce. And, regardless of whether you work in marketing, sales or tech, you’re going to benefit from being part of the initiative. So, roll up your sleeves and say yes to the limitless possibilities with modern commerce. You can thank me later, over a cocktail.
Discover how commercetools can spark joy in your digital commerce transformation with a 60-day free trial and our starter kit, commercetools for Growth.
Manuela Marques Tchoe is a Content Writer at commercetools. She was a Content and Product Marketing Director at conversational commerce provider tyntec. She has written content in partnership with Facebook, Rakuten Viber and other social media platforms.