Welcome to the 28th edition of The LogTech Letter, a weekly look at the impact technology is having on the world of global and domestic logistics. Last week, I looked at whether the ocean freight industry is ready for an electronic bill of lading (eBL). This week, I’m thinking about an issue at the very heart of the incumbent/startup divide in international logistics: the old vs. new idea issue.
Eric – as always, another great letter. You should write a book on transformation (seriously).
Two quick comments from me on your latest letter.
1. ON DATA: We all (esp. software companies) have sooooo much of it, that printing lovely charts and graphs is easy now. The issues WHAT THE HECK DO YOU DO WITH IT ALL? What actionable (and profitable) moves should (or could) be made after looking at those lovely colorful charts? We are all struggling with this. 😊
2. ON NEW(ISH) IDEAS: Timing is everything…and when new ideas first appear, sometimes people are just not “ready” for them. There are thousands of examples of this…where first movers failed, only for others to take the baton, tweak a few things, and re-introduce the service or product (or idea), for it to finally gain traction. For example, remember the Palm Pilot…which eventually tried to tack-on a phone (creating the first ever “smart” phone)? They were 15 years ahead of Apple and Samsung…but Palm Pilot failed and Apple and Samsung now own (essentially) the smartphone market.
Thanks, Eric. I love your letters…please keep them coming!!!
Eric – as always, another great letter. You should write a book on transformation (seriously).
Two quick comments from me on your latest letter.
1. ON DATA: We all (esp. software companies) have sooooo much of it, that printing lovely charts and graphs is easy now. The issues WHAT THE HECK DO YOU DO WITH IT ALL? What actionable (and profitable) moves should (or could) be made after looking at those lovely colorful charts? We are all struggling with this. 😊
2. ON NEW(ISH) IDEAS: Timing is everything…and when new ideas first appear, sometimes people are just not “ready” for them. There are thousands of examples of this…where first movers failed, only for others to take the baton, tweak a few things, and re-introduce the service or product (or idea), for it to finally gain traction. For example, remember the Palm Pilot…which eventually tried to tack-on a phone (creating the first ever “smart” phone)? They were 15 years ahead of Apple and Samsung…but Palm Pilot failed and Apple and Samsung now own (essentially) the smartphone market.
Thanks, Eric. I love your letters…please keep them coming!!!
Tim at AscendTMS