To survive the current market dynamics, companies in all segments have to be agile in identifying trends and constantly reinventing themselves. New product launches often lead to new production models as well as profound changes in distribution and business models.

An example of this is that we spent decades buying vinyl records, sometimes with songs we didn't even like, to listen to at home. Then we spent years selecting the songs we liked (personalization) on K7 tapes to listen to wherever we wanted (mobility). Digitization brought higher quality CDs, and soon all this moved on to the iPod and other MP3 players, combining all the advantages already mentioned.

As a result, physical stores were wiped out and the market was dominated by entertainment marketplaces. The same happened with the movie and publishing market, only much faster. Huge chains of video stores and bookstores collapsed with the advent of streaming and digital publications. Who today wants to read yesterday's news in a newspaper that covers subjects that are of no interest to them?

To stay in the game, industries decide to open direct sales channels, outsource production phases, reduce stocks of components that may be useless for the next generation of products.

The convenience of virtual shopping and home deliveries is increasingly valued, but on the other hand this can make it difficult to know the behavior and desires of customers.

Ownership of certain types of products is no longer valued; the sale of goods has often been replaced by rent or services. This has been boosted by the popularization of apps that enable initiatives such as UBER, Yellow Bike, Carpooling and others.

Within the IT world, CLOUD and Saas are proof of this phenomenon.

Products already created within the IoT concept open up spaces for new sources of income, data on consumption and user behavior, if handled well, can bring insight to business areas, further accelerating these changes in companies.

Examples:

New washer/dryers already identify the model of the garment and consult online on the best way to fold it, but new applications that identify sizes, models, preferred colors and frequency of use could be created to increase the assertiveness not only of clothing manufacturers but also of sales offers.

Refrigerators will be able to take on the role of doing the month's shopping by cross-referencing their stock with favorite menus and even consulting the temperature forecast and residents' schedules for the coming days. This could change retailers' pricing and loyalty policies. We can foresee two opposite paths:

1. By cross-referencing delivery conditions and prices, applications can choose to segment purchases in different stores.
2. Convenience or quality of food. We can choose between menu generators offered by nutritionists or retail chains that will take care of sourcing all the necessary supplies behind the scenes.

In the same way, the sensing of production lines generates information that, if handled properly, can considerably increase productivity by reducing input losses and reducing unscheduled downtime.

All of this has to be closely monitored and promptly attended to by IT, whether with the implementation of RFID, mobility, BI or systems integration/development.

Every innovation brings risks and costs, which are accentuated by the short timescales.

How can all these demands be met with internal teams that are often stretched thin and don't have the time to keep up with market developments?

There is undoubtedly no shortage of options on the market for solving these challenges, but as with everything, functionalities and costs change rapidly. Because of their complexity, the providers of these solutions are increasingly specializing in their niche without knowing your business or other technologies, so how do you put together the best equipment and solutions, how do you integrate them?

Operating in the most diverse segments, 3CON combines its 25 years of market experience with the innovation of a systemic/holistic approach based on Design Thinking and a broad portfolio of products and services that can quickly form a solution to your needs.