New business models

The Covid-19 crisis has led many businesses to digitise their services and open their minds to new ways of selling and delivering their products and services.

Business models had already been moving towards recurring, usage or value-driven models:

• Servitisation – Rather than paying to “own” a product, paying a recurring fee to access/use it
• Pay-as-you-use – Paying upfront and not being tied to a contract or commitment
• Pay-for-outcome – Paying only for the value a service offers

Operating models have also shifted, with an increasing preference for more resilient cost structures that scale up or down depending on the revenue generated. For example through:

• Cloudification – Enabling businesses to pay only for the infrastructure they require at a particular time, scaling up or down according to demand
• The gig-economy – Providing a more flexible workforce that they can scale as needed
• Distributed sourcing models – Avoiding dependence on single suppliers or distribution chains

We expect many of these transformations to continue and accelerate in every sector.

As the number of FinTechs continues to rise, the ecosystem of the financial services sector is now more complex than ever. The small, nimble new entrants are often leading the way in applying new business and operating models. These innovations have the potential to bring enhanced customer experiences.

However, businesses and consumers also value the reliability and trust that only larger, more stable businesses can provide.  We predict that the significant changes (and successes) in the coming years will be where new entrants and incumbents combine forces. They will leverage their unique strengths to deliver innovative and trusted services to their customers.

Some major platform providers have reached a level in their operations which enables them to innovate and deliver an unrivalled digital experience, allowing consumers to access products from anywhere at an affordable price.

Yet consumers equally value the virtues of local products and services. Combine this with the growing demand for more sustainability, and we see momentum building towards global digital platforms that focus on local services as a key differentiator.