Challenge

ba&sh, a French women’s clothing brand, experienced a pivotal moment following an unprecedented surge in growth during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This growth raised four key questions:

  • Identifying and addressing the critical gaps in ba&sh’s market presence;

  • Evaluating the feasibility of a global implementation;

  • Assessing the intricate challenges tied to deploying the project, including partner engagement and organizational considerations;

  • Gauging ba&sh’s internal talent pool for handling the project’s demands.

Methodology

The project was structured into three distinct phases, each scheduled over a 5-week duration:

  • Phase 1 – Exploration and Foundation: Kicked off with in-depth interviews, defining a flexible operating model, and conducting a comprehensive audit of existing tools.

  • Phase 2 – Strategic Vision and Validation: This stage involved presenting the overarching assessment encompassing the four pivotal dimensions under scrutiny. ba&sh’s strategic approach was then rigorously validated.

  • Phase 3 – Guiding the Way Forward: Culminated in crafting a robust set of guidelines and a comprehensive roadmap, further enriched by the sharing of best practices with ba&sh’s external partners.

Approach

Considering the project’s timeline and scope, we may or may not be able to undertake comprehensive assessments of all seven dimensions. Our objective is to maintain a high level of specificity and efficiency while giving priority to the most influential factors. Instead of delving deeply into each dimension, we focus on identifying and analyzing the key game changers.

For the ba&sh project, due to its tight timeline, we zeroed in on four crucial dimensions, each wielding significant influence in the comprehensive transformation of the e-commerce landscape

The journey towards resolving ba&sh’s challenges rested on four crucial pillars, each contributing to the holistic transformation of the e-commerce landscape:

  • Activation: ba&sh was suffering from a lack of coherent use case vision and the ability to prioritize these cases. Addressing these issues required the orchestration of use cases across the entire sales funnel and an alignment across all channels to create synergistic effects.

  • Measurement: The absence of robust measurement protocols was leading to biased decision-making and hampering the prioritization of projects and investments. Automation was integrated to reduce human errors and save valuable time.

  • Tools & Architecture: Foundational elements were put in place to ensure data quality and the efficient use of data marketing and adtech tools. Efforts were made to bring consistency to the Data Marketing ecosystem by addressing redundancy, integration challenges, and the quest for a single source of truth. Advanced tools were harnessed to their full potential

  • Operating Model & Change: Developing a data-driven culture became imperative, with a focus on enhancing data skills. The need for greater agility between business and IT teams was acknowledged to expedite time-to-market. Further, alignment with external system integrations was
    recognized as a key factor in solidifying data foundations.

The audit phase provided an array of recommendations. These recommendations were sorted based on their potential business impact (financial implications, maturity gap, and scalability) and their complexities, such as organizational challenges, technical hurdles, and knowledge requirements.

Achievements

  • The transformation efforts resulted in the delivery of strategic enablers and use cases for audience structuring and optimization throughout the sales funnel.

  • Automated bidding mechanisms were recommended to enhance touch point efficiency.

  • Business targets exceeded the previously defined objectives for each channel and product category.

  • The implementation of success measurement templates and streamlined processes facilitated collaboration with both internal and external stakeholders.

Roadmap

The roadmap was designed to progress through three distinct phases:

  • Maximizing Touch Point Efficiency: Focused on immediate gains through optimization.

  • Initiating Omnichannel Transformation: Commenced the evolution of ba&sh’s e-commerce ecosystem.

  • Pursuing Omnichannel Strategy and Expansion: Aimed at further diversifying and enhancing touch points and market presence.