The Preparation stage is relevant for both Small Commerce and Small Digital sectors. Once the ideation has been finalized and the small commerce business had decided what they want to do (e.g. a web shop, fully automated stocking etc.), preparation stage starts. During the Preparation stage, both parties must agree on the plan to have the digital transition of the Small Commerce business. There are several aspects that small businesses from both sectors need to consider in order to make the collaboration and the end product a success. The concerns below are derived from surveys with small retail and small digital companies about their collaboration and are selected specifically for the Preparation stage. These are reflected as
- Lack of experience in such collaboration
- Difficulty in understanding challenges and the rewarding outcomes
- Difficulty in establishing a middle ground
- Establishing a clear Timeframe
- Implementing the Project management
From these, we can detect several skills and knowledge techniques that can be developed to tackle those issues. During this preparation phase, we will be discussing the skills for Small Commerce and Small Digital separately:
- Small Commerce.
You will need to
- Analyse your needs
- Analyse possibilities
- Adapting or expanding
- Budgets and planning
- Small Digital
You will need to
- Understand Small Commerce
- Learn about the needs
- Create a customized solution
- Planning and milestones
With these skills and know-how of reflecting on the previous ideation stage
- You will be able to understand your needs assessment (processes as shaped by this change) and find the right collaborator to help you achieve your goals.
- You will be able to analyse the various options available and select the best one for your requirements.
- You will understand how to use your time and resources more effectively, identify you planning process, so as to achieve the desired results
- You will understand the needs of small commerce Organization with which you will collaborate, as well as their business model.
- You will be able to offer them the exact solution they require and
- You will use project management tools to effectively plan the entire implementation phase.