Electrification will save your ecosystem from sepsis and shock (2 / 6)
A strategy guide by Paul Gumienny of Cosmic Cat Group
Part II / VI – Reading time: 4 minutes
Author: Paul Gumienny
Today – STEP 2
Electrification will save your ecosystem from sepsis and shock
The competition between two power trains is ultimately a competition between two highly complex ecosystems, a development progression with an outcome that is yet to be found. Indeed, Tesla is a great example of a mobility company that understood modern ecosystem dynamics in the whole, and their worldwide electric charging system was obviously an essential part of that.
The earlier you start to electrify your mobility fleet, the faster your organization can internalize the knowledge needed to decarbonize effectively.
Tesla kicked off their Supercharger network in 2012 with six local spots in California. Nevertheless, this once young start-up somehow managed to expand their charging network services to be the worldwide quality standard it prides itself on today. A fact quoted many times by EV Drivers in need of fast service and reliable route planning. Now, if one compares this approach with the best performer in the ecosystem of mobile networks, one will realize that Tesla, just like Apple and Google, offers a holistic ecosystem with a heavy emphasis on deeply embedded software solutions. Their worldwide service offering also guarantees consistent quality, regardless of the local infrastructure or cultural environment. This approach shows a mindset that seems to differ from the Microsofts and Symbians of this world. Perceiving the mobility market as one entity – with local colors and variations – and delivering on digital-based value propositions might be key in a market that tends toward consolidation and, potentially, oligopoly. Undeniably Tesla, Apple, Google, and the like remain flexible, yet dedicated, in their eagerness to benefit from eco-systemic insights, and are thus empowered to move at a speed that other market participants struggle to emulate.
The bottom line is
not unlike the switch from football to rugby; electrification means you have a similar playing field for the action, yet the strategies that help you win the game are, once and for all, drastically changed.
“Fleet operators that embrace electric vehicles have an unmistakable competitive advantage. They gain the intuition needed to successfully steer fleets within a complex multi-party ecosystem.”
Fleet operators that embrace electrification gain an early-adopter advantage by developing internal knowledge about the pros and cons of total cost ownership (TCO) in EV charging. They also learn early on about the organizational changes needed to succeed in this transformative process.
By examining these emerging markets, one can find strong trans-corporate alliances that are committed to zero emissions by 2050, and that electrify heavily along their entire value chain. Some have a target of 70% green fleet vehicles by 2025, specifically on first and last-mile operations, where EVs are highly efficient. Global delivery services, in particular, are actively defining their electric fleet strategies. Some are placing orders as high as 100,000 electric vehicle units to be delivered by the end of 2024. Public transport organizations invest heavily in electrification. Order numbers for electric busses and new tram/bus hybrid experiments are skyrocketing.
Early investment in electrification can make you gain years of strategic advantage in return.
Looking into the past, cases show that investing into new areas of business hold both: the promise of strategic advantage as well as the danger of losing faith after falling short of – potentially too high – expectations. Hence, the recommendation of the day is: Experiment, start small, and fail smart. Utilize fundings and R&D Budget to and learn early about your current capabilities, and define your transformation path to your own future capabilities and the ones you will bring into the game by partnering with complementary players in the strongly coopetition-driven ecosystem.
Here is our Free Advice of the day
experiment, start small, and fail smart. Utilize any potential funding and R&D budgets, and learn early about partner management.
This will help you develop the capabilities needed to be successful in this future market. And allow you to add complementary expertise through strategic partnership management. A quality dearly need if you mean to succeed in this strongly coopetition-driven ecosystem.
Conclusion
While new players may be trying to understand the advantages and disadvantages of AC, DC HPC charging facilities, electric veterans will have developed local partnerships for charging space, or have effectively bootstrapped a start-up offering hyper-specialized stand-alone services to an emerging market. They will have understood how to leverage the energy saved in the vehicles’ batteries in conjunction with the energy grid, buildings, micro-grids, installed load balancing systems, and integration with the employee compensation machinery, and they will have talked with energy providers to secure strategically relevant spots within and around city centers - all to increase the profitability of their charging case.
The ones who, early on, understood the larger-scale ecosystem dynamics are also the ones co-shaping the market and able to position accordingly, and in good time.
The truth is, you will have to make the switch soon anyway, so why not just do it today!
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