1 A Decade of Making Disruption Work

disruption � � noun disturbance or problems which interrupt an event, activity, or process. what happens when companies harness new digital technologies and serve customers better, thereby breaking open markets and shattering existing orders. Published by SparkOptimus Copyright © Alexandra Jankovich & Tom Voskes, 2020 Concept and production support by Marieke Berendsen, Claire Broeders, Britt Fellinger, Sophie Heijenberg, Maurice van Heijningen, Sonja Pfleghaar, Wendy Rudder, Vivianne Vluggen and Sébastien Volker Copywriting and design by Falcon Windsor All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the copyright owner, except in the case of brief quotations in a critical review or other non-commercial use permitted under copyright law. Disclaimer All information in this publication has been written and put together with care, especially when it comes to intellectual property rights and privacy. SparkOptimus cannot, however, accept any liability with respect to accuracy of the information and no rights may be derived from the information provided. In case of any questions or queries please contact SparkOptimus (via [email protected] or +31 20 305 9000). No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, or stored electronically, in any form, without the prior permission in writing of the publisher, nor otherwise be circulated in any form other than that in which it is published. Please note that any sign and/or trademark shown in this publication is depicted for informative purposes only and does not concern trademark use as such. It is stressed that the fact that a sign and/or trademark is depicted, does not mean that there is currently an association, commercially or otherwise, between the holder of the sign / trademark and SparkOptimus as author of this publication.

SparkOptimus Jacob Obrechtplein 1, 1071 KS Amsterdam, The Netherlands www.sparkoptimus.com Contents

We are SparkOptimus 7

10 A decade of disruption 25

Driving positive change 45

Building the SparkOptimus family 63

Shaping the next decade 69

1 SparkOptimus Amsterdam Christmas party, December 2019

2 Foreword What an incredible decade it has been!

Ten years ago I met Alexandra and Tom for the first Sparkies – who work shoulder-to-shoulder with time, on their first joint project at bol.com. Back clients to help manage change, get things done, and then, bol.com was a successful seller of boxed media transfer crucial digital expertise. I experienced this products and some consumer electronics. However, directly, and have witnessed it many times with due to the rise of digital, media retail was already on other clients. It is truly unique. the brink of disruption. Alexandra and Tom helped After ten years of affiliation with SparkOptimus, us determine our new strategy: rapid expansion I am proud to see how far they have come. And into many more product categories. This move took as the Senior Advisor, I am even more proud to be bol.com to where it is today — the leading online able contribute to the future of both SparkOptimus marketplace in the Netherlands and Belgium. and its many exciting clients. When I decided to leave my role of CEO at Alexandra, Tom, and all the other extraordinarily bol.com, my aim was to offer my experience and talented Sparkies: congratulations on your 10-year knowledge to more than just one company at a anniversary! I am looking forward to the next time, and thereby contribute to transforming the decade of visionary change! world around us. I was approached by several top-tier consultancies, but there was only one ‘home’ for me: SparkOptimus. Daniel Ropers I believe SparkOptimus understands ‘digital’ best. Senior Advisor to SparkOptimus They focus on using technology and data to create Former CEO of bol.com business value. They recognize that the key to unlocking disruptive potential is to create an organization that is flexible, adaptable, and continuously self-improving. And they believe in making their clients independent by building client capabilities, while I see other consultants that seek to foster and exploit dependencies. SparkOptimus has an enormously talented group of people – the

3 4 Introduction

When we founded SparkOptimus beside a fish tank in The last decade has also seen the rise of purpose- an empty Chinese restaurant – and arguably the least driven business, and it is becoming increasingly clear glamorous Chinese restaurant in the Netherlands that purpose will be vital to success in the next ten – we didn’t know that a decade later we’d be Europe’s years. We’ll need it if together we are to create the leading digital consultancy. What we did know was that future society and environment we want to live in, and digital disruption wasn’t going away, and that a lot of to tackle the complex, long-term challenges of today. companies still weren’t ready for it. Equally vital will be our ability to unlock the power of digital technologies to these ends. And this, we’ve Fast forward ten years and we’ve worked with come to understand, is why we do what we do. The hundreds of clients across dozens of industries on waves of new tech that are already coming in (AI, IoT, approaching a thousand digital projects. We’ve robotics, autonomous vehicles and many others) strategized with top disruptors (e.g. eBay, bol.com) ensure that disruption is far from over. We believe in and helped transform some of the world’s biggest fact that it is only just beginning, and that our role is to companies (e.g. Ahold Delhaize, Heineken, ING). help organizations use it to improve the lives of people We’ve also built our own house: we’ve opened offices and their surroundings. in three countries, and grown our team to 100 brilliant Sparkies as we’ve experienced, time and again, how We’ve been making disruption work for ten years, and technology is changing the world, and equipped it has been an enormously exciting journey. We’ve ourselves with the knowledge and talent to do mastered cutting-edge technologies, been inside the something about it. world’s biggest digital transformations, and enjoyed the thrill of making a difference. We’ve also been able Like many businesses, we were sparked into life by the to share our knowledge widely, and through our recognition of an opportunity: we saw a genuine need acclaimed book, masterclasses and teaching, have had – in our case for digital know-how – and, with our the privilege of changing mindsets as well industries. combined backgrounds and entrepreneurial spirit, a We love the challenge of the topic and the diversity of means to serve it better than anyone else. Over the projects it brings us. We are looking forward to the years since, because of our 100% digital focus, we’ve next ten years of ongoing change and continuing being gained unparalleled insights and expertise in how to who we are: purpose-driven and pragmatic, make disruption work, from clear first principles to entrepreneurs and educators, laser-focused and hands-on implementation. But as well as learning light-hearted – SparkOptimus. more about what we’re doing, we’ve learned more about the why. Alexandra Jankovich and Tom Voskes Founders and managing partners, SparkOptimus

5 S

6 850+ 25+ projects countries

350+ We are clients SparkOptimus

no.1 3 offices globally digital strategy consultant awarded 4x

7 Our worldview

We believe in a world in which leaders and their organizations will use new technologies and data to create disruptive value that is human-centric and sustainable by design.

8 Our purpose

We help organizations unlock the power of disruption, improving the lives of people and their surroundings.

9 What we do

Digital strategy

Digital transformation

Ventures and scale-ups

Mergers and acquisitions

Analytics and AI

Our partner Wendy, inspiring clients at our office

10 Your challenges Our services

You seek to understand how disruption We evaluate current and future disruption in your industry is impacting your industry and how you and prioritize technology-enabled opportunities that deliver can drive it yourself. sustainable value for your business.

You want to transform how you interact We rethink your customer interaction model and digitize your with your digitizing customers to serve routes-to-market while working with you to make the change. them better.

You want to build a stand-alone digital We co-build a new venture with you from concept to launch, business from scratch or quickly co-lead it through its initial growth phase, and set up best practice scale-up an existing digital business. organizational and technological capabilities for scale-up.

You are looking to invest in or sell a We evaluate the prospect’s performance, growth potential and tech-enabled company. fit with your strategy by assessing its proposition, technology, and capabilities.

You want to unlock the power of data We empower you to become an (automated) data-driven and and automation for your business. fast-learning business by kickstarting pilots while building the technological infrastructure and driving organizational change.

11 Digital is not about digital for digital’s sake. It’s about using technology and data to serve customers better, faster, and cheaper.

12 How we do it

Technology Data Create value for your Unlock the power of customers and business data by making learning through an adaptable and decision-making and scalable technology more objective, granular, landscape. and scalable.

Customer Realize growth by delivering a superior customer experience Way of working (better, faster, cheaper). Organization Build a customer-first Put the right structures culture and increase and capabilities in place your business’s agility to make business, and speed of learning. technology, and data work together seamlessly.

13 A decade of doing it 850+ projects 1,000

>100 Sparkies from >15 different 750 countries >50% of project revenues come from abroad

Active projects on four 500 continents simultaneously Our 500th project!

>140% project growth compared with 2015 Total completed projects Total 250

* Point indicates when we first worked with bol.com (and other companies, as indicated by subsequent points). *  First project abroad Multiple further projects followed 0 with these clients. 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020

14 Sparkies Bart, Luisa, and Vivianne at work at our Amsterdam office

1,000

>100 Sparkies from >15 different 750 countries >50% of project revenues come from abroad

Active projects on four 500 continents simultaneously Our 500th project!

>140% project growth compared with 2015 Total completed projects Total 250

First project abroad 0 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020

15 Clients in over 25 countries ...

... with many more to come! 16 In Russia, we designed, piloted, and scaled a data-driven marketing approach for a leading Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) company, thereby boosting the penetration of their brands.

We developed the five-year digital vision and strategy for the Germany, Austria and Switzerland (DACH) market of a leading global hair care company.

We helped Mexico’s largest beer brewer kickstart CityLabs, our approach to testing commercial improvement ideas at small scale before rapid up-scaling.

In Singapore, we helped a Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) company to engage in successful regional partnerships with digital pure players such as Amazon, Uber, and Grab.

We digitized the routes-to-market for a South African food and beverage company, and transformed their traditional commercial organization into a data-driven salesforce.

17 Building our presence

2010 2013 2014 The beginning The family grows to 20 On the move SparkOptimus is born! After a successful We reach 20 employees! We move offices to Jacob Obrechtplein, Amsterdam, collaboration at bol.com, Spark and And from here, our family into a building that was previously an electrical Optimus join forces to serve clients in continues to grow exponentially. substation, once filled with giant transformers. the age of digital disruption. Now it’s a hub for digital transformation!

2012 2014 2014 Drinks and digital inspiration Sparkling blue Top strategy consultant We host our first Drinks and Digital We launch a new, simplified identity. SparkOptimus is selected as a top 5 Inspiration event in the Rijksmuseum. Digital is complex enough; we want to strategy consultant by MT100’s research Speakers include Princess Máxima, make it simpler. of 600 managers in the Netherlands! Frans van Houten (CEO of Royal Philips Electronics), and Wim Pijbes (Director of the Rijksmuseum).

18 2014 2017 2018 2019 No.1 (x4) Across the world Hello Germany! Hello Switzerland! SparkOptimus is named the Emerce100 no.1 Our increasingly international To keep close to our And to keep close to our digital strategy consultancy in the Netherlands, range of clients and projects German clients, we open Swiss clients, we open our as voted by clients. Three more no.1s will follow, means we have now worked in our Düsseldorf office. Zürich office. most recently in 2020. Thank you! every continent in the world!

2016 2018 2018 2020 Teaching = learning Make Disruption Work – the book Back to school More disruption to come We launch our masterclass We distil our insights and Our increasing collaborations We launch our second programme for business leaders experience of working with the with leading business schools masterclass for business on the fundamentals of digital world’s biggest companies and result in official programmes leaders, focusing on disruption. foremost disruptors into our first with INSEAD, IMD, Nyenrode, advanced analytics, AI and book, Make Disruption Work! and Rotterdam School of the next wave of disruption. Management.

19 What makes us different

We have digital DNA We are digital natives. Our heritage is with digital-first disruptors and our people bring unique experience based on 850+ digital projects.

Our Sparkie Joeri in Nigeria, coaching a client’s sales rep in a new way of working

20 We are business-led We build your capabilities We are entrepreneurs at heart. Hiring SparkOptimus is investing We look at your business through the in your own people. By building customer lens and apply digital and capabilities and a digital way of data technologies to serve customers working in your organization, we better, faster, and cheaper. drive change that lasts.

We combine vision and action We Spark your team We have a vision of the future As Sparkies, we bring a unique and combine it with action today. lightness and positivity wherever This means we not only help with we go, and genuinely want our strategy, but – more importantly clients to succeed. Also, we – lead hands-on delivery. like to fit in and enjoy ourselves together with your team, creating a winning spirit.

21 Who makes us different

The people are the thing I value the most“ at SparkOptimus. I work with At SparkOptimus I get to help a great group of genuine, smart, forward-looking“ companies succeed in ambitious, down-to-earth colleagues their digital journeys. I enjoy tackling who are always ready to help each challenging problems with fun, smart I love helping our clients bring their other out with anything, both and ambitious colleagues while building digital“ ambitions to life, thus enabling privately and professionally.” capabilities at our clients to fuel growth.” them to delight their customers. Working shoulder-to-shoulder with clients and together with a group of talented and fun Selçuk Değer Associate, Turkish and Dutch, Alec Vardanian Sparkies is what motivates me every day.” accelerated Rocket Internet Manager, Armenian and ventures in South-East Asia Dutch, worked at and supported a scale-up in Gazprom-Media in Moscow Denise Klop Kenya Manager, Dutch, built the Forecasting department at Coolblue: one of the Netherlands’ largest and fastest growing ecommerce companies

SparkOptimus delivers exactly what I need“ for my own happiness: constant development and opportunities to grow just beyond my comfort zone, I’m thrilled by accelerating innovation, delighting projects where I feel we are creating value, and colleagues the“ customer, and supporting leaders to make our that push and support me while being the same people world a better place. At SparkOptimus I can bring I want to have a beer with when the work is done.” all this to life, working with leading players alongside an inspiring team while staying true to my own leadership style.” Lukas Halusa Associate, Austrian, holds an MBA from INSEAD Magali Deloof and worked at fast-fashion company New Look Associate Partner & Country Manager both in London and Shanghai Switzerland, Belgian/Dutch with a Swiss heart, has global consulting experience with focus on BENELUX & DACH, previously with Kearney 22 What’s refreshing about SparkOptimus is“ that you can bring your whole self to work. I’ve experienced how the strongest “I greatly appreciate the mindset shift that bonds form through sharing your From day one at SparkOptimus I we create when collaborating with our passions and your quirks.” have“ felt like a valued member – clients: working in short-cycles toward with responsibilities all around the goals, breaking functional silos, and making Henriëtte Hoving globe and a team of incredible decisions based on data. Once you change Manager, Dutch, holds an MSc people who I have come to think of as the mindset, you change the company.” in managerial economics from the LSE following a background friends first and colleagues second.” in analytical philosophy

Quinten Lauwers Manager, Belgian, former Alexander Gullón top sailing athlete who Manager, Spanish and Dutch, competed in the Rio 2016 worked as marketer at L’Oréal Olympics qualifying rounds

I’m constantly inspired by my clients who dare to lead“ digital transformations in their businesses – I love working at SparkOptimus because we take the even when they’re at the top of their industries. best“ out of the worlds of consulting and digital There’s always a moment when things switch entrepreneurship. We work on the ground with our from, ‘Do we need to do this?’ to, ‘We can and clients as a joint team, helping them drive innovation must do this.’ I love helping guide clients on their in a pragmatic way, while building best-in-class transformation journeys.” digital capabilities at all levels of their organizations.” Wendy Rudder Partner, Canadian, Barbadian, and Trinidadian, worked and lived across three continents. Marco Piazzalunga Travel, laughter and good food recharge me! Associate Partner, Italian, worked at BCG and co-founded a digital startup around a recommendation engine for wines

23 1010

24 10

“SparkOptimus played a substantial role in shaping

the omnichannel retail e iz a lh landscape we know e D “An incredibly today” ld ho deep understanding r A oe V ck B o of digital” Di lk er t Do eks en C A decade arlyle Group

of disruption “The market leader in hands-on digital know-how” om .c ay eaw A t Tak “Disruption is driaan Nühn Just Ea on every business an Colgate-P war alm 10 es oliv leader’s mind” m e ra W a P ie a be hh D bb r a a ai r jer R r abobank P “From strategy to P actually doing”

10 25 The last decade was a decade of change. A decade where digital developments radically transformed customer behaviour and industries alike.

No industry is safe from disruption. This is because SparkOptimus is a disruption specialist across disruptors have consistently found a way – using industries, and not a generalist with industry technology – to serve customers better, faster and specialisation. Over the last ten years we have cheaper. Over the last ten years industries have worked with some of the top disruptors and biggest fallen one by one: first travel and media, and then companies in the world, driving transformations retail electronics, fashion, food, and so on; initially that have reshaped the decade. in B2C, and then B2B too. This inevitable This is a fly-through of our journey and the progression is why companies should focus not on lessons learned. what their immediate competitors are doing in their own industries, but on what happened in other, more disrupted industries to learn how disruption patterns play out. This allows them to look ahead of the game and craft a response.

26 What’s changed in just a decade!

~25% of global apparel $110bn in predicted global sales now online food delivery sales in 2020

Sites like Zalando have transformed Food delivery at home has exploded the clothing industry. through apps like Deliveroo.

18m Uber trips $4m saved in bank fees by completed every day TransferWise customers every day

Apps like Uber now dominate the Companies like TransferWise have removed global taxi market. markups from currency exchange.

1.6bn Tinder swipes >65% of Europe online travel every day market now owned by Booking.com

Dating apps have redefined an Sites like Booking.com have utterly entire generation’s romantic life. disrupted the travel industry.

27 Disruption curve OverviewThe of currentDisruption state Curve of disruption per industry

Travel Media

Mobility

E lectronics

State of disruption of State Fashion

Home &

Industrial goods Food garden FMCG Financial services

Professional services

Healthcare Public Construction Agriculture Education

admin Energy

Time since industry was first disrupted

Emergence Acceleration New normal

1 28 A decade of SparkOptimus

SparkOptimus has deep digital heritage. Early in the disruption spread from industry to industry, we millennium we experienced first hand how a new breed expanded with it, working with disruptors and of ‘digital native’ companies were emerging and established companies alike on changing mindsets, disrupting existing orders. This fuelled our vision to instilling learning and transferring capabilities. We also found a company in 2010 focused solely on enabling continued gathering insights and enhancing our own companies to master digital disruption. learning to become Europe’s no.1 digital consultants. Our first experiences were with ‘early disruptors’ – The following pages set out this journey companies that were online-first and had pure digital industry-by-industry, with a dual account of what DNA. Working side-by-side with the most digitally happened in each industry at the global level, and of advanced businesses in the most disrupted markets, our role in shaping the change. We start with an we learned the key lessons of how to make disruption account of our work with early disruptors, and end work. with a treatment of mergers and acquisitions, which have been an important aspect of disruption across Successful disruptors, we observed, are invariably industries. Following the disruption curve down, these characterised by three qualities: sections are: • an obsessive customer-first mentality • a ‘test and learn’ approach that values data 1 Early disruptors over opinions • effective organization 2 Travel and media By relentlessly seeking out new ways to improve 3 Retail customer offerings, by learning fast about what works and what doesn’t, and by setting up organizational 4 Consumer goods structures to adapt and scale fast, these disruptors 5 Industrial goods changed the world. But disruption is not just for online-first companies, 6 Financial services and these lessons are by no means impossible for 7 Mergers and acquisitions others to learn. As over the course of the decade

29 1 Early disruptors: online-first players

Some of our clients What happened Successful early disruptors had two things in Such growth was not without its challenges however. common: As the disruptors’ businesses grew, so did their need for more specialist capabilities, more formal structures • They delivered online customer experiences and more streamlined processes. Similarly, their that were far superior to the offline alternatives technology solutions often hit scaling limits, requiring e.g. at a time when traditional travel agents complicated and expensive replatforming. Growth were offering long in-shop queues and limited slowed as their first-mover advantage shrank, and information, Booking.com delivered 24/7 booking, many disruptors and their investors started to ask: free cancellation and transparent guest reviews Are we still moving in the right direction? Where do • They broke down barriers to uptake we find new pockets of growth? What organizational e.g. at a time when customers were still wary structures and new technologies do we need? around online payments, bol.com offered payment after delivery The combination was overwhelming and customers switched en masse to the new online channels, triggering exponential growth among disruptors.

30 Our role SparkOptimus has worked with many digital native I have seen SparkOptimus play a crucial role in companies, helping them redefine their strategic bringing“ a strategic perspective to fast-growing focus, shape their growth strategies, and overcome digital disruptors and helping them overcome scaling challenges. We have coached executive their scaling challenges. They are truly the Adriaan Nühn teams, professionalized structures, streamlined market leader in hands-on digital know-how!” Chair of the Supervisory Board processes, onboarded new talent, and aligned of Just Eat Takeaway.com business objectives with personal targets and incentives. And crucially, we have improved our disruptor clients’ IT and data landscapes by Client cases selecting fit-for-purpose technology solutions to In 2010, we helped shape the Emesa, an international online sales accommodate future waves of growth. Often we growth strategy of bol.com – in channel for the entertainment and were asked to step in temporarily to help manage particular the decision to pursue leisure industry, came to us in a the change alongside client leadership teams – category expansion beyond their period of flattening sales. We helped the best illustration of the hands-on effectiveness initial media and electronics focus to them turn around a 40% year-on- of our Sparkies. over 40 product categories. Today year revenue decline to 10% growth they are the largest online retailer in in just 7 months by applying strategic Through working closely with disruptors, we have the Netherlands and Belgium with focus, professionalizing their learned the key qualities that define successful ones: >€3bn in annual revenues (~20% marketing department, introducing an obsessive customer-first mentality, a ‘test and of the Dutch ecommerce market). dashboards and advanced analytics, We have worked with bol.com and accelerating IT development. learn’ approach that values data over opinions, and multiple further times over the effective organization. These in combination enable decade, and continue to help drive them to make disruption work. their ongoing transformation and innovation, thereby extending their leading position.

31 2 Travel and media

Some of our clients What happened Around the start of the century, travel was ripe for winner-take-all dynamics meant that being slow disruption. Booking a holiday meant a trip to the resulted in a struggle to survive. A number of travel agent, involving long queues, poor information traditional publishers went the way of the dinosaurs and high cancellation fees. Fast forward to 2020 (e.g. McClatchy), as did print retail outlets and the industry has changed dramatically: booking (e.g. Borders), and video stores (e.g. Blockbuster). takes place overwhelmingly on digital platforms, and Today Netflix is a leading force in media with almost suppliers like big agencies and hotel chains, stripped 200m paying users worldwide, all accessing the of the advantages of high street footprint and brand content they want, whenever and wherever they recognition, have lost market share to a slew of want it. independent high-quality operators, all instantly Does this mean all incumbents are doomed? available at the tap of a phone screen. An avalanche Not necessarily. In publishing, Elsevier (one of the of big name bankruptcies (most recently Thomas world’s leading scientific publishers) moved fast, Cook) and the rise of disruptors to mainstream digitizing their portfolio in the early 2000s, and dominance (e.g. Booking.com, AirBnB) demonstrate today is still going strong and continuing to develop quite how far and how fast the rules of the game new tech solutions. And in entertainment, Disney have changed. has achieved a notably successful digital At the same time, a similar story was playing out in transformation, with a new Disney+ streaming media, though with different parameters. The service that has already attracted >50m subscribers. transition to digital hit search and classifieds first, causing significant advertising losses to print publishers. Next headline news moved online, and as consumer eyeballs shifted, print publishers, tv stations and media suppliers were forced to start buying up digital media assets. However, digital

32 What we learned Travel and media were hit first by digital disruption. With their digital know-how, Incumbents often ignored alarm signals and were enthusiasm,“ and informal pragmatic slow to move, but customers, when presented with a approach, SparkOptimus has the superior digital alternative, were quick to switch. But unique ability to help companies to Susan Duinhoven cases like Elsevier and Disney prove that a disruptor truly embrace disruption.” President and CEO of Sanoma, former CEO is not always the last man standing. Many traditional of Wegener and Thomas Cook Western Europe companies are capable of digital transformation; they just don’t know it yet. Client cases For us, these lessons fuelled our vision to found a company focused solely on helping clients master In early 2011, we were asked to help An international travel operator was digital disruption. What was happening already in a leading national newspaper. We facing potential bankruptcy when travel and media in 2010 was clearly going to spread showed that their dependency on confronted with a sudden shift in declining print-based models was traffic: their share of mobile traffic across industries, and a lot of companies frankly too large to return to growth, and had gone from 20% to 60% in a weren’t ready. Today, we support hundreds of clients supported the newly appointed CEO year, and they were losing sales. We across dozens of industries on their journeys from in developing a new strategic vision supported them through their digital fearing disruption, to tackling it, to winning at it. focused on thematic verticals, a shift transformation, rapidly shifting to online, and the new digital earning resources and applying a strategic models that were coming through. refocus for the mobile offering, which increased mobile conversion to ~20% within a year, thus returning the company to growth.

33 3 Retail

Some of our clients What happened By the early 2010s, global ecommerce sales had Secondly, incumbents were often locked into legacy already grown to a significant size. Front-running IT systems that were clunky and expensive, and disruptors such as Amazon and Zalando were hampered experimentation. And thirdly, their aggressively tearing down consumer adoption organizational set-up was often maladaptive for barriers, for example by offering free shipping and digital, with functions split across silos that had limited free returns, and it was becoming increasingly in-house digital capabilities or expertise (e.g. digital apparent to incumbent retailers that the shift to marketing would be put under marketing, e-category online could no longer be ignored. management under category management, etc.). Websites were typically managed by agencies, and Daring incumbents went head-to-head with the digital teams were often led by traditional retail disruptors, but found themselves facing a number of specialists, who thought their ticket to success was disadvantages. Firstly, they were met by a constant simply to copy and paste the offline offering onto a uphill battle when trying to rebalance focus, homepage. Not so. resources and budget between a large and still more profitable store channel, and a small but rapidly To compete in the new omnichannel space, retailers growing online channel. This was even more would have to learn to rethink their offerings along problematic for franchise models, where franchisees every point in their customer journeys, and transform regarded ecommerce as an existential threat, and their business models and organizations accordingly. tried everything within their power to thwart it. Some HQs and franchisees ended up facing each other in court.

34 SparkOptimus played a substantial role in shaping the“ omnichannel retail landscape we know today. They were among the first to convey the potential of digital and acted as a true partner in making Dick Boer the digital transformation happen.” Former CEO of Ahold Delhaize and member of Our role Nestlé's Board of Directors

We have worked with many of the world’s leading Success requires a vision plus the drive to reshape Client cases retailers on their transformations into successful conditions and allow digital to flourish within a omnichannel businesses. We have convinced senior traditional retail environment. This isn’t always easy: For Action, we developed an executives to adopt a disruptor’s mentality – which for example, high-end Dutch department store omnichannel vision and strategy that means thinking beyond existing assets and KPIs, De Bijenkorf made the tough decision to close enables the company to connect better with their digitizing customers. and fundamentally reworking the customer several outlets and stop direct mailing in order to We are currently working together experience. We have also, together with our clients, shift resources to their online customer proposition. on the strategic roll out to Action’s built and scaled new ecommerce propositions that But because they did this early, there were able to 1,500+ stores across seven countries. have enabled them to compete in today’s market. do it according to their plan, and not to the tune of Along the way we have brought in digital capabilities, plummeting sales. helped hire digital talent, fulfilled much-needed Over the decade we have helped It’s also critical that the digital transformation starts roles ad interim, coached teams on the job, and Ahold Delhaize strengthen the at the core customer-facing processes rather than supported the creation of in-company academies. online presence of their labels in being conceived of as a disconnected business unit. multiple ways. For example, we And we’ve learned some important lessons about And when digital is still small, inefficiencies and low prioritized ecommerce focus areas what works and what doesn’t. margins need to be accepted in order to test, learn, for Albert Heijn and enabled them to launch their premium delivery and grow. Once digital has become a significant service within three months. In revenue driver, it can be fully integrated into daily addition, we developed the new business targets and the organization as a whole. digital proposition for Etos, and co- Teams become category-focused and cross- designed AH to go’s (mobile) functional, consisting of both digital and non-digital consumer journey. roles, allowing faster decision making and a truly omnichannel approach.

35 4 Consumer goods

Some of our clients What happened Over the last decade, the traditional strengths of The consumer goods industry has learned that if you Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) companies know your consumers, and can drive information have been slowly eroded. Companies no longer from their behaviour into your decisions, you will need to own factories to produce goods, Amazon win the market. sells anyone’s products, the power of mass- marketing through traditional media is dwindling, Our role talent favours startups, and innovation happens We have helped multiple global CPGs navigate increasingly outside corporate R&D centres. digital disruption by re-inventing their organizational Digital native companies like Ocado and HelloFresh set-up, building new capabilities, and architecting are disrupting the industry at incredible speed. the right technology landscapes. Such transformations Next to their inherent nature to think customer- do not always come naturally for multi-billion-dollar first, they are also a step ahead organizationally, businesses spread across many product categories not hampered by siloed marketing and sales and regions. However in the new disrupted reality, departments or complex global-local operating they are key to survival. models. At the same time, digital aggregators like Over the decade we have developed a model Amazon and Alibaba are rapidly gaining momentum through which CPGs are able to step up their by consolidating demand in fragmented markets and digital capabilities on three horizons: optimization, increasing transparency on performance and price. transformation, and disruption. These generate Further down the value chain, new formats like value on different timelines. Rappi and Grab are gaining ground by offering on-demand delivery services. Together these On the first horizon, CPGs can optimize their developments have led to a heated battle for the existing business by capturing and using data to consumer, and in particular, the data that direct target consumers better, improve supply chains online contact with the consumer yields. and streamline functional processes.

36 SparkOptimus has been a true partner for“ our digital transformation journey, from strategy to actually doing the implementation work side-by-side with Prabha Parameswaran our digital and ecommerce teams.” Group President, Global Innovation Group at Colgate-Palmolive

On the second horizon, CPGs can use digital to them when successful, to supporting technology Client cases transform their customer offerings. Investing in selection and building global structures, to launching contact with the digital consumer and getting the stand-alone ecommerce ventures. We supported Heineken in their experience right is critical, because what was once an Working with CPGs has strengthened our global digital transformation. First we angry letter is now a social media post being shared co-designed the overall approach conviction that knowing the customer, and in thousands if not millions of times. Furthermore, and roadmap, and then we particular, using the data that comes with knowing setting up direct-to-consumer ecommerce operations kickstarted initiatives on the ground your customer, is the key to competitive advantage. in select front-running markets to as well as B2B ecommerce are indispensable today Only through this can companies accelerate prove what worked. This included to increase sales, margin, Net Promoter Score learning and drive up satisfaction, sales and margin. monetisation of B2B routes-to- (NPS), and drive down costs while unlocking longtail market and implementing data-led CPGs that have the right operating model, and that customer segments. decision-making. are able to combine global scale with placing On the third horizon, CPGs create their own customer data at the heart of every decision, do well. disruptive ventures from scratch or acquire them We crafted Colgate-Palmolive’s to compete directly on the new digital territories. Europe-wide digital and ecommerce Notable examples include Heineken’s creation of strategy and designed their digital operating model, enabling them to Beerwulf to cater to the growing consumer demand realize their digital growth ambitions. for home-delivered craft beer, and Colgate- Through the joint strategic review Palmolive’s acquisition of Hello Products. and implementation, the ecommerce team successfully Making disruption work in the consumer goods trained 10 local country teams and industry isn’t an overnight process, nor is it a complete supported engagements with 30+ leap of faith. We guide global CEOs and CDOs partner retailers and pure players. through their digital journeys, from kickstarting proof-of-concepts in local markets and scaling

37 5 Industrial goods

Some of our clients What happened By the mid-2010s, consumer adoption of digital Early adopters however proved that digital could was widespread, but in industrial B2B markets it create superior B2B customer experiences, and was still in its infancy. However, strongly influenced thus drive value. Not only this, but they were able by their consumer experiences, business customers to realise efficiencies and drive down costs, thus were starting to ask why their B2B interactions unlocking long tails of previously underserved were so slow, opaque, and dated in feel in customers. The competitive advantages were comparison. At the same time, advanced analytics overwhelming: for example, Kramp developed took a leap, which started to enable the more a best-practice B2B platform and rapidly grew complex tailored solutions that are required in the its share of online sales from 0 to 90%. B2B marketplace. New and front-running players embraced digital and gained significant traction, which applied urgent pressure on traditional players. Many industrial B2B companies were slow to adapt. They felt protected on the one hand by strong customer lock-in and market dominance, and on the other, they felt hampered by complex environments featuring multiple customized products and customer-specific pricing and sales processes. Added to this was often a lack of management buy-in, characterised by managers who preferred the ‘gut-feel’ approach, while regarding IT as little more than a cost centre.

38 SparkOptimus has really helped us think through“ how to practically implement our digital transformation with a strong analytical and pragmatic approach. Their digital knowledge Maarten Stramrood and hands-on experience truly helped us better Managing Director DigiB B.V. understand and target our B2B customers.” and CDO Brenntag AG Our role

We have supported our many industrial B2B clients Many of the challenges traditional companies face Client cases in shaping their digital strategies and digitizing their in the consumer goods industry apply also in B2B routes-to-market. This goes hand-in-hand with environments. These include: disconnected, We helped Kramp, an agricultural developing the right technology and data landscapes, functional siloes; complex, multi-category global spare parts business, develop a and helping implement a data-driven way of working. operations; and decentralized P&Ls – all under five-year digital strategy to strengthen and expand their position in the value This in turn enables companies to capture the attack from lean new disruptors and competition- chain. We then helped scale their competitive advantages that come with sophisticated enhancing demand aggregators. We have learned digital B2B platform, which rapidly data analytics. We have ideated, piloted and scaled that to become a winner, industrial B2B players reached 250k weekly visits and new digitally-enabled B2B business models and must position themselves as an indispensable drove online sales from 0 to 90%. platforms, and we have also helped revise clients’ linchpin in their core value chains. Achieving this We also co-designed new propositions, and implemented more customer segmentations based on needs (as requires defining the optimal strategic relationship cross-functional ways of working. opposed to segmentations based on sales or order with all other actors in the chain – in some cases sizes), facilitating better tailoring of B2B customer bypassing middlemen, and in others strengthening engagement. Through these processes, we have relationships. We worked with Henkel Adhesives to shown the value digital can bring to B2B customers, accelerate their digital transformation. while transferring digital capabilities and best This included developing new organizational and technological practices to our clients. blueprints and facilitating pilot-projects in key customer segments, including >20 workshops within one month in 4 global core markets. In combination these enabled the company to become more customer-centric, agile, and data- led. Currently we are Henkel’s global digital partner of choice for their full multi-year digital transformation journey.

39 6 Financial services

Some of our clients What happened For many decades, banks, insurance companies and adopting the customer’s perspective, they thought mortgage lenders enjoyed dominant positions in first about their own needs and interests. This led high-margin markets, protected by strict regulation, in one direction to digital strategies that focused strong customer lock-in and high capital on reducing costs in their existing processes rather requirements. However, even they have not been than improving customer offerings. In the other, immune to disruption. New regulations in favour of it created over-excitement about new technology innovation (for example PSD2 and Open Banking) trends (such as AI, blockchain, IoT, etc.), leading have allowed a new breed of fintech disruptors to to heavy investment, but without much thought for emerge, attracting customers with smart technologies how the new technologies were going to generate and superior offerings. The newcomers variously value for customers. stole margin from incumbents and passed it on to Some incumbents recognized the true value of customers (for example Transferwise removed digital was in enhancing customer experience, and currency exchange markups), and transformed the focused on innovations like customer self-service customer experience of financial products (for portals and mobile apps. However they were still example Lemonade collapsed insurance claim waiting hampered by limited in-house digital talent and times from weeks to minutes). A host of online deeply entangled IT architecture (often the product comparison platforms made the deficiencies of of patched-together legacy systems and acquisitions). incumbents even more apparent, and further An altogether different approach was required. pressured prices, conditions and margins. Responding did not come naturally to financial service providers, whose past dominance had allowed them to become complacent and lose connection with their customers. Instead of

40 Disruption is on every business leader’s mind.“ Alexandra and Tom have taken this complex topic and created a very clear, actionable path.” Wiebe Draijer CEO of Rabobank Our role

We have guided several financial services providers In our work with these companies, we have learned Client cases through the opening stages of their digital that it is important to determine where to focus the transformations. In particular, we have helped shift change, and to create an innovation pipeline that We helped ING design the the mindsets of senior financial executives by reflects the client’s risk profile and time horizon. We omnichannel financial services demonstrating the disruption patterns that have have also observed that ringfencing specific IT and branch of the future. Together we co-defined key value drivers, played out in previously-disrupted industries, and organizational domains can be an effective way to requirements and ambitions, and evidencing the principle that digital is always a means ensure sufficient autonomy for digital product teams. translated these into a future-proof to serve the customer better, faster, and cheaper. By applying these lessons, we have demonstrated proposition. This was then that large financial services providers can develop successfully piloted at a concept We have worked with a leading international bank competitive digitally-enabled products and services, store and is currently being rolled out to design their omnichannel branch of the future, improve time-to-market and maintain agility. to >150 branch offices, significantly and supported the scale-up of an online wealth contributing to ING’s ongoing ability management platform. We have also embedded to serve their customers along the a ‘test and learn’ mentality at a leading insurer for omnichannel journey. their product development process, and kickstarted innovative new initiatives on their behalf. And we have worked with multiple financial services clients We supported Van Lanschot in enabling Evi, their fintech startup, to create technology and organizational structures become a fully fledged online wealth that are geared for digital success, while transferring management platform. This included digital capabilities and taking on ad interim positions. defining the proposition and ambition, implementing a new organizational set-up, and temporarily filling capability gaps – all contributing to a doubling of Evi’s customer base and assets under management.

41 7 Mergers and acquisitions

Some of our clients What happened Early disruptors were often owned by private capital On the other side of the sale, early disruptors and or visionary private equity firms. As these disruptors digital natives faced challenges too. Pre-sale, they scaled, more capital was needed, and with sufficient often struggled to showcase their true value in ways backing some were able to overthrow existing traditional investors could understand. Then markets and create new ‘blue oceans’. Encouraged post-acquisition, they often found themselves being by such tech success stories, private equity funds pressured by investors to improve traditional KPIs began to see the potential of high-growth scale-ups; like EBIT and cashflow, whereas as digital natives, and not long thereafter corporate investors also they preferred to focus on digital talent, investing in turned their attention to disruptors – especially technology, and measures like customer lifetime as they sought ways to leapfrog their own digital value (CLV) and customer acquisition costs (CAC). transformations. Meanwhile, corporates that had bought disruptors as a means to leapfrog their way to digital success Acquisitions in the digital space posed new often ran into problems as synergies between the challenges for investors. Traditional due diligence two proved limited. Corporate-led integrations focused on market size and EBIT multiples (earnings usually reduced headcounts and pushed for before interest and taxes), but these proved standardization of processes, frequently undermining meaningless when dealing with entities that sought the talent and experimental ‘test and learn’ approach to create new markets, and reinvested everything that had made the disruptors successful in the first they had to fuel rapid growth. A forward-looking place. Value ended up being destroyed as often rather than backward-facing due diligence was as created. required – one that was able to focus on capabilities, technology, organization and data, and crucially, on how well these entities were set-up to scale and how fast the disruption was happening.

42 SparkOptimus’ combination of an incredibly deep“ understanding of digital and an ability to extract key insights from thorough industry analyses continues to impress me, and I believe Volkert Doeksen positions them very well as a key strategic Co-founder of AlpInvest Partners, partner for digital investing decisions.” Senior adviser of the Carlyle Group Our role

We learned the fundamentals of disruption by We have also supported M&A teams in traditional Client cases working with early disruptors, and were involved in companies in spotting new investment opportunities, discussions with the visionary funds that backed making buy-or-build trade-offs, and shaping the We supported Adecco by conducting them. Our digital heritage has allowed us to support conditions for new acquisitions to flourish. And on due diligence on a series of digital many ‘sell side’ and ‘buy side’ clients, and over the the flipside, we have helped digital natives develop pure players across the world to help accelerate their digital transformation. years we have worked with multiple private equity their business plans, showcase their value to investors, funds to review their investment portfolios, identify and protect their fundamentals by teaching digital gaps and opportunities, and perform due investors why different measures are best used to We performed due diligence and diligence on investment prospects. We have changed understand and steer their growth. provided support for Gilde Buy Out views on how valuation needs to be done, and built Partners in their acquisition of Albelli, Both our private equity and corporate venturing skillsets to assess the scalability and potential of a leading player in the European online clients have seen the value of digital M&As. disruptors and their business plans, even when they B2C ecommerce photo market. Investors benefit from opening their portfolios to have no assets beside talent and off-the-shelf new growth and decreasing dependency on dated technology (with assessment based instead on, for business models. And corporates benefit from example, capabilities, organizational structure, data, acquisitions that support company-wide digital threat of new disruptors). transformation – especially when the target provides a needed technology, solution, or position in the value chain.

43 44 Driving positive change

45 Over the course of the decade we’ve repeatedly seen what it takes to make disruption work: bold leadership combined with a customer-first perspective, a continuous learning environment, and effective organizational and technology landscapes. Moreover, we believe the same essential tools can be applied to many other challenges, including that of building a better world.

46 At SparkOptimus we want to extend the benefits of But in addition to talking, we do. We proactively digital technologies, and of mastering the disruption support initiatives and organizations that share our they bring, to as many companies, customers and goal of improving the lives of people and their people as possible. That is why we see educating surroundings, and an important part of our project and motivating leaders as a core part of our mission. portfolio consists of work with government and We host roundtables and masterclasses for senior mission-driven NGOs. We are further committed executives and board members, we give lectures at to ensuring that our core client projects also top institutes such as IMD and INSEAD, and we contribute to a more sustainable future. We do not speak at key business and tech events such as CES. work in industries we believe are harmful (e.g. the We also share knowledge through publications – tobacco industry), and we have set an ambition for most notably our acclaimed, bestselling book, 50% of our projects to advance solutions with Make Disruption Work. significant social and environmental benefits. This is how we are driving positive change.

47 48 Make Disruption Work – the book

We took a decade of insights and experience of working with the world’s biggest companies and its foremost disruptors, and distilled it into a book. The Make Disruption goal was to share knowledge. Make Disruption Work “ provides pragmatic, demystifying answers to pivotal Work is an easy-to- questions such as: digest and visually appealing book • What drives disruption? packed full of useful • How do leading digital companies win? advice for senior • How do I organize to serve customers better, leaders tackling the faster and cheaper? challenges of digital • How do I make the change? Book launch at the disruption.” Rijksmuseum, attended by over Make Disruption Work is a CEO handbook and 300 senior executives from acclaimed bestseller (available in English or Dutch). business and society at large “Most management We hosted our high-profile book launch at the books I throw away, Rijksmuseum with moderator Jeroen Smit and guest but this one is really speakers including Jean-François van Boxmeer intriguing!” (former CEO of Heineken), Petri Hofsté (listed as Annet Aris the most influential board member of the Supervisory board member of Rabobank, Randstad and ASML, Netherlands in 2020), and Dutch Prince Senior Affiliate Professor at Constantijn van Oranje. INSEAD Visit www.makedisruptionwork.com

Jean-François van Boxmeer Former CEO of Heineken

49 Round tables

To inspire C-level executives from different industries, SparkOptimus organizes round table discussions under the theme Drinks, Dinner and Digital Inspiration. These guided yet relaxed sessions offer participants the opportunity to reflect on what digital disruption means for them and gain insights. Each round table has a specific industry or topic focus, and allows leaders to share lessons and success stories informally with 10-30 peers.

An FMCG Round table event hosted at our Amsterdam office

50 Round tables Masterclasses

It’s astonishing to SparkOptimus SparkOptimus’ see“ how well successfully“ shared practical“ view on SparkOptimus their well-thought- disruption becomes understands the through and very apparent in essence and urgency demystifying view on their masterclasses, of digital and the disruption through a which offer useful We organize executive Make Disruption Work power of data.” balanced, interactive tools to make masterclasses. We’ve welcomed leaders from and highly relevant disruption work for across industries and companies, including masterclass.” any company.” Heineken, Shell, IHC and ING. The sessions focus on our digital insights, approach and lessons learned, and further offer leaders the opportunity to learn from each other. Recently we have developed a second AI masterclass series, focusing on how data technologies and AI can be used to create Jeroen van der Veer Hans Wijers Franck Moison Chair of the Supervisory Board Chair of the Supervisory Board Non-executive Director of sustainable competitive advantage. of Philips and Boskalis, former of ING Group, former CEO of UPS, Somalogic and Hanes CEO of Shell AkzoNobel, former Minister of Brands Inc., former Vice chair Economic Affairs for the of Colgate-Palmolive Netherlands

51 Higher education

SparkOptimus delivers the I was very impressed by perfect“ addition to our the“ way SparkOptimus curriculum: they educate, was able to translate through practical complex knowledge and examples, how digital is diverse insights, captured able to serve customers over a decade of activity, better and improve into clear, simple, and Business universities commonly incorporate competitive advantage.” easy to implement modules on ‘digital’ into their curriculums, but these principles.” often focus on theory. To make disruption work, effective practice is equally if not more important. SparkOptimus partners with a number of renowned European business schools (IMD, INSEAD, Nyenrode, Rotterdam School of Management) to deliver executive programmes on digital to the leaders of the future. Nathan Furr Michael Wade Associate Professor of strategy Professor of innovation and at INSEAD strategy at IMD

52 Academic publications

SparkOptimus regularly (co-)publishes academic articles in leading journals like Harvard Business Review and MIT Sloan Management Review. In these, we share insights from a multitude of projects, for example on the key qualities of a digital leader.

53 Business and tech events

We participate in leading business and tech events We asked, ‘What bold actions could we take today?’ around the world both to share and gain leading to an energetic discussion with all involved. cutting-edge knowledge. In January 2020, we Our goal is always to Spark a conversation, inspire hosted the Women in Tech Powerbreak and people, and challenge them to work together to Disruption Dinner at CES in Las Vegas, one of the drive change. biggest technology conferences in the world, where we set out our vision for 10 recommendations to make disruption work in the next decade.

54 10 recommendations to make disruption work in the next decade

1 Improve the lives of people and 6 Embrace security, privacy, and planet through purpose-driven, transparency as key stimulators tech-enabled propositions. of human-centric innovation. 2 Champion long-term value 7 Drive continuous learning as a creation. competitive advantage to deliver better value to society. 3 Lead by example and make 8 Take responsibility for disruption work in the way thoughtfully planning the future government serves society. of the current workforce. 4 Drive large-scale investment 9 Reimagine the way we approach to take a powerhouse position education to foster the talent in new technologies. of tomorrow. 5 Facilitate an innovation 10 Drive diversity in tech and ecosystem that stimulates entrepreneurship as a key accelerated growth. catalyst for innovation.

55 Working with NGOs and social enterprises

In line with our purpose to unlock the power of disruption and improve the lives of people and their surroundings, at SparkOptimus we are all highly The digital expertise and motivated individuals. This includes a desire to “ contribute to society beyond the business world, structured, practical and therefore in 2017, we started to support NGOs approach of the and social enterprises on a pro-bono basis under SparkOptimus team have the flag SOcial. We focus on organizations that helped us to understand share our digital approach and goals, and that are and improve our customer entrepreneurial, fast-growing and use digital journey. We are now technologies to realize their impact. focused on how educators can use Stories that Move to help students The Anne Frank House runs multiple educational feel empathy, be moved, programmes, one of which is Stories that Move – a and want in turn to multi-lingual online learning tool that encourages contribute to improving students of all ages to think about inclusiveness, their corner of the world.” diversity and discrimination. SparkOptimus provides support in optimizing and scaling the tool.

Karen Polak International coordinator of Stories that Move at the Anne Frank House

56 AMI (Association Montessori Internationale) is a Project MARCH develops and builds exoskeletons global umbrella organization for the Montessori (motorized robotic suits) that enable people with approach to education, captured by Maria spinal cord injuries to walk again. It is an initiative of Montessori’s statement, ‘Education should no longer Delft Technical University. SparkOptimus supports be mostly imparting of knowledge, but must take a new Project MARCH in shaping their identity, path, seeking the release of human potentialities.’ long-term vision and four-year objectives. SparkOptimus supported AMI in a digital community engagement strategy and the implementation of a CRM system to optimize engagement with its members. 57 We supported Circle Economy, a non-profit that enables cities and businesses in the practical and scalable implementation of the circular economy, with their long term strategic plans.

58 Contributing to a more sustainable world

At SparkOptimus, we believe in a world where new Looking forward, the next wave of disruptive digital technologies can and will create exciting technologies will unlock huge economic and societal opportunities to improve the sustainability of the value. Imagine a world where car accidents are a thing world we live in. Through our commitments and of the past, housing is 3D-printed to meet society’s with our clients, we aim to actively influence needs, and supply chains are fully transparent and decision-makers on the topics of sustainability and sustainable. The day-to-day impact of new human-centricity, recognizing that digitalization can technologies is perhaps difficult to imagine as we look be a powerful enabler. The ‘test and learn’ approach, to the future, but we know it will be enormous. for example, that is key to digital success, can be Our ambition is for 50% of our projects to advance used to create more sustainable products and solutions that have significant social and environmental services. AI can be applied to improve environmental benefits. We invite you to be part of this journey efficiency, reduce waste and facilitate more local toward positive change – now and in the future. sourcing. And digitally-enabled ventures can innovate whole new concepts that are human- centric and sustainable by design.

We recently worked with a global beverage manufacturer on a direct- to-consumer platform venture with sustainability at its core. The platform educates customers on product sustainability, enabling the manufacturer to test new formats and product types, such as more sustainable packaging and beverage content.

59 Support during the COVID-19 outbreak

Digital Koningsdag Thuis with the Royal Family

Millions of Dutch citizens celebrate Koningsdag In just 12 days we helped develop the (King’s Day, a popular national holiday) every year www.Koningsdagthuis.nl platform, enabling We want to express our by going out onto the streets to enjoy local “ the entire country to take their performances sincere gratitude towards concerts, flea markets, performances and street online, watch each other and celebrate SparkOptimus for their parties. However in 2020, due to the Covid-19 together. King Willem-Alexander and his hard work towards realizing crisis, people were forced to stay at home, risking the family feted his birthday on the platform, and Koningsdagthuis.nl, a digital first uncelebrated Koningsdag since World War II. made surprise visits in the virtual meet-and- platform that enabled the Therefore SparkOptimus – together with KBOV greets! The platform received widespread virtual celebration of King’s (the national association of Koningsdag event media attention and was visited by almost half Day during the smart organizers), Google and Incentro – took on the a million people. challenge to organize a special digital Koningsdag lockdown: stay home, stay Thuis, or ‘King’s Day at home’. in touch, celebrate online. It gave wings to the virtual celebration of King’s Day by connecting tradition with innovation – something that was not deemed possible until recently.”

Their Majesties King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands

60 De Corona Check app AnalysisMode SparkOptimus is helping to rapidly scale De Corona SparkOptimus is supporting AnalysisMode, Check, a mobile health app developed by OLVG a winner of the online Covid-19 hackathon (a Dutch hospital), 13 partner hospitals and Luscii HackTheCrisis, Netherlands, in scaling their ideas. (a health tech company). The app contributes to AnalysisMode is a human-based computation the Dutch government's efforts to make coronavirus platform that facilitates accelerated vaccine testing available to all residents. It assesses potential research through an online game. SparkOptimus coronavirus symptoms, and if deemed necessary, has provided help refining the proposition, offering the app shares results with a medical team to guidance and acting as a sparring partner. ensure patient follow-up for testing and treatment.

61 62 Playful professionals Open, honest and eager to learn Building the SparkOptimus family

A work-family Entrepreneurial and impact-driven

SparkOptimistic

63 Sparkies on tour after a strategy session in Mallorca

64 Playful professionals Informal, down-to-earth and laser-focused

At SparkOptimus, we pride ourselves on having the Digital ways of working are often new to our clients, best talent! Sparkies – as we call ourselves – are and therefore it is important for us to be able to smart, true to themselves, and down-to-earth. work side-by-side with client teams, and lead by Slightly geeky by nature, we are genuinely excited example when needed. We always go the extra mile by and focused on the work we do every day. to make sure the job is done well and has a genuine, lasting impact. We also make a point of having fun with clients along the way! Digital projects are exciting, and working on them together with client teams, we build long-term relationships that endure well beyond the projects we deliver.

65 Open, honest and eager to learn With clients and each other

As Sparkies, we are honest – to clients, to others, in a structured capacity in all our project work, as and to who we are. In all our dealings we strive for well as in periodic evaluations where all topics – sustainable, long-term partnerships based on including the tough ones – are discussed openly openness and trust. This includes not promising and transparently. anything we cannot deliver, giving practical, We also encourage professional learning through concrete support where we can, and acknowledging training and development courses. We believe our when we do not know. talented Sparkies are best positioned to choose for Being truthful and critical is key to the continuous themselves what they need, and so packages are learning that drives success in digital, and in a similar flexible and self-directed. way, truthful feedback is highly valued within our own organization. Feedback sessions are integrated A work-family Where we are supported and support others

For people to thrive, it is essential they feel not only To help every Sparkie flourish we have an extensive accepted but loved by their (work-)family, and not support system: a buddy to help Sparkies navigate despite their true nature but because of it. At their first six months, a mentor to discuss personal SparkOptimus we embrace diversity, including development, and a ‘home team’ to discuss regarding gender, age, LGBTQ+, colour and (dis) informally the most important question – how are abilities. We go to great lengths to make sure every you doing? We talk about our well-being and Sparkie can feel at home and be authentic. We are monitor, through a weekly survey, our work-life not just colleagues but friends, and genuinely care balance, learning progression, and overall about each other. satisfaction. We proactively seek to understand issues and move on improvement points.

66 Entrepreneurial and impact-driven We get sh#t done and generate impact

We believe actions speak louder than words. We are year. Similarly, Sparkies shape new fun experiences excited about making things happen and achieving for each other via internal committees, many of concrete results, and believe the best learning is in which have become real Spark traditions. doing. We encourage our Sparkies to find solutions In addition, through our SOcial projects, Sparkies to challenges themselves, both with client-work and generate lasting sustainable impact for society at internally. large. We focus on organizations that are At our annual company trip away to a European entrepreneurial, fast-growing and that use digital city, all Sparkies evaluate the company’s progress technologies to unlock value for people and their and contribute to developing the direction for next surroundings.

SparkOptimistic Always positive and curious about everything

Sparkies want to push their boundaries. Curious and Our SparkOptimism is what makes us stand out. optimistic by nature, we delight in working hard and We thrive in tough circumstances where we can getting better every day. As SparkOptimus, we make a difference – and when we succeed, we offer exciting opportunities to advance cutting-edge don’t forget to celebrate! digital projects, engage in personal development, build the company, and be part of a fun, rewarding journey. ‘Choose your own’ is our motto, and we create flexible personal packages according to what each Sparkie wants.

67 68 AI IoT Shaping the

next decade Robotics

Human-centric

Sustainability

69 Imagine a better world in 10 years’ time: one in which all people enjoy access to healthy food, high quality education and healthcare, and economic opportunity, and in which the environment has a sustainable future.

70 In the next decade, we all need to be more purpose- As SparkOptimus, we will keep Sparking the driven and to deploy existing and emerging change. We will work with frontrunners and technologies to create this better world. We’ve business leaders across the board as we continue to become used to the idea that calling up a tv show broaden our geographic coverage, transform new should be a simple, fast, digitally-enabled process. companies and industries, and demonstrate how Why shouldn’t it be as easy to manage your own these new technologies can be used to improve the health, or find out where your food or phone really lives of people and their surroundings. We are ready comes from? and optimistic. The disruption we have seen to date, driven by the internet and mobile internet, is only the first of what Together, let’s make we believe will be a series of waves of disruptive digital technologies (including AI, IoT, robotics, autonomous vehicles and others). Each will sweep disruption work. through industries, creating new winners and losers, and fundamentally reshaping society as we know it.

71 Disrupt toward a more human-centric and sustainable world

Companies that create new value solve needs in ways that existing offerings don’t, and thereby disrupt the status quo. In the future, needs will be increasingly defined by human-centric principles and environmental sustainability concerns. Longer-term vision will be essential as new disruptive ideas will take time to mature, and will require investment to develop and scale before profits can be considered. Such ideas cannot however be ignored: when technological possibilities are constantly evolving, offerings will likewise need to improve. This means organizations will have to embrace continuous learning and move from judgement-based decisions in siloed structures to data-led (and ultimately AI-led) decision-making processes that focus on solving needs.

72 Disruption has only just started …

The rise of mobile internet was the basis of almost all disruption in the past decade. Mobile devices facilitated direct digital communication between businesses and consumers, businesses and businesses, and consumers and consumers. It made possible anytime-anywhere contact (e.g. mobile banking), endless information (e.g. reviews of all the hotels in the world), and infinite ranges of products and services (e.g. thousands of shoes all available in your size). It also created data around things like location and personal preferences that could be used to make things smart (e.g. Uber cars that are always only a few minutes away). The possibilities for new applications of this one existing technology are endless and most industries have yet to experience its true disruptive power. Over the next decade, SparkOptimus will continue to guide new and existing clients in B2B and B2C markets on how to make disruption work using mobile internet, leveraging our leading experience with hundreds of clients and digital projects.

73 … and already there are new waves of disruption ahead

Once everyone and everything is digitally connected, there will be an abundance of data. Large-scale information on customers, transactions, preferences, location, products, margins, sales, automated sensors and much more will all be recorded. This information will then need to be structured, managed, processed and analysed in a human-centric way, and in accordance with high moral standards on security, privacy and transparency. This all has the potential to deliver more accurate, personalized, faster and more scalable business decisions. Mobile internet was about the digitization of connections. The next wave of disruption is about the automation of decisions using AI (Artificial Intelligence). This will involve automated learning improving in speed and Then yet another wave of disruption can be granularity, and thereby delivering an enormous expected: the automated control of machines. range of business advantages, including: customer Think about advanced robotics, drones, autonomous intimacy at scale, mass personalization, optimal vehicles, fully automated manufacturing, and supply chain efficiency, reduction of waste and robot-supported healthcare and personal services frictionless service, not to mention many basic – all run on low-cost, clean electricity. professional services currently performed by The combined force of these waves of disruption is humans. Frontrunning companies will be able to set to reshape all industries in all geographies at a deliver higher quality at lower cost, and disrupt their greater pace than ever before. Change will be the slower peers. norm. Adaptability and speed of learning will determine who will thrive.

74 Accelerate awareness and change …

When we envision what businesses will look like in At SparkOptimus we need to accelerate our efforts five to ten years, it is clear that a lot of disruptive to create awareness among leaders and throughout change is needed. New propositions, new business society at large. We need to write more books, give models and new ways to work and interact will rise more masterclasses, and support change among to dominance, and people will need very different more clients in more industries and geographies than capabilities. There is no time for complacency. ever before.

75 … and make disruption work in the next decade!

We help companies build the future version of themselves. We inspire them to drive change in their industries, and support them in their own transformations. As such, it is our purpose to stimulate business leaders and organizations to unlock the power of disruption, and use it in a human-centric and sustainable capacity to improve the lives of people and their surroundings. We’ve had a lot of fun making disruption work in the last decade, and thinking about what’s ahead, we’re looking forward to the next!

76 It’s been extremely exciting to make disruption work in the last decade and, as we think about what’s S ahead, we look forward to the next!10

77 References

Cover: Picture of Tom Voskes & Alexandra Jankovich standing in front of SparkOptimus p. 32 Thomas Cook: ‘Thomas Cook collapse: German company files for bankruptcy’, logo courtesy of Fjodor Buis (on behalf of Adformix; Emerce) BBC News, 25 September 2019, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-49824427. Disruption: Disruption, Oxford English Dictionary, https://www.oed.com/. p. 32 McClatchy: Lukas Alpert, ‘Newspaper Publisher McClatchy Files for Chapter 11 Introduction Bankruptcy’, The Wall Street Journal, 13 February 2020, https://www.wsj.com/articles/ newspaper-publisher-mcclatchy-files-for-chapter-11-bankruptcy-11581598316. p. 5 Europe’s leading digital consultancy: ‘Emerce 100: de beste bedrijven in e-business 2020’, Emerce, 7 April 2020, https://www.emerce.nl/nieuws/emerce-100-beste- p. 32 Borders: Julie Bosman & Michael J. de la Merced, ‘Borders Files for Bankruptcy’, bedrijven-ebusiness-2020. The New York Times DealBook, 16 February 2011, https://dealbook.nytimes. com/2011/02/16/borders-files-for-bankruptcy/. We are SparkOptimus p. 32 Blockbuster: Andy Ash, ‘The rise and fall of Blockbuster’, Business Insider, p. 7 No.1 digital strategy consultant awarded 4x: ‘Emerce 100: de beste bedrijven in January 16, 2020, https://www.businessinsider.com/the-rise-and-fall-of-blockbuster- e-business 2020’, Emerce, 7 April 2020, https://www.emerce.nl/nieuws/emerce-100- video-streaming-2020-1?international=true&r=US&IR=T. beste-bedrijven-ebusiness-2020. p. 32 Netflix: ‘Number of Netflix paying streaming subscribers worldwide in 2nd quarter p. 18 SparkOptimus is selected as a top 5 strategy consultant by MT100’s research of 600 2020, by region’, Statista, July 2020, https://www.statista.com/statistics/483112/ managers: ‘MT100 2014: de volledige uitslag’, MT MediaGroep, November 2014, https:// netflix-subscribers/. www.mt.nl/dossiers/mt100-2014-de-volledige-uitslag/87468. p. 32 Elsevier: ‘Is this Britain’s most successful digital transformation?’, Management p. 19 SparkOptimus is named the Emerce100 no.1 digital strategy consultancy in the Today, 15 April 2019, https://www.managementtoday.co.uk/britains-successful-digital- Netherlands: ‘Emerce 100: de beste bedrijven in e-business 2020’, Emerce, 8 April 2016, transformation/innovation/article/1582047. https://www.emerce.nl/nieuws/emerce-100-beste-bedrijven-ebusiness-2016. p. 32 Disney+: Anthony Ha, ‘Disney+ has more than 50M subscribers’, TechCrunch, A decade of disruption 8 April 2020, https://techcrunch.com/2020/04/08/disney-has-more-than-50m- p. 27 ~25% of global apparel sales now online: ‘Consumer Market Outlook – Apparel subscribers/. worldwide’, Statista, August 2020, https://www.statista.com/outlook/90000000/100/ p. 35 Bijenkorf: ‘Het marketinggeheim van de Bijenkorf: álles doen voor je doelgroep’, apparel/worldwide#market-onlineRevenueShare. Frank.News, 22 August 2017, https://www.frank.news/nl/article/marketing-trends/ p. 27 18m Uber trips completed every day: Mansoor Iqbal, ‘Uber Revenue and Usage het-marketinggeheim-van-de-bijenkorf-alles-doen-voor-je-doelgroep.html. Statistics’, Business of Apps, July 2020, https://www.businessofapps.com/data/ p. 39 Kramp: Dirkjan Vis, ‘Kramp: op naar 1 miljard euro online omzet’, Emerce, 26 June uber-statistics/. 2014, https://www.emerce.nl/achtergrond/2017-willen-n-miljard-euro-online-omzet. p. 27 Mansoor Iqbal, ‘Tinder Revenue and Usage Statistics’, 1.6bn Tinder swipes every day: p. 40 Lemonade: ‘The Secret Behind Lemonade’s Claims’, Lemonade, accessed on Business of Apps, June 2020, https://www.businessofapps.com/data/tinder-statistics/. 5 August 2020, https://www.lemonade.com/nl/en/claims. p. 27 $110bn in predicted global food delivery sales in 2020: ‘Global Online Food Delivery Driving positive change Services Market (2020 to 2030) - COVID-19 Growth and Change’, Business Wire, 11 May 2020, https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200511005687/en/ p. 53 MIT Sloan Management Review article: Nikolaus Obwegeser, Tomoko Yokoi, Global-Online-Food-Delivery-Services-Market-2020. Michael Wade, and Tom Voskes, ‘7 Key Principles to Govern Digital Initiatives’, MIT Sloan Management Review, 1 April 2020, https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/7-key-principles- p. 27 $4m saved in bank fees by TransferWise customers every day: ‘The TransferWise to-govern-digital-initiatives/. story’, TransferWise, accessed on 11 August 2020, https://transferwise.com/nl/about/ our-story . p. 53 Harvard Business Review article: Nathan Furr, Jur Gaarlandt, and Andrew Shipilov, ‘Don’t Put a Digital Expert in Charge of Your Digital Transformation’, Harvard Business p. 27 >65% of EU online travel market now owned by Booking.com: ‘Relative market Review, 5 August 2019, https://hbr.org/2019/08/dont-put-a-digital-expert-in-charge- share of major online travel agencies (OTAs) in Europe in 2017’, Statista, 7 January 2020, of-your-digital-transformation. https://www.statista.com/outlook/90000000/100/apparel/worldwide#market- onlineRevenueShare.

78 Alexandra Jankovich and Tom Voskes Founders and managing partners, SparkOptimus

Alexandra Jankovich Tom Voskes Alexandra started in traditional strategy Tom started at Procter & Gamble in line consultancy at McKinsey & Company, before management, before also working at McKinsey moving on to set up the digital division at RELX & Company – first in Amsterdam, and later Boston (Elsevier Science) in New York, and later holding on the ‘Diamond’ program for top consultants. a number of senior digital management positions He then headed marketing at KKR-owned Maxeda, across the US and Europe. As Managing Director the largest non-food retailer in the Netherlands. of Lastminute.com Benelux, she took the site to Tom holds a Masters in Astrophysics, and could the no.1 spot in six months. Alexandra holds a previously be found conducting research at the Masters in Business Administration, and previously ESO, also in Chile, at one of the world’s biggest conducted research in Chile for the SHV board. observatories, and publishing on the warped She is co-founder of SparkOptimus and appears layers of the outer galaxy. He is co-founder of on lists like TheNextWomen100. Alexandra lives in SparkOptimus. Tom lives in Blaricum, near Amsterdam with her husband and three children. Amsterdam, with his wife and three children.

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79 To all our ...

Board of Sparkies recommendation

Senior Clients advisers Supervisory board

Dankie Obrigado Tak THANK YOU Danke Merci Takk Terima kasih Gracias Dziękuję ci Kiitos Tack DankjeweI

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80

A Decade of Making Disruption Work

www.sparkoptimus.com � www.makedisruptionwork.com Former CEO of Ahold Delhaize and member of Nestlé’s Board of Directors Dick Boer Former CEO of Ahold Delhaize and member Adriaan Nühn Chair of the Supervisory Board of Just Eat Takeaway.com Chair of the Supervisory Board of Philips and Boskalis, former CEO of Shell Jeroen van der Veer Chair of the Supervisory Board of Philips and It’s astonishing to see how well SparkOptimus understands the see how well SparkOptimus understands It’s astonishing to role in shaping the SparkOptimus played a substantial omnichannel retail landscape we know today.” omnichannel retail landscape we essence and urgency of digital and the power of data.” essence and urgency of digital and “They are truly the market leader in hands-on digital know-how!” “They are truly the market leader “ “ In the last ten years, digital disruption has radically changed the way we shop for we shop for changed the way has radically disruption ten years, digital In the last It’s been ten at our phones. date and look money, chat, order taxis, manage clothes, titans have global brands, and high street digital start-ups have become years in which business left standing has undergone while practically every toppled like T-rexes, gone from been ten years in which we’ve transformation. And it’s some form of digital to Europe’s no.1 digital consultancy. up beside a fish tank being an idea thought who we are, in it. It’s also the story of of what happened and our role This is the story of making disruption work. the next ten years and our vision for A Decade of Making Disruption Work