How Did Nike Become The Best Company In The World?

The ability to use platforms is no longer limited to Internet upstarts.

The reaction is no longer just a defensive counterattack, or after the industry has been forced to occupy it, to follow the wind and build a platform that often ends in failure.

Once the leaders of traditional industries understand the new business model, they can start building a new platform for the future, which can not only leverage stock assets, but also strengthen their strength.

Platform companies are disrupting the layout of the traditional business world from all aspects, not just the status of some big global companies, but also changing some usual business processes such as value creation, consumer behavior, and so on, changing the structure of major industries.

If a traditional company sticks to the old mode of confrontation with a platform company, it first needs to reevaluate the value of its own business model.

These companies have to thoroughly review expenditures in terms of promotion, sales, delivery and customer service, and think carefully about what expenditures can be reduced and what can be eliminated in the increasingly seamless world today.

In addition, individuals and companies with business contacts should be studied to find new ways to maintain relationships in order to create new values.

In the world ruled by this platform, Nike is undoubtedly one of the best companies to find survival, development and performance.

Some measures seem plain, but in fact they are not.

Traditionally, there are two ways to expand companies like Nike and other channel businesses.

One is vertical integration, that is, the vertical expansion of upstream and downstream channels, for example, the acquisition of upstream suppliers or downstream dealers.

The other is to expand the capacity of the channel itself, so that the channel can deliver more value.

If consumer company promotes growth through launching new products or new brands, it is doing horizontal integration.

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In January 2012,

Bought a company called FuelBand, specializing in wearable devices. Its products can track user's fitness activities, including step count and energy consumption.

Like many other companies, Nike has been developing applications, rather than sports and health related applications.

It looks a bit like the extension of the traditional product line, but Nike is actually testing the new business model. If successful, it will bring about new growth. This is also the platform business mode that apple and other companies first try.

Apple's rapid growth in the past ten years is partly due to the integration of products and services through cloud services.

Users can synchronize content and data through iTunes and iCloud. Therefore, compared with other brands, such as SONY or Hitachi, users will feel that having multiple Apple products is more valuable and practical.

Data is the most important overall binder for the collaboration of multiple products and services.

Cloud services have also promoted new ways of growth.

After connecting and interacting multiple products and services through the data, ditch companies began to pform to the platform, creating new value on the one hand, and encouraging users to participate in interaction more frequently.

Nike's running shoes equipped with FuelBand equipment can interact with mobile phone applications in real time, feedback information and suggestions to users, remind sports performance, exercise plan and health goals.

Nike no longer sells equipment simply as traditional sports companies, but uses data gathered to create user ecosystem.

Over time, Nike can improve its equipment based on accumulated data and improve user experience, and it can also aggregate users and promote interaction among users.

Sports equipment company Andemar (Under Armour) is also actively taking action to build its own fitness user ecosystem.

In November 2013, Andrew bought the leading fitness training tracking platform MapMyFitness.

In February 2015, Andrew also bought two fitness platforms -- MyFitnessPal, a specialty specializing in nutrition, and Endomondo, a mobile private education service that mainly serves European customers.

The total purchase price of the three companies is as high as 710 million US dollars.

One analyst commented: "shocking is that none of the three companies that have been acquired is truly a device maker.

Everyone's concerns are on platform and data, and the most important thing is users. "

These three acquisitions claim to involve 130 million platform users.

Andemar, like Nike, thinks that the development of the industry is based on platform business and is determined to become a subversive industry.

So, can products and services become the foundation of platform business? We can test: if companies can add value to products with information or user communities, there is potential to create a practical platform.

For many companies, this is a great opportunity.

Think of McCormick Foods, which has been around for 126 years. Its main products are vanilla, spices and condiments.

We have been following the traditional development strategy until 2010.

The delicious business tentacles have been extended to every corner of the condiment field, and their position in the supply chain is also very stable. There is no way to further grow.

Chief information officer Jerry Wolf has heard about Nike's move to build a platform. Can you taste it?

Wolf went to New York to find Barry, Waxman, the R/GA partner of the leading design company. He is also the person who helped Nike design the platform strategy.

Two people came up with the idea of creating a food based platform with recipes and taste files.

Wolf and Waxman extracted 36 typical flavors from the delicious taste laboratory, such as peppermint, citrus, floral, garlic, meat and so on. These combinations can describe almost all recipes.

The taste system can predict new recipes that users may like to taste based on their hobbies.

In addition, on the community platform, users can also modify recipes, upload updated versions, try countless new flavors, and predict the new trend of food popularity. The information gathered on the platform is not only useful to users, but also helpful to grocery managers, food producers and restaurant owners.

Today, the ability to use the platform is no longer limited.

Upstart, the reaction of traditional enterprises is no longer just defensive counterattack, or after the industry has been forced to run away, follow the wind to build a platform that often ends in failure.

In fact, once the leaders of the traditional industry understand the new business model, they can start building a new platform for the future, which can not only leverage stock assets, but also strengthen their strength.