I’ve led three companies (both public and private) from predominantly wholesale business models to global omnichannel companies (where direct to consumer — e-commerce and/or retail stores — made up single digits). I’ve also led two private companies from predominantly DTC businesses (with no or little wholesale) to omnichannel companies. Based on these experiences, here is a selection of questions I believe a leadership team and board of directors should contemplate before undertaking a massive business model transformation:

  1. Task Force and Leadership: Have you established a taskforce with a clear mandate to develop a strategy, budget and timeline? Alternatively, have you appointed one C-suite leader to ensure the success of this initiative?
  2. Measuring Success: How will you measure success throughout the transformation and upon its conclusion? What key performance indicators will you track each quarter and year?
  3. Organizational Structure: Are you prepared to evaluate and potentially restructure your organization? This includes assessing departmental structures, functional roles and skill sets.
  4. Incentives and Collaboration: What new incentives are needed to foster cross-departmental collaboration, ensure consumer centricity and drive value creation?
  5. Learning From Success and Failure: Have you taken the time as a leadership team or board of directors to understand why some digital transformations succeed while others fail?
  6. Data and Technical Ecosystems: What role will data play in guiding this transformation? Do you have the optimal technical ecosystem (from legacy systems to new partners) in place to provide a view of the customer and visibility into orders? Do you have the budget and people to support these new processes?
  7. Financial Systems and Reporting: Are your financial systems and reporting capabilities (e.g., ERP) robust enough to provide a real-time view of cross-channel inventory, a unified P&L, and margin by category and channel?
  8. Product Innovation and Development: How will this transformation affect your product innovation and development cycles? How will you respond to new consumer insights?
  9. Communication and Culture: What is your communication strategy for wholesale partners and your sales team regarding the changes you’re making? What behavioral and cultural shifts are necessary to actively manage your new omnichannel operations (e.g., promotions, launch, etc.)?
  10. Embracing a Perpetual “Beta” Mindset: Is your leadership team and board of directors ready to fully embrace a perpetual “beta” mindset? This means fostering cross-departmental sharing of data and insights, conducting real-time tests and taking smart risks.

Finally, while no two omnichannel transformations are identical, there are numerous similarities. Success depends on a robust strategy, strong engagement and support (time and budget) from the leadership team and/or board of directors and your people. Don’t underestimate how much change impacts individuals differently. However, when managed well, people can embrace change and drive value creation.

Emily Culp is the chief brand and strategy officer at BodyHealth and a board member for Stio, Mizzen+Main, and Cordial.

This article was originally published on Culp’s LinkedIn and has been republished with permission.