Currently, there is no branch of industry that is not thinking about digital transformation. Whether it's a corporation or a SME, technology is changing the ways of doing business.The big companies are those that have more problems when it comes to aggiornarse to the new times. Although they have more economic and professional resources available, they lack the agility necessary to adapt to the new paradigm.To put figures to the phenomenon, the Digital Transformation Index of Dell Technologies reveals that 93% of the corporate leaders of Argentina recognize that their organization will have difficulties to meet the demands of their customers in the next five years.In addition, the same work reveals that 94% of the country's businesses face significant obstacles to digital transformation. In this sense, the main obstacle is the "immature digital culture", which affects 30% of the firms interviewed in the report.What path is left to the companies not to succumb to the technological advance? Some companies, such as Coca Cola, Unilever and Garbarino, found a way out: to work together with an "innovation partner".Digital AllianceIn Argentina, more and more companies use the concept of startups to help traditional firms maintain their leadership in the digital world.One of them is YopDev, created by Guido Grinbaum, one of the members of the "old guard" of Argentine technological entrepreneurship.Grinbaum was one of the founders of DeRemate and, after the sale of the firm to Mercado Libre, exploited the model of online classifieds in various verticals through the company Dridco: thus, launched ZonaJobs and DeMotores, for example. The company was later sold to Navent.About three years ago, he launched Yop, a mobile application that allows the sale of used or new products between individuals. That was the germ that gave rise to YopDev, which today has clients such as Coca Cola, Unilever and Garbarino."We are a digital business incubator, our particularity is that on the one hand we have the traditional part of incubation, which is to devise new startups, develop their business model and operate them, depending on the case, we look for a funding or a partner", explains Federico Giesenow, managing partner of the firm, in dialogue with iProUPAnd he continues: "But we have a second leg, which is that companies know they have to innovate, that is, generate a business model that is different from their core business."According to Giesenow, who worked as a Unilever executive in several international venues, the big companies "do not know how or do not have the skills" for certain digital projects. In addition, "they do not have the focus".
The reason is simple: they do not have the operation of a startup that is 24 hours thinking about the project, so YopDev is responsible for developing an idea with the company and assigns an "agile team" for its implementation.On the other hand, Tomás Mindlin, a YopDev partner, takes a term from the technology industry to define the operation of the company: "startups as a service"."We are involved in everything that has to do with the creation of the business, the implementation of technology and the accompaniment so that this new project reaches the world and can grow over time." All the startups that work in the world go through the path of continuous improvement, "explains Mindlin.The executive also criticizes the approach of the current companies that try to insert themselves in the digital transformation through the outsourcing of several tasks."In addition to the product and technology, everything related to marketing, business intelligence and costumer service, if companies hire these services with different agencies, the synergy that is generated in a startup today is lost," Mindlin completes.How do they do that"We are a large digital business factory, some of our own, others for our partners," Giesenow says, adding that the process involves three stages: generating the idea, developing the product and launching it.The manager tells iProUP that its partners can come with a specific order, the improvement of an existing product or the generation of a new business idea, which usually comes from a meeting between both companies. Although it emphasizes that the important thing is the product and the execution."We apply the same methodology, the same output, with which we are going to look for investors, it ends with a very detailed presentation of the product, logistics, etc. A business case with a huge level of detail, costs, etc." , complete.Mindlin expands: "We help them to present a project, but instead of looking for investments outside they have to look for them within the company." To convince them, they must show the product, its objectives, put together a sales pitch as if they were yCombinator to see if the company adds up internally. "The first case of success of YopDev was with Santillana Spain, with which he developed an application for the "school of the future". In Argentina they work with Coca-Cola, Garbarino and Unilever. With the latter, they seek to expand to Brazil.Although large companies may have difficulties in streamlining their digital transformation, they have comparative advantages with respect to startups."They have muscle in different areas that allows them to have more strength than someone who has just started and has to go and ask for money, what they lack is the culture and the agility to reach changes with a certain speed," Mindlin completes.At the time of monetization, YopDev offers two alternatives. "It can be through fees for development, but we would also love to take equity, because we believe in what we do," Giesenow acknowledges.In addition to working with other firms, the company has just launched Yop Ykamp, a platform for sales teams and customer service that offers access to all training, sales information, and so on. In this way, the working groups are up to date with all the news of the company.The Coca-Cola projectThe managers assure iProUP that their work is not limited to developing ideas for another company, but it is a joint effort with the partner."We believe in teams, we work together, we co-create, Coca-Cola is a luxury partner, because they have a high level of commitment and cutting-edge thinking," says Giesenow.The project they designed for the brand of soft drinks is called Wabi and consists of a mobile application for home delivery of the drinks of the American giant."It responds to how to get to the house of the final consumer: what to ask for and what can be delivered, but with a system that is sustainable in the long term, outsourcing the last 100 meters is very expensive," says the executive.The idea is simple and effective. Users make their order from the cell phone and they receive a notification (also on the phone) to the merchants attached, be it a kiosk, a warehouse or a self-service. The first place that accepts the order brings the pack of drinks ordered to the client's house."This is born from the effort of Coca-Cola to give tools to the traditional channel to be competitive, and thus an excellent service is provided, adding value to the merchant and delivering the product to the final consumer," Mindlin closes.