“Every time you see an industry disrupted, it's because of digital technology,” asserts Mike Edwards, vice president of global digital services at Amway, in a media release about the new apps. And he goes on to further outline the company’s thinking on this latest development.
“Digital innovation for us is critical,” he says. “If you look at companies like Uber, they didn't do anything unique. It's still the taxi industry. But, they leveraged digital tools to make that a very compelling opportunity. It's the same thing if you look at direct selling and you look at Amway. If we don't disrupt the industry by leveraging digital tools, we'll become irrelevant,” believes Edwards.
Platform strategy
To launch 50 new apps in 3 months, Amway teamed up with Kony, Inc. The Texas-based enterprise app solution provider has been in business since 2007 (and until 2013 was known as Kony Solutions). The software company “offers enterprise mobility solutions to design, build, integrate, deploy, and manage applications for business leaders/users, IT sectors, and developers and designers,” according to an overview posted on bloomberg.com.
To create brand-consistent yet market-specific apps for ABOs in countries around the world, Amway used Kony’s Quantum platform. The platform allows for app creation and standardization by storing app components (various tools and templates) on a globally accessible cloud storage space.
“By leveraging the power of the Kony Quantum low-code platform, Amway’s development teams are co-creating, customizing, and sharing the component pieces needed to create innovative mobile apps to help ABOs better serve their customers and drive increased mobile sales, while also strengthening engagement between ABOs and their customers,” explains the media release circulated by Kony.
Mobile agility
“We have to leverage digital to make sure we’re providing the most relevant experience to our ABOs and to our customers in a way that is compelling,” remarks Edwards in a video piece accompanying the release.
And Amway’s decision to work with Kony on this collection of apps was meant to do just that—with measurable efficiency: “Overall, we’re saving more than half of the time and money we previously spent, while gaining global brand awareness and improving customer experience,” says Brian Hart, vice president of ABO customer solutions and IT at Amway. “Our work with Kony Quantum has already led to huge savings in time and efficiency, because regions share and re-use pre-built components.”
“Everyone has a mobile phone, but not everyone has a computer,” observes Hart. “Kony Quantum allows us to very quickly share innovation across different countries and platforms” and put “the latest digital tools into the hands of our ABOs.”
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Deanna Utroske, CosmeticsDesign.com Editor, covers beauty business news in the Americas region and publishes the weekly Indie Beauty Profile column, showcasing the inspiring work of entrepreneurs and innovative brands.
