Applico’s Top 10 Posts of 2017

By Nicholas L. Johnson

To kick off 2018, Applico looks back at its top posts of 2017. Last year was a very big year for platforms. From the growing importance of modern monopolies in political discourse to the growth of Amazon Business, Snapchat’s travails as a public company and more. Check below for the rundown of our top 10 of 2017.

Platform Innovation

1. 7 Platform Predictions for 2017

To kick off 2017, Applico made 7 predictions for the year. A year later, these predictions look pretty good. Platforms became a major political topic, as we predicted, and Amazon Business had a major impact on B2B Distributors. VR and AR saw no real consumer success and Snap struggled in its first year as a public company. Click above to see the rest of our predictions and which came true.

2. Platform Types: Explained and Defined

One of the key parts of building a platform business is understanding the platform type. This decision impacts everything from the design of the core transaction to how you will build the network. In this post from 2017, Applico CEO Alex Moazed provides an in-depth overview of the different platform types and how to identify them.

3. Why Digital Transformation Initiatives Need Organizational Autonomy

In this post, Applico CEO Alex Moazed looks at an important aspect of enterprise platform innovation success: how you structure your digital transformation initiatives. This decision can impact everything from your success in talent acquisition to building a company culture. 

Public Markets

4. The Value of Digital Transformation: How Investors Evaluate “Tech”

What’s the value of your digital transformation? Looking at two major tech IPOs in 2017, we show how public markets value business models differently than some private investors. If you’re working on or looking at a major digital transformation initiative, start here.

5. Snapchat S-1 Deep Dive: Numbers Show Bumpy Road May Be Ahead

The biggest tech IPO of 2017 was Snapchat. But from the beginning, the signs weren’t good. Looking back at Snap’s S-1, many of the warning signs were already clear.

6. Walmart Is Coming for Amazon – and Winning

While Amazon has been tearing up many industries in 2017 (see below), one company has managed to fight back. And for the first time, it’s winning. Check out this post to see how Walmart turned around 10 years of ecommerce failure and started winning back consumers and merchants from Amazon. 

B2B Distribution

7. Amazon Business: Understanding the Threat to B2B Distributors

One of the biggest trends of 2017 was the growth of Amazon Business and its impact on B2B distributors. Throughout 2017, Applico produced a series of whitepapers and webinars on this impact and how B2B distributors could respond. Click above to see the full rundown for the series.

8. Applico Launches Tool to Track Market Disruption for B2B Distributors

As part of Applico’s research on disruption in B2B distribution, we built a marketplace tracker tool to let you see in real time the impact of Amazon Business and the digital responses of major distributors like Grainger. Click the link to sign up for the tool.

9. Grainger (GWW) Missed Earnings – Good for Amazon Business, Bad for B2B Distributors

The first major casualty of Amazon’s disruption in B2B was in industrial distribution with Grainger. Applico predicted Grainger’s struggles early in 2017 to the bemusement of many analysts. But the tone changed quickly when Grainger released its first-quarter earnings. The results weren’t good. This was the first data point in what would go on to be a rough year for Grainger and industrial distributors in general.

10. Infographic: B2B Marketplaces and the Disruption of B2B Distribution

While Amazon Business is the biggest player, there’s a host of startups and other companies taking on B2B Distribution. In this infographic, Applico laid out the landscape of the top startups in each industry. If you’re at all involved in B2B distribution, you should definitely take a look.

That’s all for the top 10 of 2017. Check back next week for our top platform predictions for 2018.

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