平臺(tái)公司正從各方面攪亂傳統(tǒng)商業(yè)世界的版圖，不只是一些全球大公司地位被取代，而且還在改變價(jià)值創(chuàng)造、消費(fèi)者行為等一些習(xí)以為常的業(yè)務(wù)流程，改變主要行業(yè)的結(jié)構(gòu)。

固守舊模式的傳統(tǒng)公司若想與平臺(tái)公司對(duì)抗，首先需要重估自身商業(yè)模式的價(jià)值。這些公司得徹底審查在推廣、銷售、送貨以及客戶服務(wù)等多方面的支出，仔細(xì)想想在無(wú)縫連接日益普遍的當(dāng)今世界里，哪些支出可以減少，哪些可以剔除。此外，還應(yīng)該研究下有業(yè)務(wù)交流的個(gè)人和公司，找出維護(hù)關(guān)系的新方式以創(chuàng)造新價(jià)值。

在這個(gè)平臺(tái)統(tǒng)治的世界里，耐克無(wú)疑是想盡辦法求生存、找發(fā)展而且表現(xiàn)最優(yōu)異的公司之一。有些舉措看起來(lái)平談無(wú)奇，其實(shí)不然。

Platform businesses are disrupting the traditional business landscape in a number of ways—not only by displacing some of the world’s biggest firms, but also by transforming familiar business processes like value creation and consumer behavior and altering the structure of major industries.

And if they hope to fight the forces of platform disruption, entrenched companies need to reevaluate their business models. They’ll need to scrutinize what they spend on marketing, sales, product delivery, and customer service and imagine how those costs might be reduced or eliminated in a more seamlessly connected world. They’ll need to examine the individuals and organizations they interact with, and envision new ways of networking them to create new forms of value.

Nike has proven to be one of the most intelligent incumbent companies seeking new ways to survive and thrive in the world of platforms. Some of the competitive steps they’ve taken may seem obvious. They aren’t.

從傳統(tǒng)上來(lái)說(shuō)，耐克之類做渠道業(yè)務(wù)的公司要擴(kuò)張無(wú)非有兩種方式。一種是縱向整合，就是垂直拓展上下游渠道的長(zhǎng)度，比如，收購(gòu)上游供應(yīng)商或是下游經(jīng)銷商。另外一種則是擴(kuò)充渠道自身的容量，目的是讓渠道能輸送更多價(jià)值。如果消費(fèi)品公司通過(guò)推出新產(chǎn)品或新品牌推動(dòng)增長(zhǎng)，就是在做橫向整合。

2012年1月，耐克收購(gòu)了一家名為FuelBand、專做可穿戴設(shè)備的公司，其產(chǎn)品可以追蹤用戶的健身活動(dòng)，包括計(jì)步、能量消耗等。和許多其他公司一樣，耐克也一直在開發(fā)應(yīng)用，確切點(diǎn)說(shuō)是與運(yùn)動(dòng)和健康相關(guān)的應(yīng)用。看起來(lái)有點(diǎn)像傳統(tǒng)產(chǎn)品線的延伸，但耐克其實(shí)是在測(cè)試新的業(yè)務(wù)模式，如果成功就能帶來(lái)新增長(zhǎng)，這也是蘋果等公司率先嘗試的平臺(tái)業(yè)務(wù)模式。

蘋果在過(guò)去十年里實(shí)現(xiàn)高速增長(zhǎng)，一部分原因就是通過(guò)云服務(wù)連接各個(gè)產(chǎn)品和服務(wù)。用戶可以通過(guò)iTunes和iCloud同步內(nèi)容和數(shù)據(jù)，因而，比起擁有其他品牌，比如索尼或日立多個(gè)產(chǎn)品，用戶會(huì)覺得擁有多個(gè)蘋果產(chǎn)品更有價(jià)值，也更實(shí)用。在令多個(gè)產(chǎn)品和服務(wù)協(xié)同工作方面，數(shù)據(jù)是最關(guān)鍵的整體黏合劑。

云服務(wù)也推動(dòng)了新的增長(zhǎng)方式。通過(guò)數(shù)據(jù)讓多個(gè)產(chǎn)品和服務(wù)連接和互動(dòng)起來(lái)后，渠道公司開始向平臺(tái)轉(zhuǎn)化，一方面創(chuàng)造了新價(jià)值，另一方面也鼓勵(lì)用戶多參與互動(dòng)。

耐克旗下配備FuelBand設(shè)備的跑鞋可以與手機(jī)移動(dòng)應(yīng)用實(shí)時(shí)互動(dòng)，向用戶反饋信息和建議，提醒運(yùn)動(dòng)表現(xiàn)、鍛煉計(jì)劃以及健康目標(biāo)等。耐克不再像傳統(tǒng)運(yùn)動(dòng)公司一樣單純賣裝備，而是利用搜集的數(shù)據(jù)打造用戶生態(tài)圈。再過(guò)段時(shí)間，耐克就能根據(jù)積累的數(shù)據(jù)改進(jìn)裝備提高用戶體驗(yàn)，還能將用戶凝聚起來(lái)，促進(jìn)用戶之間互動(dòng)。

運(yùn)動(dòng)裝備公司安德瑪（Under Armour ）也在積極行動(dòng)，打造自己的健身用戶生態(tài)圈。2013年11月，安德瑪收購(gòu)了業(yè)內(nèi)領(lǐng)先的健身訓(xùn)練追蹤平臺(tái)MapMyFitness。2015年2月，安德瑪又收購(gòu)了兩家健身平臺(tái)——專門研究營(yíng)養(yǎng)的MyFitnessPal和主要服務(wù)歐洲客戶的“移動(dòng)私教”Endomondo。三家公司的收購(gòu)總價(jià)高達(dá)7.1億美元。一位分析師評(píng)論說(shuō)：“令人震驚的是被收購(gòu)的三家公司沒(méi)有一家是真正做設(shè)備的公司。所有人的關(guān)注點(diǎn)都在平臺(tái)和數(shù)據(jù)上，最重要的其實(shí)是用戶。”這三筆收購(gòu)號(hào)稱涉及1.3億平臺(tái)用戶。安德瑪也跟耐克一樣，認(rèn)為行業(yè)的發(fā)展前景就是基于平臺(tái)的業(yè)務(wù)，而且決心要當(dāng)行業(yè)顛覆者。

那么，有產(chǎn)品和服務(wù)就能成為平臺(tái)業(yè)務(wù)的基礎(chǔ)么？可以測(cè)試下：如果公司可以用信息或用戶社區(qū)為產(chǎn)品提供附加值，就有潛力打造出切實(shí)可行的平臺(tái)。對(duì)很多公司來(lái)說(shuō)，這是個(gè)巨大的機(jī)會(huì)。

想想已有126年歷史的味好美（McCormick Foods），公司主要產(chǎn)品為香草、香料和調(diào)味品。味好美一直沿著傳統(tǒng)發(fā)展戰(zhàn)略前進(jìn)，直到2010年迎來(lái)改變。

味好美的業(yè)務(wù)觸角已然伸到調(diào)味品領(lǐng)域的各個(gè)角落，在供應(yīng)鏈上下游的地位也很穩(wěn)固，找不到什么可以進(jìn)一步增長(zhǎng)的方式了。首席信息官杰瑞?沃爾夫聽說(shuō)過(guò)耐克打造平臺(tái)的舉措，味好美能不能也嘗試下呢？

沃爾夫去紐約找了業(yè)內(nèi)領(lǐng)先的設(shè)計(jì)公司R/GA合伙人巴里?瓦克斯曼，他也正是協(xié)助耐克設(shè)計(jì)平臺(tái)戰(zhàn)略的人。兩人想出個(gè)主意，就是用食譜和味覺檔案打造以食物為基礎(chǔ)的平臺(tái)。沃爾夫和瓦克斯曼通過(guò)味好美的味覺實(shí)驗(yàn)室提煉出36種典型味道——例如薄荷味、柑橘味、花香、大蒜味、肉香等——這些味道組合起來(lái)就可以描述幾乎所有食譜。口味系統(tǒng)可以根據(jù)個(gè)人愛好預(yù)測(cè)用戶可能愿意品嘗的新食譜。

此外，在味好美社區(qū)平臺(tái)上，用戶還可以修改食譜，上傳更新的版本，嘗試無(wú)數(shù)的新口味，還能預(yù)測(cè)食物流行的新趨勢(shì)，平臺(tái)匯集的信息不僅對(duì)用戶有用，對(duì)雜貨店經(jīng)理、食品生產(chǎn)商以及餐館老板都會(huì)有所幫助。

如今，利用平臺(tái)的能力已經(jīng)不再局限于互聯(lián)網(wǎng)新貴，傳統(tǒng)企業(yè)的反應(yīng)也不再只是防守反擊，或是在本行業(yè)被強(qiáng)占殆盡后去跟風(fēng)建個(gè)往往以失敗收?qǐng)龅钠脚_(tái)。

事實(shí)上，傳統(tǒng)行業(yè)中的領(lǐng)軍者一旦理解了新商業(yè)模式，就可以著手搭建面向未來(lái)的新平臺(tái)，過(guò)程中不僅可以撬動(dòng)存量資產(chǎn)，還能加強(qiáng)壯大實(shí)力。（財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

本文節(jié)選自《平臺(tái)革命：緊密聯(lián)系的市場(chǎng)如何推動(dòng)經(jīng)濟(jì)轉(zhuǎn)型——你如何能從中分一杯羹》，作者為Geoffrey G. Parker, Marshall W. Van Alstyne, and Sangeet Paul Choudary.版權(quán)屬于Geoffrey G. Parker, Marshall W. Van Alstyne, and Sangeet Paul Choudary.本文已或出版商W. W. Norton & Company授權(quán)發(fā)布，版權(quán)所有。

譯者：Pessy

校對(duì)：詹妮

Pipeline businesses like Nikehave traditionally scaled in one of two ways. Some expand by vertical integration, owning and integrating a greater length of the value-creation-and-delivery pipeline—for example, buying upstream suppliers or downstream distributors. Others expand by widening the pipeline to push more value through it. When consumer goods companies grow by creating new products and brands, it’s an example of horizontal integration.

In January 2012, Nike brought out a wearable technology device, the FuelBand, to track user fitness activities, including steps walked and calories burned. Like many other companies, Nike has also been developing apps—in this case, apps related to sports and fitness. While these might seem like traditional product-line extensions, Nike is actually testing an approach that, if successful, will lead to a new form of growth—one pioneered by platform businesses like Apple.

Over the last decade, Apple has grown in part by connecting its products and services to one another in the cloud. The ability to sync contents and data over iTunes and iCloud makes the ownership of multiple Apple products particularly valuable, and much more useful than, say, the ownership of multiple products from Sony or Toshiba. Data acts as an integration glue to make all these products and services perform in concert.

This leads to a new form of growth. When multiple products and services connect and interact using data, pipelines can start behaving like platforms, producing new forms of value and encouraging users to engage in more interactions.

Nike’s FuelBand-connected shoes and mobile apps they constantly interact, providing users with information and advice about their athletic performance, their fitness regime, and their health goals. Unlike a traditional sporting goods company, Nike is building an ecosystem of users using the data it captures about them. Over time, it can leverage this data to create more relevant experiences for its users and connect them with one another to enable valuable interactions.

Under Armourhas been moving quickly to build its own fitness ecosystem. In November 2013, it purchased MapMyFitness, a leading workout and exercise tracking platform. In February 2015, it followed up by buying two more fitness platforms—MyFitnessPal, which focuses on nutrition, and Endomondo, a “trainer in your pocket” that mainly serves consumers in Europe. The total purchase price for the three companies: a hefty $710 million. “What’s really astounding,” one analyst commented, “is that none of the companies acquired make actual devices. Instead, everything is about platform and data. And—more importantly—users.” The three acquisitions boast 130 million platform users. Like Nike, Under Armour sees that the future of its industry is platform-based, and it is determined to be a disruptor.

Can any product or service become the basis of a platform business? Here’s the test: If the firm can use either information or community to add value to what it sells, then there is potential for creating a viable platform. This creates huge opportunities for a lot of firms.

Consider McCormick Foods, a 126-year-old company that sells herbs, spices, and condiments. By 2010, the company’s traditional growth strategies had run their course.

McCormickhad already expanded into a full range of food seasonings and established a foothold up and down its supply chain. It was running out of growth options. CIO Jerry Wolfe heard about Nike’s move into platform-building. Could McCormick do the same?

Wolfe reached out to Barry Wacksman, a partner at R/GA, a leading New York design firm that had helped Nike design its platform. Together, they hit on the idea of using recipes and taste profiles to build a food-based platform. Wolfe and Wacksman used McCormick’s taste laboratories to distill three dozen flavor archetypes— such as minty, citrus, floral, garlicky, meaty—that can be used to describe almost any recipe. Based on personal preferences, the system can predict what new recipes an individual is likely to savor. And the McCormick platform community can modify recipes and upload the new versions, creating ever-expanding flavor options and helping to identify new food trends, generating information that’s useful not only to the platform’s users but also to managers of grocery stores, food manufacturers, and restaurateurs.

The ability to leverage platforms is no longer restricted to Internet upstarts. Nor is the incumbent’s response restricted to merely attempting to fight back, or trying, usually in vain, to build a copycat platform after their industry has been colonized.

The leaders of incumbent companies who understand the new business model can begin building tomorrow’s platforms in a way that not only leverages their existing assets, but strengthens and reinforces them.

Excerpted from Platform Revolution: How Networked Markets Are Transforming the Economy—And How to Make Them Work for You by Geoffrey G. Parker, Marshall W. Van Alstyne, and Sangeet Paul Choudary. Copyright 2016 by Geoffrey G. Parker, Marshall W. Van Alstyne, and Sangeet Paul Choudary. With permission of the publisher, W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. All rights reserved.