Technology helps us to explore the universe, develop solutions to complicated problems, and to change the world for better good. Nowadays leaders have a world of opportunities to evolve in the sphere of eCommerce with these innovative technological solutions. One such impeccable leader is Christopher Deck, CEO of Deck Commerce.
In an interview with CIO LOOK, Christopher emphasizes on his 15 plus years of experience in helping companies maximize their eCommerce potential.
Below are the highlights of the interview between Christopher Deck and CIO LOOK:
Take us through your journey on becoming a proficient leader.
For me, developing as a leader is a process. As you grow from an individual innovator to a leader, it’s critical to understand your core values and live them daily. For me, my core values are rooted in integrity, respect, teamwork, and attitude. Layered on top of core values is the need to build a team that is focused on innovation that provides meaningful value to customers. This can be best achieved by allowing the team the opportunity to grow and develop into the best versions of themselves.
How do you diversify your organization’s offerings to appeal to the target audience?
Three components drive our roadmap of offerings: focus, understanding, and vision. By taking the time to truly understand the problems and needs of our customers and overlaying that against our unique perspective of changing trends in the industry, we can continue to innovate and provide meaningful value, which is the key to appealing to any target audience.
What are the basic but crucial traits that every innovative entrepreneur must possess?
I’ve been called a thoughtful contrarian, which seems like the ideal description of an innovative entrepreneur. As an innovative entrepreneur, you must be able to gather insights in a thoughtful manner, see opportunities, and have the conviction to blaze new traits based on those insights.
What are your intakes on the roles of an entrepreneur on product innovation performance?
Entrepreneurial organizations accede at being fast and adaptive, which drives product innovation performance. It’s like the difference between a speedboat and an ocean liner. An ocean liner is effective at long pre-determined journeys but can’t manage dynamically changing conditions, which is the hallmark of entrepreneurial innovation.
In your opinion what roadblocks or challenges are faced by an entrepreneur to ignite the business? And what is your advice to overcome them?
I think the biggest challenge is finding a healthy balance between growth and efficiency. As an entrepreneur, growth is like oxygen, but even too much oxygen can be dangerous. My advice to dealing with this challenge is to find good partners that are invested in your success and bring experience from helping other entrepreneurs going through the same process.
How do you cope up with volatile technological trends to boost your personal growth?
Read, read, and network. We’re living within the digital age, which means information is omnipresent. The ability to gain insights and develop relationships with thought leaders is critical to grow and develop as an entrepreneur, which includes managing changes within the industry.
What are your future endeavors/objectives and where do you see yourself in the near future?
Our vision is to help modernize retail by changing how orders are processed for consumers across channels. With that in mind, we will focus our efforts on our mission of developing and supporting the best directto- consumer order management system on the market.
As a leading technology architect in eCommerce and retail sectors, what is your contribution to its evolution?
Our contribution is based on our passion for leveraging technology to solve essential problems in retail. We come to work every day, thinking about the most effective ways to help our customers deliver better results and experiences for their consumers, and by doing so, we help the overall industry adapt and grow.
What would you like to advise to the budding entrepreneurs in various organizations?
When you see opportunities to provide meaningful value through innovation, pursue that vision with conviction and an unwavering sense of purpose. It will feel like swimming against the current, but that’s the sign that validates you’re onto something innovative.
Provide a one-line quote that best describes your approach to business and your vision?
Focus on building a great team and providing meaningful value.
A Brief on Chris
Our story began in 1998 when founder, Chris Deck, started the eCommerce consulting company Deck Internet Solutions. Chris had one goal in mind: to help businesses become eCommerce leaders within their industries.
This focus put Deck Commerce in the unique position of seeing challenges with direct-to-consumer selling strategies, and one of the biggest challenges related to the growing complexities of fulfilling orders. Chris knew that a cloud-based approach to order management could help transform retail, which was the founding vision of Deck Commerce.
Chris and his engineering team conceived a multitenant platform that would serve as the hub for managing orders across shopping channels and distribution networks. It would feature an integration framework and configuration controls, which would enable customers to quickly connect systems and support unique shopping experiences.
Today that vision is a reality. Deck Commerce is the leading Order Management System (OMS) for omni-channel commerce. We help brands get to market quickly, provide better service to their customers, and operate more efficiently. We are leaders in retail transformation and power many of the most innovative brands, such as New Balance, Build-A-Bear, Rawlings & more.