I had the privilege to take part in the 2023 CES. It was a first for me, and I really wanted to invest the time to participate in this gigantic show highlighting innovation in the broad sense and meeting with startups from around the world.
Omnipresence of FrenchTech: what a great showcase!
I was particularly attracted by the omnipresence of French start-ups united around FrenchTech. Not only by their number – there were more than 100 of them represented in the Eureka Park space, and also by the quality of their pitch. It was clear, straight to the point, full of energy and very often very clever. It is an excellent showcase for our economy and for the reputation of our talents in France, everyone agreed to say this at the show.
Take inspiration from the mindset of entrepreneurs
I am always very interested in understanding the insights and motivations that pushed entrepreneurs to embark on their adventure. What sparked off their project? How did they put together their teams? What complementarities did they seek? And I’m not limited to either the sector or the country. A solution found in a field of activity can be a source of inspiration.
Fewer gadget innovations, but pragmatic solutions addressing major societal problems
This year, I have not discovered any breakthrough innovation. And that’s good news in itself! There are fewer gadgets than in previous years (even if there are still some…), and more concrete, pragmatic solutions, drawing on the technological innovations of recent years to resolve major societal issues.
4 major trends have emerged, and all have, more or less, an impact on the Supply Chain: transport and mobility, sustainability, health related technologies, and gaming, the metaverse and Web3.
In terms of transport and mobility, 3 major topics were the focus of innovation and discussion: autonomous vehicles and consequently the experience inside vehicles, and the ecosystem around electric vehicles. There is no doubt that these major trends will shake up the transport ecosystem in the coming years, both over long distances and last mile delivery.
No or few start-ups around the e-commerce, CRM, Customer Data and Customer Experience ecosystem
On the other hand, I was disappointed by the e-Commerce, CRM, Data, Customer Experience ecosystem. These are the functions for which I am responsible at RIMOWA, and I found very few start-ups or large groups dealing with these subjects at the show. This was not the case in the latest editions. Yet there is so much to discover and so many innovative start-ups all over the world on these subjects: the in-store experience, the digitalization of stores, customer loyalty and the use of NFTs, the delivery experience of last mile, the unboxing experience... This was not the show to address these issues and if like me you are interested and passionate about these areas, the NRF in New York seems to be the event not to be missed .
Why don’t Large Groups, Schools, Cities and Entrepreneurs work more hand in hand?
Finally, I find that Large Industrial Groups, Grandes Ecoles and Universities which train engineers and entrepreneurs from around the world, and cities should work in a much more coordinated manner with start-ups. Working on cross-cutting issues and presenting them as a team would be an accelerator of innovation and financing, a fantastic message addressed to visitors of the show, to large companies, and would increase the energy of the entrepreneurs of today and tomorrow.
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Julien Morel has been a member of the Management Committee of RIMOWA, a House of the LVMH group, since 2018. He participated in the transformation of the House towards an omnichannel model.
Julien is now Director of e-commerce, CRM and Customer Experience at RIMOWA.
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