“People sleepwalk without intent.”

That’s how Jim Tattersall, Founder & CTO at Rotate°, describes one of the most common causes of failed commerce transformations.

In the latest episode of The FODcast, Jim and Andy Jackson (Rotate’s Chief Creative Officer) unpack why brands often reach for tools, platforms and architectures before they’ve properly defined the problem they’re trying to solve.

They discuss:

• How hype cycles push teams into reactive decisions
• Why over-reliance on third-party tools creeps in unnoticed
• The risk of building teams around technology rather than outcomes
• Why intent matters more than architecture

The message is measured but clear: progress comes from clarity, not momentum.

This really was a great 3-way conversation with our Director of Client Engagement, James…and really frames some of the background and points raised in Rotate’s recent Tech Report.

#DigitalCommerce #TechnologyStrategy #Leadership #FODcast

Simply Commerce is the leading supplier of talent into digital commerce across technology, digital marketing, product, sales, and leadership.

Find our more about our approach and our services within digital commerce recruitment here: https://simply-commerce.co.uk/

“We’re kind of drowning in a sea of sameness.”

That’s how Rob Hoekman, Senior Director of Experience Consulting at Empathy Lab by EPAM describes the state of ecommerce today.

On this week’s episode of The FODcast, our CEO Tim and Rob unpack how decades of optimisation and best practice have led to convergence - in platforms, patterns and experiences - and why differentiation is getting harder, not easier.

They explore:

• How ecommerce capability has become commoditised
• Why replatforming now delivers smaller gains than it once did
• The risk created by years of customisation and legacy
• Why brands are being pushed to rethink their entire commerce fabric

Rob’s view is measured but direct: the next phase of growth won’t come from chasing new stacks, but from rethinking how commerce ecosystems are designed and operated.

🎧 Listen | Comment | Share

#DigitalCommerce #DigitalStrategy #Engineering #FODcast

Simply Commerce is the leading supplier of talent into digital commerce across technology, digital marketing, product, sales, and leadership.

Find our more about our approach and our services within digital commerce recruitment here: https://simply-commerce.co.uk/

“It’s not the licence cost that kills you; it’s the invisible overhead.”

That’s how Serge El Hachem, Director of Solutions Engineering at Lazer Technologies, describes what’s really slowing enterprise commerce down.

On this week’s episode of The FODcast, host James and Serge unpack how global retailers are simplifying their stacks, cutting total cost of ownership, and finding real speed on Shopify.

We also cover:

• The invisible overhead - multiple vendors, fragile integrations, endless QA and DevOps cycles.
• Where costs shrink fastest; hosting, scaling, PCI and security handled natively, no AWS bills or patching.
• Speed as the unlock - six-month builds become six-week sprints, compounding learning and growth.
• App strategy that scales - Serge’s rule: every app should automate, measure, or personalise, or it’s bloat.
• Enterprise maturity - extensible checkout, powerful promo logic, and fast-maturing B2B capabilities.

With two decades in engineering and eight years focused on Shopify, Serge’s insight is clear: simplify the architecture, and growth follows.

🎧 Listen | Enjoy | Comment | Share

Simply Commerce is the leading supplier of talent into digital commerce across technology, digital marketing, product, sales, and leadership.

Find our more about our approach and our services within digital commerce recruitment here: https://simply-commerce.co.uk/