Interview: Strategy and digitalization in associations
Technological framework conditions for members
“Associations must create technological frameworks that strengthen their members and help them remain visible and competitive in the digital marketplace.”
Thomas Natkowski
Managing Partner
eStrategy Consulting
The strength of buying groups lies in the diversity and creativity of their members. But how can this potential be made visible digitally and successfully exploited collectively? Our managing partner Thomas Natkowski discussed these questions in an interview with Platoyo. We are publishing a copy of the interview here.
Mr. Natkowski, eStrategy Consulting is active as a consultancy in the areas of omnichannel and e-commerce, among others. What is your view on associations?
The role of associations is to develop solutions that are beneficial to their affiliated retailers. This began over a hundred years ago with joint purchasing conditions and now affects many areas of value creation in retail. Today, this also includes e-commerce and omnichannel solutions for retail. However, purchasing groups sometimes take very different approaches here, as we outlined some time ago in a comprehensive study. The existing decentralization apparently slows down many purchasing groups, preventing them from moving quickly enough in the area of digital solutions and sales channels and thus being successful.
What should buying groups do to be successful online?
The great strength of buying groups lies in their decentralization and the creativity of their members in finding individual solutions to customer requirements. In addition, buying group headquarters must be able to adapt to market requirements through agile decision-making and create technological conditions for members that promote their competitiveness. In the omnichannel sector, visibility on online channels is key, with marketplaces playing a decisive role here due to the decentralization mentioned above, both as an internal solution for purchasing groups and in e-commerce as a whole.
How can eStrategy Consulting help with digital transformation?
eStrategy Consulting has been active in the marketplace sector for many years and has gained extensive experience with the specific challenges faced by purchasing groups, developing a wide range of solutions. As a strategic consultancy, we work with selected implementation partners such as Platoyo. In addition, we have been involved in many projects dealing with digitalization at the POS and the successful integration of offline and online channels.
At eStrategy Consulting, we have been supporting purchasing groups with precisely these challenges for many years and work with selected implementation partners to develop solutions for the right strategy and integration. Further information on our expertise in the area of purchasing groups can be found on our expertise page. You can download the complete Purchasing Groups Report 2026 via this link.
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Interview: Strategy and digitalization in associations
The strength of associations lies in the diversity and creativity of their members. But how can this potential be made visible digitally and successfully leveraged collectively? Our Managing Partner Thomas Natkowski discussed these questions in an interview with Platoyo.
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