Bridging Gaps and Breaking Silos - How IT Drives Growth with Lauren Livak Gilbert & Jon Harding - Episode 389
Ecommerce Braintrust
· with Lauren Livak Gilbert & Jon Harding
· April 22, 2025
· 28 min
Summary
To thrive in the fast-evolving ecommerce landscape, brands must recognize IT as the central nervous system driving growth, not just a support function. This episode provides a practical guide for ecommerce leaders to strategically integrate IT with commercial teams, ensuring technology initiatives directly fuel business outcomes and foster transformational growth.
Key takeaways
Engage IT early in business initiatives to overcome historical tensions and accelerate project success by treating IT as a strategic partner, not a reactive service.
Implement quarterly or monthly planning reviews to remain agile and responsive to rapid changes in the ecommerce industry, moving beyond outdated annual planning cycles.
Develop clear business cases for all new technology investments, directly linking them to measurable business value to ensure prioritization and secure necessary resources.
Proactively communicate IT’s successes and impact across the organization through internal newsletters and other channels to demonstrate its value beyond technical support.
Establish shared goals and metrics between IT and other departments (e.g., marketing, sales) to foster genuine cross-functional partnerships and align technology initiatives with overarching business objectives.
Welcome to The Ecommerce Braintrust podcast, brought to you by Julie Spear, Head of Retail Marketplace Services, and Jordan Ripley, Director of Retail Operations. Today, we're thrilled to welcome two fantastic guests: Lauren Livak Gilbert, Executive Director of the Digital Shelf Institute, and Jon Harding, SVP and Global CIO at Conair. They're here to share insights from a recent report they released in partnership with MikMak—a practical guide to managing technology change across the business, specifically how to leverage IT teams to accomplish transformational growth. Tune in to find out more! 📙 RESOURCES Download the Bridging Gaps and Breaking Silos report from the Digital Shelf Institute. KEY TAKEAWAYS In this episode, Julie, Jordan, Lauren, and Jon discuss: The Evolving Role of IT: How IT has become the "nervous system" of modern consumer brands, with technology playing a bigger role in driving business outcomes, particularly as sales and marketing become increasingly tech-reliant. Increasing Complexity and Collaboration: The rise in technology tools (especially in digital commerce), the necessity of integrating multiple systems, and how IT and commercial teams can work together more effectively. Successful Cross-Functional Partnerships: Strategies for engaging IT early in business initiatives, overcoming past tensions between IT and marketing, and why collaboration leads to faster an
Frequently asked about this episode
What does this episode say about cross-functional collaboration?
Engage IT early in business initiatives to overcome historical tensions and accelerate project success by treating IT as a strategic partner, not a reactive service.
What does this episode say about digital transformation?
Implement quarterly or monthly planning reviews to remain agile and responsive to rapid changes in the ecommerce industry, moving beyond outdated annual planning cycles.
What does this episode say about it strategy?
Develop clear business cases for all new technology investments, directly linking them to measurable business value to ensure prioritization and secure necessary resources.
What does this episode say about cross-functional collaboration?
Proactively communicate IT’s successes and impact across the organization through internal newsletters and other channels to demonstrate its value beyond technical support.
What does this episode say about cross-functional collaboration?
Establish shared goals and metrics between IT and other departments (e.g., marketing, sales) to foster genuine cross-functional partnerships and align technology initiatives with overarching business objectives.
