In the digital economy : an asset = production + transformation
+ information
In the agricultural society, raw materials were essential
to the economy : vegetables, meat and minerals were the
trading basics. Crafted products (fabrics, clothes, jewellery,
objects) had the highest value in the consumers' eyes.
We can translate this by the two following formulae :
Merchandise = Production
Value = Production
In the industrial society, the majority of products which
were not modified had no value (see the collapse in the
stock market prices for raw materials and agricultural
products). On the contrary, modified products offer a
good profit margin and customers are prepared to pay high
prices for them. The economy's essential goods are those
which are transformed. We can translate this by :
Merchandise = Production + Transformation
Value = Transformation
In the information society, the merchandise becomes intelligent
products. Transformation by an industrial process is not
enough. They must be enriched by information which increases
their value for the customer : they must be intelligence-enriched.
In the digital economy, the essential element of the perceived
value and in consequence the purchase value of a product
lies in its intelligence and not in its transformation.
The final equation is therefore :
Merchandise = Production + Transformation + Intelligence
Value = Intelligence
If it appears difficult at present to give a precise
definition of a product's intelligence, we can nevertheless
suggest some trains of thought :
· the ability to analyse and anticipate customer
needs to provide an individual reply (one of the applications
of this principle is one-to-one marketing) ;
· the ability to adapt its utilisation context
;
· the ability to detect the possibility of commercial
transactions.
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