Turning volatility into value: How to thrive in uncertainty

In today’s world, volatility isn’t just a temporary challenge; it’s a permanent fixture of business life. Economic disruptions, technological shifts and regulatory pressures are not occasional hiccups but constant realities. The question every business leader must now ask themselves is: Is your company ready to turn volatility into a competitive edge?

The businesses that thrive in this environment aren’t just weathering the storm; they’re using it to propel themselves forward. The key is building organizations that can adapt quickly and seize the opportunities that uncertainty creates.

Defining volatility and value

Volatility refers to frequent, unpredictable changes that can disrupt business operations – ranging from price fluctuations and rising capital costs to labor shortages and global supply chain disruptions. While often viewed as a measure of risk, volatility can also serve as a powerful catalyst for transformation.

Value, on the other hand, is the measurable advantage or differentiation a company gains by effectively navigating challenges. This might come in the form of increased efficiencies, market share or customer loyalty. The faster a business can adapt, the more value it can unlock.

Volatility: The constant driver of innovation

While today’s world may feel especially volatile, uncertainty has long been a driver of growth and innovation. The difference now is the unprecedented speed at which change is unfolding.

• 15 years ago, the rise of mobile commerce forced businesses to rethink customer engagement, sparking the evolution of responsive design.
• 10 years ago, omnichannel strategies became the focus, driving innovations like headless commerce and API-first platforms.
• Seven to eight years ago, cloud-based services and SaaS models unlocked greater personalization for customers, alongside packaged business capabilities and microservices.
• In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic turned the world upside down, accelerating the demand for unified commerce and composable strategies like never before.
• By 2022, geopolitical and economic turbulence highlighted the critical role of AI and machine learning, pushing businesses to rethink how they collect and use data.

These milestones in innovation didn’t happen despite volatility; they happened because of it. Change drives progress, and companies that embrace uncertainty are best positioned to turn it into lasting value.

Today’s new macro volatility

We now face a new era of macro volatility. Inflation, geopolitical conflicts and supply chain disruptions are just a few of the forces at play. But today’s volatility goes beyond external factors — it’s internal as well. Many businesses are grappling with reduced budgets, shrinking headcounts and limited IT resources, all while trying to balance cost reduction with the need to innovate and grow.

Simply investing in the latest technology is no longer enough to respond effectively. Companies must build foundational business agility and become smarter about where they invest their resources and how they measure success.

In retail, I’ve seen plenty of companies build these monolithic, “do everything” platforms that were almost impossible to change once they were live. One large European retailer I spoke to had spent years building a custom ERP commerce system that was beautifully controlled, but when the COVID-19 pandemic hit and they needed new digital channels, they couldn’t move. Their competitors launched marketplaces in months. They were stuck. It wasn’t the technology that failed; it was the mindset of trying to control every detail.

Jungheinrich is an example of a company that was able to mitigate risk effectively by leveraging a composable setup. They run 40+ country-specific storefronts on a single composable backbone. When tariffs shifted and regulations changed, they didn’t need to rebuild. They just reconfigured what they had. That’s real risk mitigation.

E-commerce: A case study in adaptation

The rise of e-commerce is a prime example of how volatility can drive innovation and growth. Over the past decade, e-commerce has evolved from being a niche channel to a strategic investment that drives the future of commerce.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, e-commerce became a lifeline for businesses, enabling them to reach customers when physical stores were closed. Every year, new technologies make online shopping more accessible, steadily increasing e-commerce’s share of retail sales. Amazon, for instance, turned logistical challenges into a competitive advantage by making one to two-day shipping the industry standard, setting consumer expectations and reshaping the online retail landscape.

Similarly, companies like Tesla capitalized on supply chain volatility by securing key materials early, allowing them to innovate and maintain production while their competitors faced disruptions.

But not all companies were able to adapt so quickly. Take Gap, for example, despite facing similar supply chain challenges, it struggled to navigate these disruptions, leading to store closures.

The lesson? Volatility creates opportunities for those who are prepared to act, and it exposes weaknesses in those who aren’t.

Another keyword to talk about here is agility. Agility does not mean fast; agility means being structured in a way that you can change priorities without breaking everything else. 

I often tell CIOs that true agility isn’t a buzzword. It’s about being able to change product catalogs, supply chain logic, pricing models or even business models overnight. Agility isn’t accidental; it’s baked into team structure, tech setup and how decisions are made.

Rose Bikes, for example, was able to launch an entirely new e-commerce experience with customization in just a few weeks. If they’d been stuck on a monolithic system, that same project could have dragged on for months, maybe even years. With composable infrastructure in place, the debate wasn’t about whether it was possible; it was only how fast.

Reimagining the business landscape

Businesses must move beyond simply reacting to volatility and start to use it as a lever for growth. This means shortening the time between making decisions and taking action. Speed is essential: the faster you can adapt to shifting market conditions, the greater the chance you have of outpacing competitors.

Imagine launching a new product in just six to eight weeks instead of eight to twelve months. How much additional revenue could that generate? How much market share could you capture? These are no longer hypothetical — businesses today have the tools to make it a reality.

PepsiCo’s response to shifting consumer behavior during the pandemic shows what agility at scale looks like. Convenience became the number-one driver of consumer decisions during the pandemic, and with that, PepsiCo had to completely rethink distribution and fulfillment to stay close to customers. That’s operational agility at a massive global scale.

In B2B, agility is more about adapting to complex supply chains, regulations and local requirements. A company like Metro AG used composability to build localized B2B shops for independent retailers, which is a great example of B2B agility.

Companies that are early movers in a volatile market can unlock significant value. By driving operational efficiency, accelerating time to the first transaction and tapping into new revenue streams, businesses can transform uncertainty into a competitive advantage. But only if they move quickly.

Turning volatility into a competitive edge

Today’s volatile environment calls for a new approach. Traditional “playbooks” no longer work in a landscape where market conditions shift overnight. To stay competitive, businesses must continuously create fresh, new strategies, making the ability to pivot and adapt a core competency.

By shortening the time between decision and execution, businesses can seize opportunities and mitigate risks more effectively. This speed often determines the difference between success and failure. Those who turn volatility into value will gain not only short-term wins but also long-term sustainability.

Too many companies right now are chasing AI personalization without first fixing their data foundation. My message to CIOs is simple: invest in the bones before you chase the brain. 

Flexible infrastructure is the prerequisite to unlocking AI’s value.

As automation scales efficiency, businesses must never lose their human edge. Swiss Krono, a leading international producer of wood-based materials, did this correctly. They automated their B2B portal for speed but kept big-ticket orders human-driven to preserve trust. Efficiency should be automated, but creativity, empathy and judgment must remain human.

The time to act is now

Volatility isn’t going away. It’s a permanent component of today’s business landscape. Those who hesitate will be left behind. The leaders who act now — who embrace agility, innovate quickly and turn change into opportunity — will be the ones who thrive.

This is one of those moments where, years from now, you will either look back with pride because you acted, or with regret because you didn’t. The choice is yours.

In the early days, I wanted to have every detail buttoned up. But after countless conversations with leaders on the Commerce Talks podcast and seeing our customers in action, I realized resilience matters far more than perfection. The companies that thrive aren’t the ones clinging to perfect control. Volatility isn’t going anywhere, and it’s about how quickly you can pivot when needed. I always emphasize: worry less about controlling every detail and focus more on building adaptability into your architecture, and embrace volatility because it’s often where you can discover new opportunities.

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