Digital Leader Experience: Drive innovation forward

Sometimes the best way to rethink your approach to technology isn’t at a desk, staring at a slide deck , it’s with both hands on the wheel of a Land Rover.

That was the premise of the Digital Leader Experience at the Land Rover Experience Solihull hosted by Sana Commerce. Digital leaders from across industries stepped away from their offices for a day that mixed big-picture strategy from Chris Gee (CTO, B2B eCommerce Association) with adrenaline-fueled off-road challenges.

And it worked, the conversations were sharper, the examples more vivid, and the parallels between steering through tricky terrain and navigating digital transformation couldn’t have been clearer.

Lesson 1: Don’t Just Buy Tech, Buy Outcomes

Chris opened with a challenge: too many organization’s are making technology decisions based on vendor sales pitches and feature lists rather than on measurable business results.

It’s a mistake that can lead to “tool clutter”, stacks of platforms that don’t connect, don’t get adopted, and don’t move the needle. Instead, Chris urged attendees to start with a four-question filter before committing to any new system:

What’s the exact pain point we’re solving?

What’s our ideal future state?

What changes if we solve this problem?

What workarounds are we currently using?

By running every tech decision through this lens, leaders can strip away the noise and focus on the solutions that actually push the business forward.

He also shared a feature-benefit matrix technique: rank potential tools not just on what they can do, but on how directly they contribute to high-priority outcomes. Sometimes the better investment is the tool that costs more, if it delivers more impact.

Lesson 2: Implementation Is a People Job

If Lesson 1 was about choosing the right vehicle, Lesson 2 was about getting everyone in the passenger seat willing to take the ride.

Chris reminded the group that most failed technology projects don’t collapse because the software didn’t work, they collapse because people weren’t brought along for the journey. His IMPACT model reframes implementation so that technology is the last consideration, not the first:

Inputs

Policies, data quality, and user needs that set the foundation.

Methods

How the system will work day-to-day.

People

Engaging the humans who will make it succeed or fail.

Activation

The rollout plan.

Change

Managing the transition.

Technology

The tool itself.

Lesson 3: Adoption Starts Before Go-Live

One of Chris’s most memorable lines of the day:

“You can’t just build it and hope they’ll come.”

Leaders often see adoption as something that happens after launch. In reality, it starts well before go-live, during the first conversations about why change is happening.

The group discussed tactics like:

Turning a launch into an internal marketing campaign.

Creating role-specific training so adoption isn’t one-size-fits-all.

Building emotional buy-in by showing how the change benefits individuals, not just the business.

The parallel with the off-road challenge was hard to miss, you don’t just hand someone the keys to a Land Rover and expect them to succeed on the first hill climb. You brief them, let them practice, and build their confidence before they’re in the thick of it.

Is AI the Fourth Pillar of Digital Strategy?

The day ended with a thought-provoking question. For years, digital transformation has been guided by the three pillars of People, Process, and Technology. But AI is no longer just a tool, it’s becoming a decision-maker, a collaborator, and in some cases, a driver of strategy itself.

Chris asked:

“Is it time to add AI as a fourth pillar?”

The question lingered as attendees traded insights over coffee. Just as in business, the right tools matter, but it’s the way you steer, adapt, and work together that determines whether you make it to the other side. And as AI becomes part of that journey, smarter B2B e-commerce platforms like Sana help manufacturers and distributors turn complexity into clarity — combining human expertise, digital processes, and intelligent technology into one foundation for growth.