Mykhailo Merkulov, CEO Arricano Real Estate plc, took part in the business lunch “Innovations in Real Estate” organized by the Ukrainian Real Estate Club and shared his main thoughts on the development ...
Innovation is a component of a business model. Innovation means thinking, strategy, management decisions, technology and changes. 
The introduction of innovative technologies requires focusing, because there are a lot of opportunities. In Arricano, we select for each business a specific technology, which is being implemented in the company. For example, a lawyer-bot, who at the first stages negotiates contracts with tenants.
This year Arricano implements a technological solution that introduces a new business model in the company. The answer to the question: “What are we going to sell in 5 years?” – led to making a decision with the help of technological innovation. 
Today, dozens of ready-made technologies that solve business problems are available in real estate, including free and affordable ones. Their number grows in progression. For example, a sufficient number of intelligent systems for voice control, including free ones.
To keep track of innovations, you can monitor the information space. Arricano has a weekly profile on innovations in several segments, including building management, retail and retail tech. Every week something interesting and worth attention appears.
It is not the consumer who launches innovation, but his/her problem issues. If consumers are asked directly what they want, it happens that they don’t say what they think and think - not what they do. The problem issues have to be investigated. In Arricano, 5 key problem issues of tenants and 10 problem issues of buyers have been revealed; we have found the point of intersection of these issues and implemented a common solution using the Prospektus mobile application. For example, for a guest it is a selection of a look from what is offered in a shopping mall, which increases tenants’ turnover. If there is satisfaction and positive customer experience - there are more purchases, less returns.
There is no need to be in a hurry. Everything will change faster than we think; and you may be late implementing innovations today. You should not invest your own money into development - today there is already someone, who makes it more successful, and when you are ready to implement your development, you’ll find out that there is a ready-made solution that is cheaper and more qualitative. Only 8% of innovators become successful, while 47% of the “second” users who improve the product become more successful than the “first” ones.
Olha Solovii, the founder and CEO of the Ukrainian Real Estate Club, the initiator of the discussion related to innovations in real estate, emphasized that companies have to respond to the challenges of time, to which they may be motivated by a consumer, who is accustomed to digital innovations in other areas. The participants of the meeting tried to find an answer to the main question, “How to find a balance between a consumer’s need for new technologies and economic feasibility of implementing innovations by developers and management companies?”
“Each business and each company has its own way,” Mykhailo Merkulov said, “but we know for sure that flexibility and adaptability can lead not only to a quantitative growth of key business parameters, but also to a qualitative change in the structure of a company, not only to the development of new skills and competencies of a team, but also to the formation of a leader’s thinking, which guarantee a company the leading positions in its segment.”

Source: inventure.com.ua