“It’s not the licence cost that kills you; it’s the invisible overhead.”

That’s how Serge El Hachem, Director of Solutions Engineering at Lazer Technologies, describes what’s really slowing enterprise commerce down.

On this week’s episode of The FODcast, host James and Serge unpack how global retailers are simplifying their stacks, cutting total cost of ownership, and finding real speed on Shopify.

We also cover:

• The invisible overhead - multiple vendors, fragile integrations, endless QA and DevOps cycles.
• Where costs shrink fastest; hosting, scaling, PCI and security handled natively, no AWS bills or patching.
• Speed as the unlock - six-month builds become six-week sprints, compounding learning and growth.
• App strategy that scales - Serge’s rule: every app should automate, measure, or personalise, or it’s bloat.
• Enterprise maturity - extensible checkout, powerful promo logic, and fast-maturing B2B capabilities.

With two decades in engineering and eight years focused on Shopify, Serge’s insight is clear: simplify the architecture, and growth follows.

🎧 Listen | Enjoy | Comment | Share

Simply Commerce is the leading supplier of talent into digital commerce across technology, digital marketing, product, sales, and leadership.

Find our more about our approach and our services within digital commerce recruitment here: https://simply-commerce.co.uk/

Confused about what’s actually working in digital commerce right now?

You’re not alone. Between US conversion chaos, rising costs, and AI hype, it’s hard to tell what moves the needle and what’s just noise.

On this week’s episode of The FODcast, host Tim Roedel sits down with Jamie Vaughan, ex MD at Signifly, to cut through the chatter and get practical about what to fix first.

Here’s what we cover:

• The “Donald effect” impacting US growth - and how to rebuild confidence through landed cost clarity and reassurance
• Conversion that counts: prioritising high-impact experiments using RICE (Reach, Impact, Cost, Effort)
• Life after cookies: why attribution and cohort analysis (with tools like Triple Whale) are now essentials
• Turning first-party data into your growth engine - not a last-ditch paid ads replacement

Plus, real examples, clear takeaways, and no fluff.

If you’re scaling, re-platforming, or rethinking your funnel for 2025, you’ll want to hear this one.

🎧 Listen now

#DigitalCommerce #Ecommerce #Shopify #AI #DataStrategy #Search #CRO #FODcast

Simply Commerce is the leading supplier of talent into digital commerce across technology, digital marketing, product, sales, and leadership.

Find our more about our approach and our services within digital commerce recruitment here: https://simply-commerce.co.uk/

"Accessibility isn’t a niche feature set; it’s the operating system of a fair and profitable digital world."

On this week’s episode of The FODcast, James sits down with Hilary Stephenson, Managing Director at Nexer Digital, to unpack how inclusive design drives growth, reduces risk, and builds trust across every customer journey.

In our chat, we cover a whole host of things, including:

• The European Accessibility Act - what’s in scope, what deadlines matter, and why compliance is only the floor, not the ceiling
• The biggest friction points in retail journeys - and how to turn them into wins through clear content, contrast, and keyboard-friendly design
• What government digital services get right: co-design, testing with assistive tech, and radical transparency
• How inclusive design and immersive commerce can coexist, and why heavy scripts, pop-ups, and “dark patterns” are just bad UX
• The practical sequence to start today: set a baseline, “fix the six,” publish an honest accessibility statement, and keep testing

With more than 25 years in content, UX and inclusive service design, Hilary brings the experience of someone who’s helped make accessibility business-critical for leading brands and public sector organisations alike.

Tune in, enjoy, and let us know your thoughts!

Simply Commerce is the leading supplier of talent into digital commerce across technology, digital marketing, product, sales, and leadership.

Find our more about our approach and our services within digital commerce recruitment here: https://simply-commerce.co.uk/