Why corporations should avoid building internal startups: Lessons from Swiss largest retailer.

When a rhino attempts to be a unicorn , the outcome is often less than desirable.

A few weeks ago, I shared a post about Switzerland's biggest retailer, which proudly introduced a new coffee machine eight months ago. They were claiming it as the most innovative product the company had ever launched.

I recently purchased several of these coffee machines for my beauty salons and discovered that the manufacturer encouraged online registration using promo codes found inside the package.

As I began the registration process, I realised that... the codes were remarkably similar, the codes were incremental, meaning that the difference between codes was just a few digits! and even worse, the orders numbers were also incremental. This means that anyone could easily determine the exact number of orders placed!

But how could this oversight happen within the largest Swiss retailer?! The answer is simple: the hierarchical structure and complex corporate framework likely prevented the manager's supervisors from delving into such details or being aware of the absence of proper code encryption.

As soon as I noticed this issue, I promptly reached out to the managers, including the CEO, bringing their attention to this critical flaw and offering my assistance to rectify the situation. It could have been resolved in just one day. Yet, it has been almost three weeks, and the problem remains. Have they taken any action on their website? The answer is both yes and no.

Regrettably, they have not made any tangible efforts to enhance security within the process. Zero action has been taken. However, they have swiftly moved to safeguard their own positions by amending the terms and conditions to absolve the company of any responsibility in case customers are unable to register their machines... not particularly customer-friendly, is it?

Despite these changes, critical vulnerabilities persist within their process, which is concerning given that this is the most innovative product offered by Switzerland's leading retailer.