Change Management at Tiki

The problem: when a once-leading e-commerce platform faces an existential threat

Amid increasingly fierce competition in Vietnam’s e-commerce market, Tiki faced mounting pressure from rivals like Shopee, Lazada, and TikTok Shop. The project analyzed why Tiki needed to change, identified the internal and external forces driving that need, and proposed a transformation plan to help the business regain competitiveness.

Tiki was under heavy pressure from shifts in the e-commerce market, consumer behavior, technology, and new competitive models. The business needed to change in order to recover its competitive position, improve customer experience, optimize operating costs, strengthen internal resources, and better adapt to digital transformation trends.

Role: led the analysis of why change was needed and the implementation planning

Within an 11-person team, led the sections covering the reasons for change and implementation planning:

• Analyzed why Tiki needed to change
• Researched the competitive, technological, customer behavior, and internal pressures involved
• Helped build the change objectives using the SMART framework
• Helped develop the organizational and execution plan for the change
• Supported building the phase-by-phase implementation content
• Finalized the report documentation for the assigned sections

The process: from root-cause analysis to a measurable plan

The workflow followed standard Change Management practice:

1. Research Tiki and the broader e-commerce market
2. Identify the events and pressures driving the need for change
3. Analyze the causes of change from external factors (PESTEL Analysis) and internal factors (McKinsey 7S)
4. Build change objectives using the SMART framework
5. Propose change options, evaluate them, and select the most suitable one
6. Build the phase-by-phase implementation plan
7. Assign roles using a RASCI Matrix
8. Set up a timeline, KPIs, and contingency plans for risks
9. Finalize the end-of-term report

Results

• Completed an overall change plan for Tiki
• Identified the core issues across strategy, technology, logistics, personnel, and customer experience
• Proposed a digital transformation approach to improve customer experience and optimize operations
• Built a 3-phase implementation plan: preparation, pilot, and scale-up
• Established RASCI, timeline, and KPIs to track the change process

What I learned

The project clarified that organizational change isn’t just about coming up with new ideas — it requires a clear implementation plan, measurable goals, appropriate resources, and coordination across multiple departments. It also shifted how to view a business from a more strategic lens: a problem with market share or revenue rarely comes from a single cause; it’s usually the result of multiple compounding factors related to the market, technology, people, processes, and organizational culture.

Limitations

The team had no direct access to Tiki, so the analysis relied mainly on desk research and publicly available data. Some figures in the plan were academic assumptions. The project leaned heavily toward planning the change rather than including an implementation phase or evaluating real-world results.

If I did it again

• Narrow the scope of change for a more focused plan
• Add a clearer stakeholder analysis for each affected group
• Build a more detailed change impact assessment
• Design a more concrete internal communication plan
• Add a dashboard to track change-related KPIs
• Dig deeper into the risk of resistance from employees and customers

Supplementary Case Study

Supplementary case study: Coca-Cola Crisis Management

Alongside the main Tiki project, the team also conducted a discussion on Coca-Cola’s communications crisis related to sugar content, transparency in scientific research, and responsibility toward public health. The case study focused on how the company responded to the crisis, restructured its strategy, and rebuilt consumer trust — analyzing the causes of the crisis, its impact on the brand and revenue, the recovery strategies across product portfolio, marketing, and sustainability, and drawing lessons applicable to businesses in Vietnam.

The role in this section involved synthesizing and editing content, researching source materials, helping build the presentation slides, and discussing the lessons on change management and crisis management.

Through this case study, it became clear that change management isn’t only relevant when a business transforms its business model — it’s especially critical during crisis response. Transparency, the ability to adapt quickly, and rebuilding customer trust play a decisive role in brand recovery. This was also the first exposure to a real-world Crisis Management scenario, which clarified the connection between business strategy, communications, and change management.