The FODcast

Tim Roedel and James Hodges
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In the FODcast (The Future of #DigitalCommerce) we explore the real career stories of the people who have made it to the very top of the sector and those who are working at the cutting edge of innovation and change right now. Listeners to the podcast gain insight into the journeys industry leaders have taken to be where they are today, the challenges they are facing now and their aims for the future.

  1. Why E-Commerce Won’t Win on Best Practices Alone with Rob Hoekman

    FEB 5

    Why E-Commerce Won’t Win on Best Practices Alone with Rob Hoekman

    “We’re kind of drowning in a sea of sameness.” That’s how Rob Hoekman, Senior Director of Experience Consulting at Empathy Lab by EPAM describes the state of ecommerce today. On this week’s episode of The FODcast, our CEO Tim and Rob unpack how decades of optimisation and best practice have led to convergence - in platforms, patterns and experiences - and why differentiation is getting harder, not easier. They explore: How ecommerce capability has become commoditisedWhy replatforming now delivers smaller gains than it once didThe risk created by years of customisation and legacyWhy brands are being pushed to rethink their entire commerce fabricRob’s view is measured but direct: the next phase of growth won’t come from chasing new stacks, but from rethinking how commerce ecosystems are designed and operated. 🎧 Listen | Comment | Share #DigitalCommerce #DigitalStrategy #Engineering #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/

    55 min
  2. Outcomes Over Architecture: Why Simplicity Wins in Commerce with Serge El Hachem

    JAN 21

    Outcomes Over Architecture: Why Simplicity Wins in Commerce with Serge El Hachem

    “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/

    50 min
  3. Your Cart Is Fine; Your Duties Are Not: Why US Shoppers Panic At Checkout with Jamie Vaughan

    JAN 7

    Your Cart Is Fine; Your Duties Are Not: Why US Shoppers Panic At Checkout with Jamie Vaughan

    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 reassuranceConversion 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 replacementPlus, 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/

    52 min
  4. Compliance Is the Floor; Inclusion Is the Strategy with Hilary Stephenson

    12/10/2025

    Compliance Is the Floor; Inclusion Is the Strategy with Hilary Stephenson

    "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 ceilingThe biggest friction points in retail journeys - and how to turn them into wins through clear content, contrast, and keyboard-friendly designWhat government digital services get right: co-design, testing with assistive tech, and radical transparencyHow inclusive design and immersive commerce can coexist, and why heavy scripts, pop-ups, and “dark patterns” are just bad UXThe practical sequence to start today: set a baseline, “fix the six,” publish an honest accessibility statement, and keep testingWith 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/

    58 min
  5. When AI Takes the Busywork: How Teams May Evolve in the Age of Agents with Rob Goodwin

    11/27/2025

    When AI Takes the Busywork: How Teams May Evolve in the Age of Agents with Rob Goodwin

    AI is not just changing tools, it is changing teams, skills and how customers find you online. In this week’s episode of The FODcast, host James Hodges sits down with Rob Goodwin, Chief Data Officer at MSQ Partners, to talk about what is moving fast, what is hype, and what leaders should fix now. We cover:  AI agents for triage, code generation and repetitive analytics, and what that means for junior and mid-level rolesThe rise of AI Ops to monitor, tune and audit models in productionWhy first-party data quality still beats shiny tools, and how to clean and enrich what you already havePractical steps to align clickstream, CRM and purchase data so personalisation actually worksTrust in an AI world, including QA, transparent citations and brand-owned communitiesIf your 2025 plan touches AI, data or search, this one is absolutely ESSENTIAL listening.   🎧 Tune in now #AI #DataStrategy #DigitalCommerce #MarTech #Search #Personalisation #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/

    49 min
  6. From Buzzwords To Bottom Line: Unified Commerce, AI, And The Real Costs Of Replatforming with Kim Samuelsen and Max Rolon

    11/13/2025

    From Buzzwords To Bottom Line: Unified Commerce, AI, And The Real Costs Of Replatforming with Kim Samuelsen and Max Rolon

    We’ve got an extra special episode of The FODcast dropping this week - not only do we have both Tim Roedel AND James Hodges side by side in the interviewer’s seat once again, but we’re also joined by two guests from global commerce agency Domaine, Kim Samuelsen and Max Rolon.  In this four-way chat, we discuss how Shopify’s native capabilities now handle serious complexity across EMEA without the overhead of composable stacks - and what that means for brands weighing platform choice, expansion, and cost control.  From Markets and meta objects to multilingual storefronts and local payment methods, we explore what’s changed, what still trips brands up, and where the smart money goes when every budget line is under pressure.  The conversation digs into:  The real barriers of European expansion - compliance, duties, and fulfilment quirks like lockers and pickup pointsWhen to stick with Shopify Payments versus legacy gatewaysWhy clean, centralised data underpins everything from AI personalisation to CRM efficiencyHow unified commerce is replacing brittle omnichannel integrations You’ll also hear real-world examples; from a Magento-to-Shopify B2B migration that finally brought B2B online to an enterprise furniture launch that hit a 23-week timeline and lifted conversion by 19%.  If you’re weighing platform choice, entering Europe, or tightening spend ahead of Q1, this is your field guide to cutting TCO without cutting ambition.  🎧 Enjoy!  #ShopifyPlus #Ecommerce #DigitalCommerce #UnifiedCommerce #PlatformMigration #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/

    1h 5m
  7. Nerds Who Talk: The Tech Behind Big Brand Migrations with Bob Rockland

    10/29/2025

    Nerds Who Talk: The Tech Behind Big Brand Migrations with Bob Rockland

    What makes a 20-year veteran development team bet everything on Shopify? According to Bob Rockland, Co-Founder of Code (now part of Domaine), the answer lies in both economics and technology. In the latest episode of The FODcast, Bob takes us inside Code’s journey to becoming the world’s largest dedicated Shopify partner - and why no client they’ve migrated in the last seven years has ever gone back. We cover: The Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) myths CFOs often miss – and why Salesforce can be 35% more expensive than ShopifyHow Code migrated a well-known retail brand from Salesforce to Shopify in just six monthsWhy payment service provider (PSP) fees are often the single biggest hidden cost for enterprise merchantsThe three actions every brand should take to reduce platform costs: cut redundant apps, renegotiate regularly, and avoid long-term contractsWhere AI fits (and doesn’t) in enterprise commerce – and what to expect from Shopify’s rapid B2B roadmapBob also shares how Code’s TCO calculator helps brands uncover their true costs with surprising accuracy, giving enterprise teams the clarity they need to make smarter platform decisions. If you’re exploring a platform migration or want to understand the real economics of Shopify vs. legacy platforms, this episode of The FODcast is a must-listen. 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/

    38 min
  8. Prompts, Products, and Profits: The AI Revolution Nobody Saw Coming with Sander Berlinski

    10/14/2025

    Prompts, Products, and Profits: The AI Revolution Nobody Saw Coming with Sander Berlinski

    What’s really driving the AI revolution in digital commerce? According to Sander Berlinski, Director of Innovation at valantic, the answer isn’t chasing futuristic hype, but focusing on what’s working right now. In this FODcast episode, Sander breaks down how AI is already transforming retail, from automating compliance checks to reshaping creative roles; and why data foundations, not shiny tools, should be every retailer’s first priority.  We explore how his team built an EU Accessibility Act checker that plugs straight into e-commerce systems, turning compliance risks into improvement tickets, and why this kind of focused solution shows AI at its best. We also cover: The roles being most disrupted by AI, from customer service to front-end designHow platforms like Shopify are democratising creative content through natural language promptsWhy unglamorous data architecture is the biggest barrier to meaningful AI adoptionThe compliance risks of employees experimenting with generative AI tools like ChatGPTPractical advice for mid-market retailers balancing quick wins with long-term preparationA glimpse into the near future of hyper-personalised product pages and physical-digital integrationIf you’re in retail, digital commerce, or innovation, this is a grounded conversation about separating substance from hype and preparing your business for an AI-enhanced future. 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/

    52 min
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About

In the FODcast (The Future of #DigitalCommerce) we explore the real career stories of the people who have made it to the very top of the sector and those who are working at the cutting edge of innovation and change right now. Listeners to the podcast gain insight into the journeys industry leaders have taken to be where they are today, the challenges they are facing now and their aims for the future.

Information

  • Creator
    Tim Roedel and James Hodges
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    85
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The FODcast
  • Show Website
    The FODcast