The third category, key to visualize the future, is the "Modilals": a person with Multiple Occupations, Diversified Income, and "Light" Assets.
Light assets (such as shared cars or shared accommodations) stem from not only the new paradigm of the sharing economy (Rachel Botsman's proposal for "access over ownership") but also from the consumer patterns of millennials and greater concern about responsible use of natural resources.
- China-focused venture firm GSR Capital, affiliated with GSR Ventures, has launched a US$1 billion cornerstone fund to invest in global LED lighting assets.
Modilals are far more adaptive to the needs of the new labor market: multiple occupations means more capacity to learn, connect, and perform alternative tasks; diversified income means more risk tolerance and flexibility; and lighter assets entail new perspectives on sharing vs. owning and on responsible consumption, which make it possible for the Modilals to thrive in this changing environment.
Other companies, like Meru Health and Virta Health are building light-asset specialist clinics, combining digital tools for managing specific diseases with remote consultations with physicians.
Alibaba also enjoys much wider profit margins than JD, thanks to a light-asset platform approach that connects vendors to consumers and derives the bulk of its revenue from advertising.
This light-asset approach grants Alibaba wider profit margins than its arch-foe JD, which controls most of the supply chain like Amazon and makes money from direct sales.
Retailers with light physical assets, such as generation and storage units in the distribution network, are considered.
The proposed model suggests how a REP with light physical assets, such as DG (distributed generation) units and ESS (energy storage systems), can survive in a competitive retail market.
It also owns and operates light oil assets in Colombia.
The Downers Grove, Ill., company is light on assets, and recent restructuring has made it a more efficient operator.
