Let us face it, competition in business is fierce, even more so these days. Customers are being bombarded by hundreds of marketing messages each day – what will make them buy your products? In short, businesses need digital transformation to help better realize their business goals in this hyper-competitive world. The earlier, the better.
Companies are getting more and more streamlined with efficient processes across the whole value chain. In a recent research paper by Bain & Co in conjuncture with Facebook, 2020 saw an astounding growth of the digital consumers growth. It found definitively that 5 years worth of digital growth was bullet-trained into just 1 year alone. Moreover, it predicts that 7 out of 10 SEA consumers will go digital by end 2020. To compete in this ever-changing and growing business space, companies need to stay relevant and push for innovative new ways to conduct their business.
Here is what digital transformation truly means, how it benefits you and why the time to get on it is NOW.
Technology has an impact on all of our lives in one way or another. You do not wait in the rain to call a cab anymore; you call an Uber. Office memos are replaced by email, direct marketing flyers are replaced by automated email marketing.
Digital transformation, in essence, is the adoption and implementation of digital technology to all facets of business processes. This can be used across all functional and cross functional departments.
Proper digital transformations can make companies drive more value for their customers by being more efficient throughout the value chain. You can reduce overhead costs, get more business and of course, increase sales.
Before we outline some key benefits digital transformation can bring to any business, there is one key point that needs to be clarified. Digital transformation is not only about adopting technology – more on this a bit later.
For now, here are 4 key benefits digital transformation can bring:
Businesses use several tools and software to operate. Without proper integration, using a barrage of different software can slow down the process and create bottlenecks. Imagine tracking your sales based on individual emails, having your sales people keep track of their client accounts on a separate CRM system and your contract writing templates on Word. Then have your finance do your accounting on Excel manually.
Embracing digital transformation essentially pulls all these data sources and plugs them into a single, centralized platform so information doesn’t get lost or duplicated. Simply put, it puts the entire company into one body.
This allows for better management on all fronts. Both resource and people management can be increased through digital transformation. Which in turn can reduce costs.
Industries and the markets are changing at a rapid pace. For companies to be sustainable and relevant, ten or twenty years down the line, companies need to be agile. They need to be able to respond to emerging technologies and adapt to new trends quickly.
This can be done through the proper implementation of technology. Companies can become more agile and more innovative. Not getting bogged down by lack of foresight and long processes.
With data-driven decision making, you can set your business up for success. And with greater in-depth insights you can increase the value for customers by intuitively tweaking your offerings to products and features customers want. This greatly enhances the customer experience and we all know that happy customers = happy business!
Data and insights also help you make better decisions regarding your business as well. You can ensure you are collecting the right data and using the findings from analysis to its greatest potential.
Overall, there are truly great benefits in-depth data and insights technology can bring.
Better data and technology can have a significant impact on the culture of an organization. Embracing technology and digital transformation, companies allow their employees to be forward-thinking and make them more adaptable.
Even better collaboration can be achieved with the right culture. This also ties in with our first point, improved management. Better collaboration dynamics and growth-oriented employees – these are perhaps two of the most vital things an organization can have in their workforce. We will dive deeper into why culture is important in digital transformation in just a bit.
As you can see, there are many benefits to adopt technology in the business process. At CRT Insights Technologies, we make it our purpose to help companies to quickly and properly adopt modern technologies that enable them to overhaul and improve their processes.
Digital transformation is not just solely about the technology – quite the contrary. All the technology in the world without the right mindset and culture is going to get you nowhere.
That is why it is imperative to align the culture and the mindset of the organization. Employees and management should be willing to adapt to newer technologies and improve the current processes of the business. They both need to adopt a future-ready mindset.
On the other hand, it serves any business well to keep in mind the old adage, “haste makes waste”. Before moving forward with any technology implementation, conduct a proper investigation of the company’s strategies needs. This will ensure the technological investments in will be beneficial in achieving your goals and alignment with your strategies.
Saying is easy but… If you have the luxury of having an ERP specialist in your resources, they would be your key in a successful plan. Unfortunately for most companies, ERP specialists only get on your “to hire” list after you get an ERP system. For a simpler route to success, deploy the services of a highly experienced implementation partner or consultant who can assess your needs with a keen eye. Who else would know better where to start looking?
Many organizations may have to deal with employee panic in the initial phases. We often hear horror stories about automation and how it takes away jobs. Employees may resist change for fear that their jobs are at risk. If businesses are to implement and leverage digital technology the right way, they need to effectively manage these fears.
This is where culture plays a part. Management should convey that technology is indeed a way to improve their efficiency and impact in the workplace and even prepare for the future, not simply to cutdown manpower. In fact, cutting down manpower shouldn’t be the main goal of technology adoption.
Despite the best laid out plans, strategies or even implementing a world-class system, many companies still fail to capitalize the full scope of benefits technology brings. This can be due to lack of proper training and a mismatch of the core technology itself. This is where a responsible implementation partner comes in.
CRT’s Implementation Specialists go above and beyond to ensure your success. This starts from understanding your business needs accurately, delivering proper implementation and also value-add consultation depending on your situation. In recent cases, most customers have tapped on our knowledge and expertise to build Business Continuity Plans and Disaster Recovery Plans, both intensively crucial in the world today. What have these to do with business management software? 😉 Share in our secret.
It truly does seem that the time for digital transformation is now. Enhance and streamline your business processes with cutting-edge business solutions and cultivate a culture of innovation and growth.
Did this article help you decide to go digital? We’d love to hear from you!
This article is part of a campaign for CRT Insights Technologies’ Live-in-5 Rapid Implementation programme. Just 5 Easy Steps to getting your business future-ready.
CRT Insights Technologies provides world-class ERP solutions and expert advice from experienced regional consultants. No matter stage of your ERP discovery journey you’re at, CRT’s got the solution to make your digital transformation a breeze. Contact us today and quote “Live-in-5” for a free 1-hour consultation on your ERP needs today.
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