Tag: digital transformation
Over the past couple of years, digitization has enabled technology-driven small companies to outclass established business houses worldwide. With industries ranging from taxi-services to banking, transforming digitally, more and more enterprises are realizing the importance of making digitization their number one priority. The tech-savvy consumer base, which consists of the population below the age of 30 and covers 50% of the global population, is considered to be the key driver behind this realization. Such folks have the rising affinity to expect every business organization they interact with to provide the fastest and most satisfying experiences each time. As a business, turning deaf ears to customer’s expectations can lead to unrevivable consequences. From AI to blockchain, IoT and RPA, the list of digital innovation you need to pay attention to are huge.
We thought this is the perfect time to show you the digital innovations that we believe will reshape businesses in the coming months and future years. Here are our top 5 picks from technologies that enterprises need to watch out:
Flexible Cloud Computing
When cloud computing became mainstream a couple of years ago, there was a rush from enterprises to build their technology competence on the cloud. This resulted in several businesses having their own private cloud ecosystems that supported their own limited digital innovations. Today, many available digital tools require a complex network of cloud resource. This has reshaped the cloud computing ecosystem which has now transitioned into intelligently connected networks that have Public, Private and Hybrid cloud partitions working in sync to help businesses derive value from technology running on these platforms.
Different IT workloads may need to be run simultaneously over multiple cloud platforms to achieve enterprise goals and this has resulted in the so-called Multicloud saga. This is one area which will see more developments and interest from the business community in coming years as the previous year saw major cloud service providers acquiring or developing solutions to club their multiple cloud ecosystems to serve client interests.
Related Reading: Find how a cloud platform like INFINCE can help businesses leverage technologies more efficiently.
Blockchain in Mainstream
The past couple of years saw considerable investments from the business community in the blockchain. We believe there will be mainstream applications coming out in future that will revolutionize areas such as data security, digital identity verification, and intelligent automation. Sectors such as BFSI, logistics, regulatory bodies, and government agencies have already started using blockchain to set up complex autonomous verification and validation systems that require minimal human intervention, thanks to the capacity of blockchain to be immutable.
In the coming years, more mainstream consumer-facing areas of businesses would be driven by blockchain based autonomous operational interfaces and it could set the stage for innovations akin to self-driving cars. Many technology companies would be coming out with mainstream solutions having blockchain essentials embedded into their core and these would further enhance business capabilities for enterprises worldwide.
Related Reading: Find how blockchain technology can transform the supply-chain industry.
Digital Modelling
While this concept has been around for a while, we think it will make more impact this year as more companies are investing in this front. The idea is to create a digital persona for every product or service business has to offer its customers. This persona would be used to arrive at choosing the right supporting digital enablers like data generators (sensors, IoT enabled devices, etc.) as well as the right decision path (data models and implementations of data science to arrive at success models). Such persona would be used to ascertain an offering’s readiness to the market, the cost required to maintain it viable, the processes and business models that need re-defining to support it and so on. The entire exercise though a bit complex will bring about a strategic advantage to adopters as their business offerings would be more aligned for digital success than competitors.
Related Reading: Digital innovation is transforming today’s business. Find how your business can benefit from digital transformation too.
Immersive Experiences
In future we will see consumer experiences moving to a more immersive phenomenon where almost everyone from a local retail shop to an e-commerce giant will offer interactive experiences courtesy of technology like augmented and virtual reality. Gartner says that by 2022, nearly 70% of all businesses would be using immersive customer experiences in some form on an experimental basis. Such immersive technology will find its way into numerous consumer-facing scenarios like demonstrations, virtual assistants, field services and so on. With gadgets supporting immersive experiences like smart glasses and wearables being available for very affordable prices, the consumer base requiring such experiences will grow tremendously in the coming years. The possibilities are limitless and businesses small or big can capitalize on this opportunity to improve their competence.
Related Reading: Check out the ongoing battle between AR and VR and find which technology has the potential to mainstream first.
Conversational Intelligence
Artificial intelligence is no longer a trend to watch out for because it has already gone mainstream over the last two years. Today, the focus should be on solutions that have been made available by harnessing the power of AI. One major solution that has gained attention now are conversational bots. From websites to major apps, a multitude of consumer-facing interactions is now handled by programmed bots that can interpret queries and respond intelligently.
Be it ordering food from a restaurant, booking a cab or even carry out a banking transaction, tech-savvy consumers are increasingly depending on personal digital assistants or bots to aid them in every step of the way. The proliferation of smart devices like smart home speakers, wearables and other IoT enabled home and personal electronic devices have created immense possibilities for a business to connect more effectively with end users. Today, you can ask your smart coffee maker to brew a coffee in the most precise variants of taste and smell without even having to touch the coffee maker. You can simply ask the personal assistant on your phone to do so.
Related Related: Find unconventional ways Artificial Intelligence is driving business value.
The top technologies mentioned above concludes that years to come is going to be a breakthrough year for several technological innovations. Business leaders need to hone their digital skills to keep pace with the rapidly growing market. On the positive side, most of these technology platforms or solutions come in affordable subscription basis and hence it is pretty much accessible to any enterprise despite their business size. However, the biggest differentiator for your success is the right technology advisory and implementation.
This is where our consultants at Fingent can become your best asset. With years of experience in empowering multiple businesses to achieve their digital aspirations, our world-class services can help you achieve your digital dreams seamlessly. Talk to us to know more about how we can help you embrace the above innovations and much more into your mainstream business operations.
Digital Adoption is crucial for the success of an organization. Businesses understand this and are going full steam ahead in ensuring that they are completely equipped digitally. While the IT department is primarily hands-on with digital adoption, it is becoming increasingly clear that business leaders must also roll up their sleeves and get involved with the digital goals of the company. This blog will discuss why this is important and how it makes for better business leaders.
Digital Adoption
Digital adoption in the most elementary sense is to achieve a state of functioning where all the organization’s digital tools are used to their full capability. Digital Adoption also involves getting stakeholders, including customers and employees, to use these tools to the best.
If the company has a whole repertoire of digital tools, it doesn’t mean that they have successfully implemented digital adoption. It can only be a success if these tools are being used to their full capacity by the organization and its customers.
How Digital Adoption Makes You A Better Business Leader
Talking about the top executives in today’s organization, Dion Hinchcliffe, VP and principal analyst at Constellation Research says that they must “match the pace of change, fall behind, or lead the pack.” Continuing on what is expected of business leaders particularly the CIO’s today, he says: “That’s the existential issue at stake in today’s digitally-infused times, where bold action must be actively supported by out-of-the-box experimentation and pathfinding … The CIO this year must be both a supremely masterful priority juggler and an effective digital leader from the front.”
This is what today’s business scenario demands a true business leader. Leaders are expected not only to be digitally informed but to be able to lead their company into digital transformation. Digital adoption must be the focus of their efforts. Here are a few ways in which digital adoption can make you a better business leader.
Related Reading: Find how digital innovation is transforming today’s business.
1. Leading Change and Growth
One of the qualities that define a capable business leader is his ability to be a visionary and lead his organization towards growth. In today’s world, growth is becoming synonymous with the company’s ability to keep up with technology and digital transformation. Business leaders stand to benefit the most as their company moves forward and adopts the best of digital technology.
And yet, according to a KPMG study, more than 56% of digital initiatives fail due to lack of leadership. As this shows, good leadership can make all the difference between success and failure of digital adoption. The mindset of a leader and his/her dedication to digital adoption will direct the mindset of the rest of the organization. Digital disruption calls for a positive attitude towards change. It calls for a change in the culture of the organization. Encouraging innovation and experimentation is also key to the success of digital adoption. All this can only be achieved if the CEO and top-level management embrace and lead the change.
2. Gaining Customer Insight
Today’s business is more customer-centric than ever. The success of an organization is dependent on its understanding of customer preferences and behavior. In the digital age, there is no better way to gain customer insight than through digital adoption.
Jim Swanson, former CIO of Monsanto is an excellent example of leaders who leverage a company’s IT to deliver growth and value in the business. Discussing digital transformation in terms of customer centricity and the role of leaders, he says: “We talk about automating operations, about people, and about new business models. Wrapped inside those topics are data analytics, technologies, and software – all of which are enablers, not drivers. In the center of it all is leadership and culture. You could have all those things – the customer view, the products and services, data, and really cool technologies – but if leadership and culture aren’t at the heart, it fails. Understanding what digital means to your company – whether you’re a financial, agricultural, pharmaceutical, or retail institution – is essential.”
That is where the magic lies. Understanding digital and understanding what digital can do for your customer-centric goals is where you will find success. When business leaders understand this vital concept and become champions of digital adoption, then the company will see real growth.
Related Reading: Find how machine learning boosts customer experience.
3. Nurturing Curiosity
Curiosity is an important attribute of growth and change. To step out of their comfort zone and embrace growth, business leaders must cultivate and foster this important attribute. In a PWC survey of 1,322 CEOs in 77 countries, most CEOs pointed out to the importance of being curious. In order to keep up with the turbulent business scenario and stiff competition. Michael Dell, Chairman and CEO of Dell, says in the report: “The one attribute CEOs need in the future to succeed, that I would place my bet on, is curiosity. From curiosity comes learning and new ideas. In businesses that are changing very rapidly, if you’re not curious, if you’re not learning, if you don’t have new ideas, you’re going to have a real problem.”
Curiosity plays a vital role in embracing digital technology and helping employees adapt to change. Fostering a culture of innovative thinking and intellectual curiosity will help the organization move forward with digital adoption and make the best of it. Conversely, digital adoption will help business leaders build curiosity and lead their organization towards innovation and success.
Embrace Digital Adoption
The importance of embracing digital adoption cannot be overemphasized and it must start from the top. It has been estimated that there will be US$15.7 trillion in global GDP gains from AI and digital by 2030. If you want to rake in some of this revenue, there are no two ways about it – go digital or go home is the verdict! Fingent helps business leaders worldwide in their journey towards digital adoption and transformation. Let’s have a chat and see what we can do for your business.
Related Reading: Check out how AI is driving business value across industries.
In this era of rapid digital transformation, new technologies have opened up opportunities and created challenges, fundamentally transforming customer experiences, operating models and the work environment.
While the scope, scale, and complexity of business technology has evolved at an exponential rate, sophisticated technology has also become more accessible to a wider audience. Such accessibility enables a thriving digital culture which can be a source of competitive advantages across all business functions – recruiting, training, sales, sourcing, manufacturing, logistics, marketing and more. While in the past, technology providers (like us at Fingent) predominantly worked with IT departments, today we often work with functions like finance, sourcing, HR, project management and logistics, with minimal or no involvement of the customer’s IT team.
More importantly, access to robust technology is also no longer exclusive to large enterprises. Commoditization, outsourcing, and good connectivity have driven down costs, making technology accessible to businesses of all sizes, across the globe.
By providing an attractive basis for innovation, improving cost efficiency and differentiation, the synergy between technology and business processes is no longer optional, but a must-have.
Studies reveal that 55% of startups have already adopted a digital business strategy compared to 38% of traditional enterprises.
While the specific technologies that can be leveraged for business growth, will vary widely across organizations, there are a few common themes that business leaders can consider.
The Cloud democratizes Information Technology
Cloud computing is really the internet as we use it today. Dropbox, One Drive, Facebook, INFINCE, AirBnB, Twitter, Uber…. Are all in the cloud. It is really an umbrella term that covers a variety of on-demand computing and storage services as IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service), PaaS (Platform as a Service) or SaaS (Software as a Service).
Related Reading: Choose the right Cloud service model for your Business
Cloud technologies help discard or avoid the need for physical IT infrastructure, and on-premise support structures for computing capabilities, by virtualizing these across server farms or data centers. Using cloud-based services providers, businesses can leverage IT assets as programmable resources, which are global and scalable on demand. This allows a business to access or lease computing resources and storage power far greater than what it may have been able to access on local infrastructure, while still being able to scale up or down in a cost-efficient manner.
Consider V Locker, an Australian firm providing automated locker solutions for freight deliveries. V Locker manages lockers for B2B customers across the globe from Australia, using IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) and PaaS (Platform as a Service).
On the cloud, multi-tenancy enables effective resource utilization, reducing costs to make the cloud a cost-efficient option for most organizations. For e.g. SaaS (Software as a Service) Property Management service Simple Rent uses multi-tenancy to provide a low-cost, high quality offering to the commercial and residential rental business.
While the Enterprise IT spend on the cloud is relatively small, it is the fastest growing segment, slowly replacing on-premise systems. At one end of the spectrum, Oracle and Microsoft are slowly shifting legacy products to the cloud, pushing many large enterprises to follow suite. At the other end, solutions like Infince have taken enterprise cloud a step ahead by blending SaaS and IaaS for small/medium sized businesses, providing a cost-efficient, secure cloud-based alternative to expensive alternatives. The cloud makes robust enterprise technology accessible globally to businesses of all sizes without the need to invest in expensive infrastructure or large teams.
Data – Big, Small and everything in between
With the relentless digitization of business and society, we have access to extraordinarily large amounts of data. Transactional data (from digitized business processes via ERP, CRM, HRMS, POS, and similar systems), Social data (Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Twitter and the like) and Operational data (from connected devices and IoT systems) can be leveraged to provide better customer experiences and improve operational efficiency. The key is not just to gather data, but to leverage it with analysis and insight. From an organizational perspective, this can require experts from multiple disciplines to work together to peel back multiple layers of data and insight.
Related Reading: Find out how Big Data is changing the Healthcare sector.
Success depends not on the indiscriminate application of technology to data, but on a coherent approach, of identifying critical data that matter, and using the right technology to generate relevant and actionable insights, delivered to key stakeholders in the value chain, in real time.
In the realm of marketing, successful big data analytics manifest as tracking everything a customer or prospect does and generating real-time alerts to the marketer or a front line executive dealing with the customer. For instance, if the customer walks into a store, the automated analytic solution alerts the sales executive immediately, and everything related to the customer, including their preferences, purchase history, and more, surfaces to the executive’s tablet. Likewise, if a prospects click on an ad or downloads an app, the marketer gets an alert immediately, enabling them to engage the customer proactively, to close the deal or move the prospect up the lifecycle.
From Digitization to Digitalization to Digital Transformation
Digitization is the conversion of analog physical objects into digital goods. Paper to PDF or Doc, or physical cash digitized to mobile payments, physical signatures to electronic signatures – these are all digital manifestations of non-digital objects. Digital goods have low marginal costs, are non rival, and can easily be bundled with other digital or non-digital products. Consider online user manuals, learning management systems. Usually the first step in an organization’s technology journey, Digitization sets the foundation to enable Digitalization and Digital Transformation.
“Digitization and digitalization are two conceptual terms that are closely associated and often used interchangeably in a broad range of literature. There is analytical value in explicitly making a clear distinction between these two terms.” – Scott Brennen and Daniel Kreiss
Digitalization is about leveraging technology to create, enable or transform a business process- usually leading to one or more of- the discovery or new opportunities, reduced risks or efficiency gains. For example, field service management solutions like ReachOutSuite help deploy digital forms to field technicians across various locations. It reduces the risks of revenue loss due to errors, inefficient scheduling and underprepared staff. This service also increases efficiency by maximizing staff utilization and getting more jobs done pre-staff. It further enables the identification of new opportunities by enabling techs and backend admins to understand customer experience better. Digitalization of business processes is par for the course these days with a plethora of packaged and custom built software available for enterprise planning, managing business finances, training, projects, customer management, and human resources.
Find how ReachOutSuite can make a work order manager’s life simpler.
- CRM systems coordinate business processes that are key to generating leads, converting them into prospects, and, subsequently, into regular customers. Additionally, CRM software solutions supply business managers with data processing and analytic tools to help refine marketing strategies, improve customer service and track overall organizational performance. Through centralization of business data, CRM software tools streamline the decision-making process and automate repetitive tasks.
- Project management software eliminates laborious paperwork and tedious planning processes. With the right tools, businesses can control projects costs and improve the efficiency of related operations. Technology automates most project management processes to make it affordable and practical for any type of business. The main benefits of implementing project management software include – Easier project planning, monitoring and tracking, Improved collaboration, Better organization, and future planning
- ERP systems boost productivity and promote business growth in two primary ways. First is automating business processes to improve accuracy and save time for all employees. Second, ERP systems unify data generated by the business and make it available to decision-makers and other managerial parties throughout the firm. It eliminates data sharing problems among departments and makes the information accessible to everyone.
Digital transformation is about leveraging digitization and digitalization to transform a business unit’s or an organization’s approach to business. This can involve one or more of – new business models, overhauling customer experience, radically different manner of service or product delivery. The transformation is driven by the business, and not by the IT team. For instance, consider Replika, which connects brick and mortar sales to the digital realm, transforming the way sales is managed for retail. Emerging technologies will create new business models that may be hard to understand or foresee today. For instance, digital securities based on blockchain based technologies can unbundle ownership of analog assets like property or gems, while making it possible to bundle diverse asset classes to create new portfolios for investment. Such digitization of previously illiquid assets creates new customers, new strategies and new business models that may not be possible to fully comprehend today.
Related Reading: Find out how INFINCE is the ultimate digital transformation for small business of today.
In conclusion
Technology is a disruptive force. In the current ever-changing and multifaceted business environment, technology can not only help improve your businesses’ agility but can also provide cost-effective means to innovate your products and services, improving customer experience. The key is to adopt the right tools and partners, while actively planning the change and deployment.
This month we are covering how creating and fostering mobile-driven digital ecosystem help grow your customer base and provide services effectively. We will also be discussing how zero code platforms ease the pain of mobile app development. Lastly, we cover what happens when Machine Learning meets the business world.
Zero-Code Platforms Ease the Pain of Mobile App Development | Business.com
Enterprises find themselves plagued with issues like apps not performing as expected, apps scoring low on user experience and more. But with the benefits of zero-code being obvious to more and more businesses, more platforms are on its way to becoming mainstream.
Where Do You Fit in the Mobile-Core Digital Ecosystem?| Clutch
With the global proliferation of mobile users, enterprises must now focus on mobile-centric solutions. Such a rapid increase in global mobile usage points to a paradigm shift in the future of digital communications.
Mobile devices now act as the medium for facilitating all kinds of communications and services within an ecosystem. In addition, their improved connectivity options and versatility makes them ideal for all kinds of digital ecosystems.
When Machine Learning Meets the Business World| DZone
Let’s discover what happens when Machine Learning meets the business world. Take a look at how it will transform businesses as well as how it will minimize risks.
In an increasingly real-time economy, the speed of services and timing are the prime factors for the logistics and supply chain industry. As per researchers, 76.9% of executives in the industry affirm that the shift towards a real-time economy has impacted their business strategies, structure, and processes. Here’s how Fingent helped a leading logistics and supply chain company enable new and productive business process automation.
A Prominent Logistics and Supply Chain Management Client
A leading third-party contract administrator for owner operators servicing in the transportation and logistics industry, who has partnered with critical providers, wanted to offer them access to vehicle rentals, background checks, and discount programs promptly and efficiently. They are specialized in a variety of segments like Settlement Processing, Personalized Customer Service, Logistics Management Technology, Owner Operator Programs, Fleet Data Visualization, Mobile Applications, Occupational Accident Coverage, Cargo Insurance, Cargo Insurance, and Customizable Enrollment Workflows.
The client handles over 11,000 contract drivers servicing 400+ clients in 46 states. They had a web portal through which drivers and clients could register, update, and manage vehicle-related and personal information. Limiting employees’ working options to desktops was indeed making their processes very unproductive and caused so much lag. Also, drivers were unable to update real-time information, or view important announcements from the company on the go.
A Mobility Shift for a Smarter Business
Today, amidst the accelerating technology evolutions and digitization, efficiency, speed, optimization, and timing have become critical aspects of a successful logistics business. It is mobility that allows logistics professionals to access important information or data, wherever they are, whenever they want. This enhances the productivity of workers, allowing them to do more work in lesser time, and thus be more efficient.
Fingent knew that it is enterprise mobility that will solve the challenges of improper and untimely communication channels and the inability to offer real-time information to the drivers in the company. We proposed to build a mobile application, that not only replicates their drivers’ web portal but also helps drivers to update personal and vehicle information on the go, check payment related details, know the benefits offered to them, view important announcements from the company, contact the company easily and do much more. Drivers can use their mobile device camera to scan and upload important documents (like driving licenses, truck permits, owner operator agreement, regional permits, insurance certificates etc.) into the database, track all their active vehicles, activate or deactivate vehicles in use etc.
The app was a significant investment to enable efficiency for their drivers in terms of better communication, real time information and increased visibility. The solution also helped to free up a lot of staff, improve accuracy, save the customer’s time and offer a greater deal of choice and flexibility.
The Impact of Fingent’s Enterprise Mobility Solution in their Logistics Business
The client noted the following impacts once the solution was deployed:
- Increased efficiency, throughput, and communication through process automation
- Real time information visibility leading to better asset utilization and work optimization
- Reduction in cost, effort and handling time for drivers
- Real-time proof of all active and inactive vehicles
- Increased accuracy of information exchanged between drivers and the company
- Improved vehicle utilization, order fulfillment, driver productivity, satisfaction and thus better customer satisfaction
- Increased Return on Investments.
In the current connected and globalized world, there are many people involved to get an object delivered from its manufactured place to its destination. There is always someone waiting for something, whether it be customers, logistics firms, distributors, retailers or any other part of the supply chain. The longer these parties must wait, the more they risk on resources, reputation, money etc. Logistics businesses, thus, must increase their speed, making use of every best technology, to strive and remain relevant in the industry.
Researches show that more than a quarter of logistics and supply chain businesses have still no digital strategy in place. As per Capgemini Consulting, most logistics companies today still operate on hybrid supply chain models, which combine both paper-based and IT supported processes. Papers and excels have always been a huge risk and challenge in optimizing any business. These are slow, only locally available, under the risk of damage and inefficient. Moving from hybrid supply chains to complete digitalization is the only key for a successful logistics business. A flexible, secure and easy to integrate platform for automating processes will surely work wonders for logistics and supply chain in terms of better efficiency, sales, and ROI.
Today’s highly competitive business environment demand business leaders lead from the front, with a proactive, hands-on approach. However, what often ties their hands are complex disjointed systems, non-integrated tools, and an overall lack of flexibility. Such stumbling blocks takes considerable energy, time and attention to resolve, which could be better spent on the core competency or revenue generating facets of the business.
The obvious need of the hour is simple and flexible systems that automate or executes routine tasks seamlessly without a hitch, in double-quick time. This, however, is easier said than done. The best-laid intentions to devise and implement such systems often fall flat on the face.
The solution is to elevate IT as a strategic partner, rather than a mere provider of infrastructure. While the basic role of IT is to provide the technical backbone that power the enterprise, today’s dynamic enterprises require these resources be set up and configured in a way organizational works are executed seamlessly, without a hitch. The onus is on the IT leaders to ensure the software overlay over the IT backbone, which
- delivers relevant real-time insights to supervisors, managers, and top management, fashioned the way they want it
- is customized to provide answers to the sales team and other customer-facing staff who meet customers on a daily basis
- Automates routine tasks, minimizing manual intervention
Remove the IT-Business Disconnect
IT has historically been seen as a “staff” function, whose role is to aid the core “line” activities. Many enterprises regard it as an unavoidable expense center, as opposed to a revenue-generating profit center. As such a dichotomy exists between IT and core operations in many enterprises.
CIO.com’s 2017 State of the CIO survey reveals that while 41% of chief Information officers regard their most important role as identifying business units that would benefit the most from using digital technologies, only 24% of business executives expect IT to contribute in the matter. Likewise, 64% of CIO’s opine IT being actively involved in recommending technology solutions but only 27% of business executives regard IT recommends technologies to support business initiatives.
One approach to reconciling the IT-business disconnect is to develop a shared service model that encompass not just IT, but the wider gamut of staff functions, including HR, finance, and other, to deliver back-office operations capabilities as required.
However, beyond such organizational tweaks, what is required is IT leaders leading from the front to drive the required transformation.
The obvious aim of enterprise systems is a seamless integration of all the information flowing through a company, ranging from financial information to inventory levels, and from operational process flow chart to customer information. However, managers and leaders are often straddled with incompatible information systems and inconsistent operating practices. Even majors such as Dell Computers found out the hard way its systems were incompatible with its new decentralized management model. FoxMeyer Drug alleges its Enterprise Management system drove it to bankruptcy above any other reason! While there could be several underlying causes for such epic failures, the root cause is often the software system imposing its own logic on a company’s strategy, culture, and organization, and the company unable or unwilling to accept it.
Many systems push an enterprise toward generic processes, when the pressing need may be for customized processes, as a source of competitive advantage. The prerequisite for success in devising enterprise systems is a clear understanding of the business implications. Make sure the logic of the system does not conflict with the logic of the business. Many enterprises realize this fact, but try to change the logic of the business rather than the logic of the software. This is a recipe for disaster. Successful integrate requires changing the logic of the system to suit the logic of the business, however hard or technically complex the task.
Again, while full integration and abolition of silos are generally regarded as the best practice, at times, a certain degree of business-unit segregation may be in the company’s best interests. Understanding the reality, and designing systems accordingly helps the business have the best of both worlds.
Unlock New Possibilities
The onus is on business managers to identifying opportunities to remove unnecessary steps in business processes, using IT. Several processes, be it payroll or compliance, may be reduced either by automating a paper-based task or by eliminating certain task, effectively redesigning the work. The power of IT to simplify long and convoluted business operations remain grossly underutilized.
However, beyond such process improvements, the real power of IT, however, is in transformational capabilities. With the advent of big data analytics, business managers gain real-time insights from data pulled in from business processes and crunched through the analytics engine. Business managers could use the insights derived from analytics to fine-tune their strategies.
Marketers could use analytical data to identify when a customer is ripe for progression through the lifecycle, seize a new sales opportunity, and much more. The power business leaders and sales operations get when they have the latest red-hot information at their fingertips, to serve end customers are tremendous.
Key Challenges
The biggest mistake enterprises make is to embrace digital for digital’s sake. The obvious aim of embracing digital should be to create more digital touch points and connections for customers and improving delivery of products and services. Digital disruption without a positive light at end of the tunnel is doomed to end in failure. The onus is on IT leaders to provide a coherent customer-focused mission for the transformation.
A good process is only one part of the equation. It still requires good people to pull it off. Bringing along the IT and the business operations staff, communicating the intent and the benefits clearly, and training up the talent pool for fluency in the technology and business processes are the key drivers of success in any transformative initiative. The onus is on IT leaders to take a hands-on approach when implementing a culture of transformation.
Your quest to business transformation is best served by partnering with an IT leader. We offer the right talent, the expertise, and the right knowledge to help you in the path. Our wealth of experience in developing cutting edge apps and other digital solutions customized to your exact requirements and tailored to fulfill all your needs help you institute seamless apps that allow processes to run by itself, freeing up your valuable time and resources to focus on this that matter.
Success in today’s highly competitive environment is all about being fast and competitive, and this translates to shortening the learning curve when adopting new technologies. While training is touted as the obvious solution, most enterprises are caught in the trap of the obvious, failing to estimate whether training is indeed worth its while. The reality is much of the on-going employee training is worthless. McKinsey & Co. estimates training enhances the performance of only 25% of the employees.
Employers train the workforce, in hope, they gain competencies to handle a new technology better. However, today’s world is marked by fast-paced changes, and in a state of continuous flux. Change is the only constant, and the odds are by the time the trained employees gain mastery over the new technology, it may already be obsolete, to be replaced by something new. Just to put things in perspective, training certificates denoting competencies in Dbase, Foxpro, Sybase and many other technologies that were a rage not too long ago are now not even worth the paper it is printed on. Each new wave of tech advancements, such as the cloud, IoT, Artificial Intelligence, Immersive Technology, and others, demolish existing paradigms.
In the fast-changing environment, success depends not on training, but on adaptability. Only employees who have the skill-set to learn something new, and learn it fast without being spoon-fed, or wait for a formal training process, will succeed. Equally important is the uncanny ability to unlearn what is no longer required and may become counterproductive.
Another case against on-going employee training is its disruptive nature. Training is time away from what the employee is supposed to be doing, and cuts into productivity, with an uncertain promise of better productivity in the days ahead. There are too many variables in today’s fast-paced world to hold with any optimism the investment in training will recoup lost productivity in the future.
However, doing away with training and leaving employees on their own is akin to throwing the baby out with the bathwater. The solution rather is a shift in approach. The fact remains employees may remain technologically challenged with the new technology and may be hamstrung in doing their jobs optimally without training. The solution lies in adopting a new approach to training, along with a combination of intelligent work design, greater transparency, and developing “democratic apps” and other solutions.
Training Needs a Reality Check
Training requires a reality check. Training fails to realize its objectives mainly due to lack of strategic focus. Many enterprises go agog with the latest technology trends, rather than taking the time to understand the skills most critical to the business’s stage of development.
The most effective training offers practical skills critical to the present stage of organizational requirements. Training for anything not required in the next six months is pretty much a wasted effort. With high employee turnover, coupled with a short technology shelf-life, the only metric that really matters for the enterprise is the short-term or immediate return on the training dollar.
There is a need for effective follow-up as well. The American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) estimates U.S. firms invested about $156 billion on employee learning (2011), but as high as 90% of the new skills are lost within a year, owing to lack of follow-up to lock in the gains.
Road-test the training. Enterprises who do not give employees the opportunities to apply the newly acquired skills, by not facilitating them with the right tools and technologies are frittering away their investment in training.
The actual conduct of the training also makes a big difference. There is also a case of avoiding boring marathon sessions, which are disruptive in nature and offer training in short bites or capsules, preferably on the job. Hands-on training, during the course of work, offers promise for being most relevant, and the least disruptive. Upskill offers a competency-based training software for enterprises that combines advanced technology, quality content and expertise to discover potential and maximize the productivity of your workforce.
Intelligent Work Design
Success depends on making optimal use of every dollar. A part of the investment on training could be diverted to intelligent work design, to deliver much more efficient and long-lasting returns.
Intelligent work design makes work processes simple, and removes complexities from the equation, reducing or even doing away with the need for training. Automation of routine processes, and the use of Artificial Intelligence to relegate to the back-end many works that now require technical expertise would especially make the need for training redundant.
The Push towards a Learning Organization
Peter Senge, the noted management expert expounded the concept of a learning organization way back in the 1990s. Senge defines the learning organization as one where the enterprise nurtured and encouraged expansive patterns of thinking, the workforce continually expanded their capacity to create the desired results, and work together for the realization of mutual goals. In other words, employees are self-motivated and learn on their own
Greater transparency, mainly brought about by demolishing data silos and barriers of knowledge, makes many hitherto challenging tasks explicit and furthers the cause of a learning organization
Democratic Apps
Democratic apps leverage the power of simplicity, making the front end seamless and obvious without the need for any training for even the most technically challenged user.
Side by side with democratic apps, there is also a case for promoting the BYOD culture. When employees bring their own familiar device, they can handle most of the workflows without a learning curve.
It requires professional expertise to redesign systems, and roll out highly intuitive apps that take the complexity out of the equation. With our extensive experience cutting across sectors, and our highly skilled talent pool, we are ideally poised to partner with you in the quest to develop intelligent mobile solutions that reduce your training budget.
Digital technologies have permeated and disrupted almost all sectors, and logistics companies are no exception.
Optimization and efficiency, combined with speed and seizing the moment are the keys to success in today’s highly competitive advantage. Technology is the key enabler allowing companies to realize these aspects.
Leveraging Technology for Strategic Planning
A report by transport and logistics analysts Oliver Wyman reveals transportation and logistics companies increasing revenue, yet having reduced profits, over a 10-year period, and come with the recommendation to “standardize and streamline structures and processes, developing industry oriented and innovative solutions, thinking and acting in terms of networks.” Technology is the key enabler in this regard.
On average, transportation companies invest about 5% of their annual revenues in digital operations, with the main focus on digitizing their customer interface. The thrust these days is especially on mobile apps and solutions, to offer a personalized experience for their customers, and track the movement of vehicles accurately. However, side-by-side companies are also increasingly using digital technology to unlock new business models, focused on the creation of value-added services and innovative solutions.
The Use of Big Data to Improve Operations
The need to cut cost and take real-time action, in a competitive environment where margins are wafer thin, require logistics companies to take greater control over their supply chain and ensure the processes take place seamlessly, at great speed. Towards such ends, logistics companies are increasingly applying Big Data technology, to capture and analyze data, to streamline their operations and optimize the supply chain.
Computers apply algorithms to crunch Big Data, unlocking insights and opportunities not possible before. Such insights enable streamlining operations and optimization of the supply chain.
- Data based automation, especially automated load building and optimizing the inbound and outbound movement of cargo, enable optimal usage of available resources, reduction of waste, and facilitate lean operations.
- Effective real-time fleet management solution facilitates “uberization” of trucks and other delivery vehicles, where empty containers may be utilized immediately by matching it to the nearest load. Mobile solutions enable greater transparency into the operations.
- A comprehensive data based inventory and supply chain management system unlocks silos, and facilitates end-to-end visibility to inventory, orders and shipments across the supply chain. Such transparency allows improved tracking of inventory movement, facilitates the reduction of network-wide inventory levels, and enable managers to respond dynamically and in real-time to any events or issues that disrupt or hinder the supply chain.
- Analytical data makes explicit greenhouse emissions and carbon footprints of truck and machinery operations, allowing companies to take steps to become carbon-neutral, thereby contributing to the cause of “Green logistics.”
- The combination of machine learning with supply chain management enables turning reams of passive data into actionable business intelligence. Logistics companies apply the wealth of data related to the movement of their goods and trucks to identify patterns related to customer trends, identify what works well, unearth market insights, and gain competitive advantage.
Digital Improves Security
Supply chain disruption is the number one global business risk for logistics companies. Technology enables fortifying the supply chain in many ways.
- Digital locks make the inventory more secure, offer a robust layer of security, in addition to physical security.
- Optimal route planning, combined with real-time tracking of cargo movement through mobile apps enable routing of cargo by avoiding congestion points and trouble spots, to minimize risks and interruption.
Internet of Things (IoT) Enhances Operations
The earliest applications of RFID and nascent IoT technology have been in asset tracking and warehouse management. For instance, rather than simply tracking inventory of pallets and crates, enterprises use sensors, beacons, RFID and other technology to gather information on the state of the connected item, such as when the “thing” requires maintenance, the expected life of the “thing,” and more.
IoT contributes to highly integrated warehouse management solutions, enabling precision movement and accurate tracking of movement of goods. The applications of IoT instruments in logistics are virtually endless, ranging from tracking transportation goods in a temperature controlled way to ensuring the correct package reaches the correct location at the specified time and more.
The trends in the immediate future include connected and ‘autonomous’ trucks, warehouse robotics, and smart warehouse solutions, all of which will improve efficiency manifold, speed up operations, and improve accuracy.
Technological Innovations Unlock New Possibilities
Logistics companies use technology not just to improve efficiency of operations, but also transform the way operations take place in itself. The use of robots in large warehouses, and to handle hazardous goods is already widespread, as is the driverless, remote-controlled vehicles.
The next big thing is the use of drones, especially for last mile delivery. The U.S. Government is already piloting a drone-based traffic monitoring system. Countries such as Spain, France, and The Czech Republic and others have several research projects looking into the use of drones for traffic management. The widespread use of drones would speed up things considerably, reduce the hassles, strain and inefficiency associated with maintaining an army of delivery boys, and also reduce costs considerably.
A start has already been made, with Amazon Prime Air already making legit deliveries using drones, in less than 30 minutes from the time customers place an order. When the technology becomes widespread, logistics will change like never before.
Improved Customer Satisfaction
Proactive transportation and logistics companies go beyond improving their operational efficiency and retaining greater control over their operations, to enhance customer satisfaction.
Technology propels a shift to a customer obsessed operating model, enabling the delivery of personalized and customer-focused logistics, with faster cycle times.
Hyper-connectivity facilitates not just big data, but also speed data. Speed and timeliness, manifesting in seizing the moment enable companies to match customer expectations and deliver competitive differentiation over its competitors.
It requires considerable expertise in both business operations and the latest cutting edge technology to roll out successful technological solutions acceptable by the rank and file. By partnering with us, you can piggy-bank on our vast and extensive experience in delivering highly intuitive apps and other solutions for transportation and logistics firms. Our rich talent pool, combined with extensive experience allow us to add value to your strategy, and roll out seamless apps that make your processes highly efficient, allowing you to cut costs, unlock new possibilities, and take customer satisfaction to new levels.
Technology has literally touched every single aspect of our lives now. Any industry you take, you will find a significant technological revolution, that has completely changed the entire industry. Be it retail, healthcare or education, technology has played its role and left the results for all of us to see and experience.
One of the less talked about industries when it comes to technological influence is Agriculture – the world’s oldest industry. It might seem like a far-fetched idea to at least some of us, incorporating technology into agriculture. But then, weren’t all technology ideas far fetched for any industry, initially?
Jim Swanson, CIO of Monsanto, leads a digital revolution in the world of agriculture, through his organization. He has been the CIO of Monsanto for almost two and a half years now and has been dealing with all the IT systems and data that extend across Monsanto, who have their presence over 67 countries worldwide. His focus, throughout the digital transformation, has been on 5 basic pillars that define digital opportunity: operational efficiency, customer centricity, business productivity, revenue enablement and disruptive innovation.
So, how did Jim Swanson go about leading the technological revolution, focused on these areas?
The Slow Shift From Analog To Digital And Working With Growers
As the agriculture industry is pretty huge and old, moving from analog to digital was quite exciting for Monsanto.
Jim Swanson, says, “You think about the seven and a half billion people on the planet, growing to nine billion in a relatively short period, and growing the amount of food we need, and doing it sustainably is an important mission that Monsanto has.”
What Jim’s team did on the fields was a kind of extraction of useful data and information insights, which they utilized to come up with new and better ways to do agriculture, than what was done in the past. For that, they needed information, science and technology, and used every single resource that they had. They set up the connectivity in their fields that enabled them to collect real-time information, so that they could asses the performance of their combines. They also used data analytics to generate better insights on their products as well as their sustainable business practices.
They digitized their internal processes so as to connect more easily and freely across the agriculture ecosystem, with the help of sensor technology, data, and insights that have literally changed the way farming is done. The impact was also quite big, in terms of yield, reduced inputs and bringing about sustainable agriculture.
The farmers or the growers, being the scientists that they are, are always curious about ways to increase their output, and hence assess and test everything to see if it works for them.
Monsanto made the effort to work with them, understand and grow their thinking around how technology can be applied. They were able to learn with the growers, and analyze what works and what doesn’t. They did more of what worked, and evolved what didn’t, to make them better. This way, they developed a great partnership with the growers, which went a long way in digitization.
Achieving Operational Efficiency Through Simple Techniques
From a holistic perspective, they came up with a simple solution as one of the means to improve operational efficiency. They fixed sensors on their semi-trucks which transported products from their farms into their manufacturing plants, which enabled them to track the products wherever they were in the process. This allowed them to understand if certain semi-trucks were getting hot. They could provide real-time information through dashboards and information analytics to their plant, to move a hot semi-truck forward in the queue, and get it unloaded, thereby avoiding a possible loss of product or yield. This basically shows the value of digitizing the supply chain and its impact on business.
Such technologies and ideas can be used on the research or commercial side as well. It allows agriculture companies to analyze and make important decisions well in advance, while providing growers with real-time information as and when they need it. This facilitates sustainable improvements in business.Every organization has a mission and a strategy to achieve the mission.
Every organization has a mission and a strategy to achieve the mission. Monsanto is a yield based company, and hence, for them, digital yield is at the top of their mission and strategy. It is under this mission, that the rest of the company’s processes to unlock the digital yield take place. For example, IT to provide the digital platform to facilitate the processes and their work with customers and growers, come underneath. To assess the value of that digitization, as mentioned before, they also created five value pillars – operational excellence, centricity, business productivity, revenue enablement and disruptive innovation.
Jim Swanson is a role model for all those CIOs working in the agriculture industry. I’m sure we could never think of ideas to automate agricultural activities in the past. Now, we have the capabilities to develop custom software applications for almost everything in agriculture. This is just a start to what could be a worldwide revolution in agriculture.
Source: Forbes
There are components in business that ride the wave of time to have halo’s associated with it, when space, time and the event coincide, the companies that wear the halo accelerates its reach and hits the bull’s-eye. The resulting amalgamation of people, processes and ideas have time and time again celebrated success. This has been etched in stone, but what’s more contrasting and less surprising is that the components that create the halo is never the same and are subjected to disruption from around. There were innovations that elevated organizations and disruptions that have catapulted few others to the top. Particularly, the digital forces that once was touted as a disruption, which is now increasingly becoming the norm for the future.
The Whole Picture
Digital Transformation is not about islands of digitization like digital marketing, digital customer behavior or transformation from paper to digital media within an organization, rather it is a demanding process that requires considerable time, holistic thought and skilled people to guide the transformation process. The change has to be ideally driven from top-down, where the business leaders can put together the pieces of the digital puzzle thus enabling a rapid transformation in the business processes, activities and work models to move faster and efficiently to meet customer and business needs. This transformation of business by leveraging technology ultimately rests on the people who can drive the change into all layers of the organization.
Common Frontiers, Different Approach
Digital as the way forward is being experimented at varying degrees and varying pace by organizations. Some become more successful than the other to make this change a holistic one that touches the entire organization. The successful organizations show traits of digital maturity that touch different areas within an enterprise like Marketing, Operations, HR and Customer service; business models that unite these areas, and processes that embed efficiency through business automation, optimization, and management.
The foundation of successful transformation into the digital realm lies in organizational change, this change needs to address some key areas:
- For existing business, there is a need to take stock and understand why to transform, what to transform and how to transform. Once the reflection is carried out and you have figured out the answers to these questions, you should ideally start your mission to a digitally modified business. Improving on digital lines can help to have improved decision making by the use of big data, analytics, creating an effective corporate control, Risk optimization by automating manual labor, improved targeting with insights from customers, augmentation of traditional channels into digital and whenever wherever service propositions as well. Granted your journey would require much change from the status quo, and even you may not be as digital as a “Born Digital” company, but effective action can leverage the existing business, giving better reach to help multinational companies to truly have global operations.
- For an organization, Digital transformation process is multifaceted. Right from the beginning, it is essential that the organization has leaders with the potential to drive this change. The company has to make changes in their best practices in business architecture, BPM, continuous improvement, continuous innovation, crowd computing etc. Latest tools for robotics and sensors that can automate much of the mundane, so that the organization can focus on building lasting relationships with the customer. A mix of digital technologies, tools, and best practices can set the stage for Digital Transformation.
- The end part of the digital transformation is the customer experience. The models, the processes and the coherence of the activities carried out within an organization should ideally drive the customer journey with an emphasis on the physical and digital touch points. With Digital it is possible to effectively map this journey by understanding the way the customer interacts with business and brands, this invariably helps to find the best-fit solution for the customers. This is made possible through the combination of software, IoT, Big data, Mobile, CRM, Augments reality etc. In reality, a company may not be able to perform all these alone, it would have to seek partners that can run part of the show for them so that the companies can, in turn, focus on building their main offering.
The final touch points, like the interface, should invariably help the customer feel at ease and add touches of modernity. Looks aren’t everything, but when you and your competitor have the same product, looks, and a streamlined interface would come in handy
The Digital Wave doesn’t mean to throw away the method in which the business is being currently being conducted, rather it should dovetail and leverage the current best practices. When this is executed in the right way, the businesses can cater to a wider array of customers, speed to hit break even in shorter time, improve workflow employee efficiency within the organization. All companies irrespective of the segments they cater must invest proportionally so that risks can be mitigated and key opportunities are addressed in the most prudent way.