Many companies these days are simply burdened by the presence of business systems that are meant to make processes simpler but that do exactly the opposite. This is especially the case with the smaller companies as they rely on whatever they can set up with a limited budget. While it is normal to want to save money, when you have inefficient processes in your business, you may end up losing a lot on the long run. It is important to think about thebenefits of technology and always use processes that are as efficient as possible.
Using Too Many Systems And Platforms
In an attempt to make some operations simpler various small companies start to use many platforms and systems. When you combine various tedious manual tasks with company department reliance you make it very hard to get a competitive advantage. Small businesses end up operating exactly like this.
Work silos can be broken down by using mechanisms that would offer openness and transparency. One record system is normally better and communications have to be as streamlined as possible in order to manage performance. Unfortunately, there are many cases in which a business is forced to use different platforms and systems, usually because of client requests. This can be managed if the business is small but when it grows a shift towards something that is more effective is necessary.
Bad Systems Integration
Automation means that a business uses different solutions and systems. Every single one will need processes in order to be successfully used. Unfortunately, 80% of the business leaders are faced with problems as the internal applications do not communicate with each other. Simply having to copy and paste data when using different applications can be incredibly time-consuming, especially when dealing with a lot of data. Using applications like Lync and Sharepoint can be the solution for such wasted time. The main idea is to figure out what technology is available and how cloud computing can make everything faster. The more tasks are automated, the higher the possibility of increased profit!
The Bottleneck Problem
Bottlenecks sometimes appear because employees to not adapt to using new technology or there are people that simply want to control some process phases. Every single process hurdle will lead to huge slowdowns and a loss of money. As an example, General Electric stated that only 1% oil recovery improvement was responsible for 80 billion extra barrels every single year. This is worth billions of dollars added to revenue. Also, 1 downtime day of a platform led to losing $7 million. The important thing is to adapt to the new technology and look at potential new solutions that would improve business processes. At the same time, the employees that cannot adapt need to be forcefully trained or, unfortunately, let go.
Process Duplication
This is a common problem for basically all companies, no matter the size. When steps are repeated the entire process ends up with a lower quality. We often see this when departments do not collaborate or there are processes that are not properly adapted. A really important thing that has to be done is to make sure that departments collaborate properly. Take a specific look at the activities that are done and that do not add value to the process. For instance, in a bank it is common to see that money is counted numerous times throughout the day. An automated system that would minimize errors would be much better to keep track and gain time for the workers.
No Insights
Real time data is very important for absolutely all businesses. A leader that does not have the relevant insights needed to make a decision will not actually be able to make good business moves. It is so often noticed that a lack of insights causes the adoption of some processes that are not as effective as others that could be implemented. As a result, the business suffers.
Kidal Delonix is a contributor to Mr. Hoffman's blog. The views and opinions are entirely his/her own and may not reflect Mr Hoffman's views.
Learn more
Information technology is quickly becoming an integral part of every business across the country. There is no business, regardless of its size and ...
This year may well prove to be a watershed moment when it comes to fusing business practice with the latest breakthroughs in innovative technologi ...
Many businesses are like icebergs in that most people only get to see a small portion of them. Indeed, whether your company operates as an ecommer ...
Competitiveness. It's the watchword for businesses of any size, and in every industry. if you aren't able to keep up, technology-wise and in every ...
With the cost of everything always on the rise, SMEs are hard-pressed to keep operating costs low enough to realise an adequate profit margin. Bei ...
