Digital Transformation | The Ultimate Guide | Bluestonex

The ultimate guide to Digital Transformation



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WHAT IS DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION?

Digital transformation is a modern concept used by businesses to integrate new and emerging technologies. These technologies create new or improve current business processes, staff or customer experience, or culture. With market changes and customer demands changing and creating constant challenges, digital transformation provides the tools to quickly adapt and service these changes for growth and success.

On paper- the digital transformation can look different to every business- it depends on the strategic goal of that company. Many areas of a business can benefit from digital transformation, but the underpinning goal is the same. Help a business future-proof itself and create a culture for innovation.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

Digital transformation may be a relatively new concept in conjunction with SAP, but its roots are entwined with digital technology as a whole.

Examples of digital transformation stretch back to the 1970s when manufacturing was enhanced with computer-aided design (CAD for short). Later, finance and manufacturing benefited from the introduction of enterprise resource planning software (ERP software) and customer experience could be optimised with Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems, from the 1990s.

These technological enhancements have allowed businesses to gain efficiencies and increase productivity through the automation of traditionally manual activities- not only because a machine can do it faster, but also because it frees employees to focus on higher-level activities, which can be more motivating than monotonous, repetitive tasks.

In its modern form, Digital Transformation is being used by businesses for further automation across many different areas- such as HR, Supply Chain and finance. Innovations in Machine learning and Ai have allowed businesses to streamline workflows and sweat assets with previously unseen levels of productivity.

WHAT ARE THE FOUR ELEMENTS OF DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION?

The topic of digital transformation is broad. Utilising technologies for bettering businesses can be split into four main areas. If you’re in a rush, the 4 main areas of digital transformation are…

  • Process Transformation.
  • Business Model Transformation
  • Domain Transformation
  • Cultural/Organisational Digital Transformation

Process Transformation

Each organisation will have a variety of unique processes. However, these are typically manual and littered with inefficiencies and complexities. Process transformation aims to solve this. By reviewing current processes and looking for inefficiencies, a company can begin to build an end goal to solve these and apply the relevant technologies to solve them.

Process transformation can consist of modifications to existing systems all the way up to radical overhauls. The goal is the same- save money and increase efficiencies through the use of technology.

When live, it’s important to note that a level of training is required for staff to cement the new process with colleagues to guarantee a smooth transition and maximum effectiveness.

Business Model Transformation

When a current business model is no longer viable, organisations can use technology as part of a business model transformation. Banks for example are opting to ditch high-street branches in exchange for online banking apps. This alters the way customers interact with an organisation completely but enables an organisation to keep up with changing markets and stay relevant in the eyes of customers. This creates new opportunities for growth and to scale whilst reducing typical business costs- like branch overheads and excessive staffing costs.

Domain Transformation

Domain transformation is the most underused part of digital transformation but is when an organisation falls into or becomes open to another industry thanks to digital transformation. This opens up the opportunity to grow a business through a new source of revenue and create new value.

Take Amazon's Amazon Web Service’ for example. Amazon is first and foremost a retailer. However, through technological diversification, its expanded into a domain provider larger than Microsoft an IBM- who previously dominated the market space. This shows the potential of digital transformation for presenting new opportunities from introducing new technologies.

When undertaking digital transformation, its always a good idea to stay open to potential diversification opportunities like this which can become a great source of income for the organisation.

Cultural/Organisational Digital Transformation

Quite ironically, digital transformation has a very physical impact on an organisation's culture. When processes are optimised, and inefficiencies are overcome, it can completely transform the way employees work and interact with each other. An organisation must prepare of these changes in values and behaviour to make sure it sticks, are well received and are successful. There are many ways to do this, including communicating the vision well, providing training for new processes and using academic theories like Lewin’s Ice Cube model.

WHY IS DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION IMPORTANT?

Digital transformation is more than just adding technology to a business. It touches and transforms systems, processes, offerings, cultures and workflows. The behaviour and happiness of colleagues. An organisation's ability to grow and be agile. No matter the need for change, digital transformation has a way to add value. Here are four key ways. If you’re in a rush, they are…

• Keep up with and satisfy customers
• Make better use of assets
• Scale with agility
• Collaborate effectively

Keep up with & Satisfy customers

Digital transformation has key positive impacts on how a business interacts with customers. Automation technologies mean automatic notices can be sent to customers when an order is dispatched, keeping them in the loop. If there’s an issue with a product, Ai Chatbots can be used to quickly handle issues in real-time. Customer data and analytics can be accessed and leveraged in real-time by sales and marketing teams to create tailored experiences for customers. Digital transformation provides the means to handle pace changes and large growth in an audience, making it a key tool in reputation management.

Make better use of assets

Emerging technologies like IoT are great for getting the most out of assets like machinery, vehicles and buildings. Sensors can be fitted to all of these enabling businesses to keep a close eye on productivity levels and also the health of assets- enabling maximum efficiency and calculated downtime when needed. This can all be fed back into real-time reporting and analytics for high-level decision-making on re-shoring production, budgeting for maintenance and maximising general productivity.

Scale with agility

Digital transformation provides tools to increase efficiencies and streamline processes. This is great to move with market changes and adapt to changing demand. Analytics and reporting in real-time are key to spotting when these changes occur, giving decision-makers a buffer to decide where to take the company. Furthermore, freeing up assets and reducing inefficiencies frees the budget to push into business development, helping it to scale but fully aware and accounting for market uncertainties.

Collaborate effectively

An underpinning impact of digital transformation is better communication and collaboration. When company data is centralised into a single ERP, data can be accessed, edited, and interpreted with greater efficiency. This is great for creating a cohesive culture of innovation among colleagues as they can fulfil jobs and access the data they need to do it, satisfying them and colleagues around them.

On an external level, digital transformation creates effective collaboration on either side of the supply chain. Vendor Onboarding software, such as BPX helps businesses to collaborate with their vendors more readily, enhancing relationships and helping them to get the resources they need. On the other side of the supply chain, better collection of customer data and Ai/ machine learning help to form better relationships with customers- encouraging loyalty and reinforcing a positive reputation.

WHAT INDUSTRIES CAN USE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION?

The truth is that digital transformation can be applied to any industry that uses SAP. Below are 4 examples of typical industries that benefit from digital transformation but there are digital transformation tools and technologies to help all. If you would like to know more about hod digital transformation can help your organisation, get in touch today.

Healthcare

With an ever-tightening budget and strict standards over patient care, healthcare is an obvious candidate for digital transformation practices. There are many ways digital transformations can aid both of these goals. Firstly, digital transformation enables healthcare providers to automate appointment scheduling and medical records management. This helps to reduce wait times for appointments and better organisation around scheduling for the most efficient timetable. Calling medical records up faster enables medical professionals to get to the root of an issue quicker and gives the patient treatment with greater accuracy.

Furthermore, improved collaboration and communication, combined with automated vendor supply requests can create a steady, efficient flow of medical equipment. Meaning healthcare organisations are never out of essentials and can quickly calculate, order and track what they need.

This all amounts to a streamlined workflow, reducing inefficiencies and improving cost-effectiveness for the health care provider, but importantly, creating a smooth and satisfying experience for the patient in what could be a stressful time.

Manufacturing

Similarly to healthcare, manufacturers are also facing tightening cost margins and rising customer expectations. This creates a lot of pressure of creating the best products for as little as possible. Calculating, analysing, monitoring, and scouting vendors manually would be nearly impossible tasks with inaccuracies and complexities. However, digital transformation makes this possible and has positive implications across the supply chain, including the day-to-day manufacturing and customer experience.

Vendor onboarding software can be used quickly to scout out, engage with and maintain relationships with essential suppliers. Automation capabilities in this software mean when the stock of an item drops to a certain level, more can be automatically requested, reducing pressures on inventory management and logistical timings.

With the development of Internet of Things (basically sim card-carrying devices using 4G to communicate), machinery can be monitored in real-time, optimised to sweat assets efficiently and rest them when pressure or heat becomes too high. This can also predict when break downs can occur, reducing downtime and helping manufacturers budget for maintenance issues.

On the customer-facing side of operations, the development of AI and machine learning has opened up automation potential around customer queries. Ai can be used around the clock to catch customer queries whenever they come in. They provide a cost-effective way to maintain a good customer experience, with defined flows of conversation.

Farming & Agriculture

Facing unprecedented financial pressures and unpredictable changes in weather due to global warming, farming is harder than ever to maintain stable supply to supermarkets and customers alike- let alone make a healthy profit from it.

Digital transformation is just one strategy farmers' agricultural organisations are combating these challenges. Internet of Things is being utilised to optimise farming, including equipment maintenance, crop and soil monitoring and irrigation can be measured in real-time. With access to accurate, real-time data, farmers can make better decisions about crop selection, planting & harvesting. This gives them the opportunity for better yields, less waste and healthier profit margins.

Relationships with customers are greatly enhanced by block chain technology- making tracking from farm to table simple and effective. Being able to call this information up on demand speeds up the process to get the food on shelves, overcoming many security gates from supermarkets.

Finance

Financial organisations- particularly in the Fintech and banking sectors have already undergone a large digitalisation with the likes of internet banking and online services replacing branches on the high street. The physical branch may be disappearing, but the customer service standards are kept high- partly due to digital transformation. To keep up with customers, financial industries like banks have adopted digital transformation strategies to improve customer service experience with biometric security, fraud detection and smart-phone wallets.

Emerging technologies such as Big data, the cloud and Machine learning are also enabling financial companies to identify better investments for customers and engage with them on a personalised basis.

WHERE TO START WITH DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

Digital transformation may be a practice of adding new technology to enhance a business, but the starting point should not touch any technology at all. Instead, start a digital transformation journey with reflection. Ask questions about why the organisation requires digital transformation and how it can solve them. Define the meaning of the strategy for the organisation and set a goal. This will help to make the following steps as clear as possible, as well as highlight the most important areas to address first. Each organisation's needs will vary, as will the technology needed.

If you’re still not sure on how to start a digital transformation journey, get in touch with us today. Our Digital transformation experts can provide personalised, professional help to create a culture for innovation in your organisation.

WHAT ARE THE KEY DRIVERS OF DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION?

There are many reasons why digital transformation will seem like a good option. A pressure to compete or innovate, attract talent or new customers. Grow but also cut costs- the list goes on. However, there are 4 factors which need to be considered to make digital transformation effective. If you’re in a hurry, these are:

• Process
• Technology
• Data
• People

WHY INCLUDE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION IN YOUR STRATEGY?

Digital transformation utilises technology to augment a business strategy. It’s an easy way to unlock new levels of efficiency and decision-making to drive a company forward, in the face of uncertainties. Reduce inefficiencies and make sure an organisation is at maximum productivity with the resources it has. Many businesses have already discovered that digital transformation is a path to innovation and to future-proof a business in a changing, digital world.

IS DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION THE FUTURE?

In short, yes. Digital transformation is the future. Regardless of industry or company size, there are gains in efficiency and savings in costs to be made from emerging technologies- which are only going to become smarter and more efficient. Automation is an essential aspect for businesses to streamline business processes but maintain the quality expected from customers. On an internal level, it makes life easier for the decision-makers and operational staff alike. We can expect to see big advances in Ai and automation technologies. It’s a cost-effective way for a company to increase agility in uncertainty and innovate.

START YOUR DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION JOURNEY WITH BLUESTONEX

The future of SAP enterprise technology is unfolding as in-memory, mobile, cloud, social and data-rich. However, digital transformation doesn’t just depend on the adoption of new SAP technology in isolation. Bluestonex’s digital transformation practice helps you strategically target use-cases for SAP digital technologies, whilst ensuring organisational readiness for embracing new digital capabilities in alignment with an overall digital roadmap.

We support organisations at all stages of their SAP digital transformational journey. From assessing digital capabilities and potential use-cases to enablement through best-suited SAP technology deployment, our collaborative approach helps ensure that your digital SAP initiatives are business transformational, structured towards innovation and remain value-orientated. To start your journey to digital transformation, arrange a meeting with one of our experts. Click below to arrange.