Digital Transformation has been a hot topic and well-known for several years even in the world of manufacturing industry. The purpose of Digital Transformation is to make companies more efficient and profitable. Digital technology offers many benefits: it can make processes faster and more functional, keep the company competitive and flexible to market changes, and improve the customer experience, facilitating new customer acquisition on the one hand and enabling better service on the other.
Unfortunately, these opportunities are not always seized by companies, and as a result, many digital transformation projects are relegated to the status of new technology adoption, or in the worst cases fail altogether.
There is no digital transformation without business transformation
At the root of the main failures of digital transformation projects, almost always, is the absence of mindset change. In fact, many companies approach digital transformation as if it were a simple change of instrumentation or machinery, without understanding or intuiting the potential of the implications that a true digital transition can have.
An issue that crosses national borders and does not only affect digital transformation in Italy. According to research reported by McKinsey back in 2016, 70 percent of large-scale projects fail to achieve their goals. A few years later, the main problems identified by the original research remain unchanged: poor staff involvement, lack of support from management, little or no collaboration between departments and departments, and poor accountability.
As we have mentioned, digital transformation to work must also become business transformation. To simplify the concept, we can say that new tools are not enough: companies must learn new ways to use and make the most of them. This is why a new term is often used: digital business transformation.
Two indivisible concepts
The term Digital Business Transformation perfectly encapsulates the mindset with which we should approach innovation: transforming our business using digital and technology as a lever for innovation.
In addition, the use of this new term reiterates a fundamental concept: digital transformation is as much about technology as it is about change management, the ability to manage change both internally within the company and in the relationship with relevant ecosystems.
The key steps for managing this change, especially in more “conservative” sectors such as manufacturing, involve management and management: technical skills become almost a secondary factor, especially as they are available in the market. On the other hand, staff involvement and real adoption of innovative solutions are values that can only come from within the company.
Among the major paradigm shifts required by digital transformation, many involve the less digital aspects of the business. For example, it is most important to understand that the circulation of information is a primary requirement, where often many companies still operate in isolated departments, with disuniform systems and proprietary procedures.
Just from a procedural standpoint, digital transformation can be a strategic asset: think, for example, of how much of staff time is spent weekly on SAL meetings and report creation, which can be replaced by an effective centralized management system. Freeing up time for more qualifying and engaging tasks is one of the key drivers for understanding the potential and validity of digital tools.
As another example, think about how much time and resources are wasted in the company to retrieve information stored in a traditional way, even if it is computerized. Looking up a customer’s processing file from two years earlier can be a real chore. With an effective centralized CRM, for example, the same task plus take minutes, relieving offices of a task and allowing them to focus on more value-added activities.
Harmonious transformation
What is emerging from the needs of companies that want to embrace digital transformation, but also from past failures in this area, is a simple but disruptive concept: transformation must take place at all levels, in a structured, coordinated and harmonious way. Adopting extremely cutting-edge technologies without considering the training and needs of staff or, in contrast, having digitally trained staff but forcing them to work with antiquated or unsuitable solutions are equally unsuccessful choices.
Harmonious and coordinated growth of the company, for its part, provides a solid and lasting opportunity for success.
For us,transforming business processes means transforming the way people work.
We can work with you to understand your needs, analyze your business processes and design the most suitable solution to achieve the great benefits of digitization.
