Retired, Inspired
Let me explain. I took on a job once where the person who had been doing the task for 40 years was retiring. When he started the job, he used a paper spreadsheet, Because excel hadn’t been invented yet. By the time I came into the picture, Excel had been the de facto tool for over a decade. The problem wasn’t Digital Adoption, that had certainly happened. The problem was that the task itself hadn’t changed.
The job was to receive a quote for parts for a specific machine model. If that model had been quoted in the past, it was simply a matter of updating the prices in the spreadsheet to current prices, and emailing it off. If it had never been quoted before, it was a two-person job to print off and pore over the build sheet, confirm the parts and then enter it all into the system.
Speed Matters in Business
Requests for pricing were turned around in one day, or one week, depending on the situation above and how many requests came in. If someone was quoting a fleet of machines it became an even more cumbersome ordeal.
The spreadsheets were digitized, yes, but the request and quoting process itself was extremely manual. I built a database with all of the information that was already digitized and tied it into the pricing system so that it could be accessed instantly. Machines that had been previously quoted could be turned around in seconds, freeing up time to work ahead to input the equipment most likely to be requested in the future.
The Magic Begins
That was only phase one, freeing up enough time to be proactive. Phase two is where the magic came in. We built a webpage that sales staff could access that let them pick the equipment from a list, enter in any extras or quantities of machines, and get the quote instantly. No requests needed to be made, suddenly the sales rep was doing all of the work themselves in less time than it took to write the email. They could do it on site with the customer right there, and sign the deal before walking out the door.
This was true digitization, and it paid itself back in droves. In the first year the process change had generated over $3 Million in increased revenue, better bonuses for the sales reps, bigger smiles on everyone’s faces and most importantly, significantly better customer service and retention.
The power of change with Digital Adoption
When you bring in fresh eyes to your business, you never know how powerful the changes that could come about will be. Maybe I saved you a few hours a week, maybe you get more done with the same number of staff. Maybe there’s immense opportunity sitting right there in what you think is already “digitized”.
Let’s get the conversation going, the Canada Digitization Adoption Program lets you go after these kinds of business improvements with very low risk, providing up to a 90% subsidy for projects, as well as a slew of other opportunities.