In a previous article, we discussed how digital transformation is a challenge for a lot of businesses. Businesses of different sizes are lagging behind in implementing business solutions and digitizing their operations. The real challenge doesn’t lie in the lack of solutions, but rather in cost and time considerations.
Yes, moving to a digital solution (or several of them) can be costly, especially for larger businesses. However, the same transformation brings a long list of benefits to the table, including cost efficiency and better time management. Which solutions offer the best return on investment in these two departments?
Enterprise Asset Management
Enterprise asset management is not a new concept. Companies now rely on barcodes or QR codes as a way to keep track of their assets. The system can then do more than monitor the assets. It can store details about maintenance schedules, availability, and even automatically calculate depreciation. When combined with other business solutions, good enterprise asset management brings some key improvements.
For starters, businesses have a better ability to utilize the assets they already have. This results in an increase in productivity. At the same time, the solution also cuts the time needed for asset management and maintenance scheduling down to a minimum since most of the process is fully automated. From these two benefits alone, a business that implements good enterprise asset management is looking at substantial savings in the long run.
Customer Relationship Management
Whether you are a small business that caters to a handful of local customers or you run a large corporation with thousands of customers, a good customer relationship management, or CRM solution, is invaluable. A CRM system stores more than customers’ details. It is capable of keeping track of every aspect of the customers’ journey.
The possibilities are endless with a CRM solution running in the cloud. Sales executives can generate instant quotes and get them approved without returning to the office. Every customer support executive can review a detailed customer history, allowing aftersales service to be delivered in a more personalized way.
These are improvements that affect the bottom line. Customers who receive personalized treatment are more likely to stay loyal to your business. More importantly, they are also more likely to promote your business to more customers.
Digital Document Management
Digitizing old paper documents is a tedious task to complete, but the process brings a long list of benefits too. For starters, digital documents are searchable and can be stored without taking up space in the office. These benefits alone translate to huge cost efficiency.
Even better, digital documents allow your business to maintain detailed operational records for years without running out of storage. Digital documents can be circulated within the intranet faster, and they are much more secure now that we have multiple layers of security protecting the cloud.
All of these advantages add up. While cost concerns remain the biggest factor stopping businesses from moving to digital solutions, the benefits offered by today’s top solutions will result in those solutions paying for themselves in less than a year. If anything, digital transformation needs to happen sooner rather than later.
Last Updated on February 3, 2021.
