To prepare for the digital new normal, small-medium businesses will need to embark on digital transformation the soonest possible. To transform from a traditional SME/organisation to become a digital enterprise/organisation doesn’t happen overnight in a single step. Digital transformation is not something to simply assign to the IT department to undertake, it takes commitment from both the leadership team and all employees.
A piece-meal approach in digital transformation for SMEs would not deliver the desired transformational results. When all levels of a company’s leaders and employees recognise the urgent need to transform in order to survive, only then will it takes proactive steps to implement digital transformation throughout the company.
A typical Digital Transformation Pathway will consists of a few stages:
- In stage 1, a strategic business review is conducted to assess what will be their business strategy to address the new normal and draft a company-specific Digital Transformation Roadmap
- Next is to evaluate and implement relevant ready-made digital solutions that can enable the company to modernise various operations, improve productivity and collect data
- Companies can explore ways that e-commerce marketplaces like Amazon, Alibaba, Etsy, Zazzle etc can help them to expand internationally; and capitalise on big data of social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and WeChat to reach out to targeted customer with specific personas, build branding and generate customer leads
- In stage 2, training and coaching on agile and lean management will support transforming the company’s outdated, bureaucratic processes, and move the company towards a more experimental, data-driven decisions making, “fail fast, learn fast” and innovative mindsets and culture. By adopting a lean, agile management approach, companies can be nimble and able to seize emerging opportunities with fast decision-making
- Aims to be able to leverage new digital technologies such as data analytics, big data, artificial intelligence (AI), Internet-of-things (IOT), and robotics to keep operations lean and efficient, and to enable data-driven business decision-making
- Build a learning organisation that’s constantly upgrading knowledge and skills so that it can stays current with market demands, harness power of new technologies and methodologies, attract talents and become industry leaders
- In stage 3, build a culture of innovation, listening closely to and empathise with customers’ needs, constantly experimenting and driving new innovations in business models, products and services, to open out new income streams and markets
Askvisor provides family businesses, SMEs and non-profits with digital transformation consultancy - supporting the organisations to leverage suitable digital solutions, innovate new products/services, adopt agile and lean management, and build a learning and innovative organisation culture, so that organisations can stay ahead in the Digital Economy. Need some help with your digital transformation strategy and implementation? Contact us at: hello@askvisor.com