Introduction
Companies and organisations that want to stay ahead of the competition and remain relevant are quickly recognising that leveraging modern technology to improve their business and service delivery is the way to go. It is an ongoing trend in the way we do business today.
Digitalisation/systemisation/automation is the process of taking a business or process, and using modern digital technology to upgrade its effectiveness. The goal is to create an interconnected, automated and profitable system that will then be able to provide better services for its customers.
This guide will teach you a lot about what you should think about when considering taking this step for your organisation.
Why You Should Systemise Your Business
Systemising your business is a method of eliminating bottlenecks that result in lost time and revenue. It is a way for you to streamline your business processes and delegate tasks and admin work to artificial intelligence systems, robotic assistants, or software management systems.
This reduces the need for manual labour and frees up people’s time and creativity so they can focus on more innovative tasks that directly impact business growth.
1. Deliver Superior Customer Experience
Customers value convenience and quick access to services. Automated systems allow you to provide better, faster, more consistent results for your clients, thereby increasing trust, loyalty and competitive advantage.
2. Reduce Costs
Aside from lowering your salary bill by replacing some manual labor with automated systems, a study found that inefficient business processes cost organizations 20% to 30% of their revenue each year.
3. Greatly Boost Productivity
Delegating complex tasks to digital solutions means that you can focus on the other parts of your business and leads to increased productivity. Employees also get to focus on more productive tasks rather than tedious admin tasks like information retrieval, paperwork approval and document processing.
4. Streamline Processes and Minimise Errors
No matter how professional and talented your workforce is, human mistakes and errors are unavoidable. Digital systems greatly reduce the possibility of errors in your workflows and eliminate redundant operations.
5. Better Reporting and Tracking
All critical information is available at the touch of a button, anywhere and at any time, allowing you to make better-informed decisions accurately and reliably
The Process
The quickest way to get started with this process is by examining current bottlenecks in your business that can be improved with a software system.
Start by evaluating your current technology infrastructure. What can be replaced by a more efficient alternative? What technologies are you currently not using? Look for steps in your business that are well-defined and repeatable so that they can be automated.
Broadly speaking, business systems fall into 2 categories: External Facing systems and Internal Facing Systems
1. External Facing Systems
External facing systems are those that mainly deal with external parties that interact with your business in one way or another. These include customers, suppliers, regulators, donors etc
The majority of businesses start by implementing systems for better customer interaction. The more easily and quickly a customer can access your services, the better for your company.
External facing systems will include, company websites, online sales funnels, mobile applications, e-commerce, web portals, self-service etc.
Case Study: A vendor selling fresh fruits and vegetables in Kampala's crowded produce market center.
Problem
Customers complained about the crowds and the difficulty in getting to the vendor in these crowded market places. Also, the time it took to leave home and office to do shopping.
Solution
We created a user-friendly e-commerce website and mobile apps to allow customers to easily order fresh produce and have it delivered to them.
2. Internal Facing Systems
These are more concerned with your company's internal operations and are geared toward streamlining and automating key business processes.
Here, we look at the various departments, each with its own set of day-to-day activities, and try to identify the well-defined repeatable steps and eliminate bottlenecks for the success of the department and company as a whole.
These are the systems that run your departments, such as Human Resources, Sales, Project Management, Task Management, invoicing and accounting, manufacturing, reporting, debt collection, marketing, and customer relationship management, among others.
You can choose to automate all areas of your business at once in a single mega system, or you can choose to automate only a portion of your business. Of course, there are obvious benefits to running your entire business on a single mega system that spans all departments and business processes.
Case Study: A leading insurance company in Uganda with over 37 years in the industry
Problem
Due to Covid pandemic, migration to remote work was inevitable and it was almost impossible to accurately track the actual work of employees and follow up on clients.
Solution
We developed an Online Task Management, Debt Collections and Customer
Relationship Management system accessible from any device at any location
Case Study: A major pharmaceutical company that imports and supplies pharmaceuticals to East Africa with over 30 years in the business
Problem
A lot of paper work, excel spreadsheets and only relying on emails to track their entire business from supplier management to manufacturing, compliance bodies, logistics, sales and marketing, I.T, accounting etc
Solution
We developed a bespoke company-wide business process system to automate and systemise the entire business across all departments from a single portal. It is used on a daily basis by their 500+ employees.
Implementation
Once you have identified the various aspects of your business that require systemisation and automation, we proceed with the implementation of this technology in your company.
There are primarily 2 schools of thought you can use to digitalise all or part of your business. Specifically, whether to hire an in-house software development team or to outsource.
In-house Development team
With an in-house software development team, you have a team of software engineers, UI/UX designers, system analysts, database administrators and quality assurance engineers who work in your office.
This variant usually necessitates more time and money due to time-consuming interviews, on-boarding processes, training, other recruitment related costs and purchase of specialised development equipment.
In-house development typically takes longer due to lack of good available tech talent and time to recruit.
Outsourcing A Software Development company
It is normally more cost effective in the long run to hire a reputable software development company to help you with your systemisation and automation needs.
Many businesses now use outsourced software development services to save money, time, and find competent staff.
When hiring a software development company consider the cost of development, level of expertise with proven record, speed of implementation and integration with your existing systems.
Conclusion
It is certainly possible to use software technology to digitalise, systemise and automate your business. If you want the results of a good growing business that can compete favorably and profitably in the twenty-first century, this is the way to go.
Apply to work with us. Book a time for us to talk and let's help you implement business automation in your organisation.