There is no doubt that risking, trying and acting is always better than doing nothing. The term “procrastinate” not only applies to human actions but also to companies. This time, we will focus on adopting new technologies and innovation for companies of any size and industry.
The first and most serious case occurs with “inaction”, leaving for a “better time” to acquire new technologies, change platforms or digitally reinvent oneself. How many times have we not heard arguments such as; “Right now we need to reduce expenses and not invest”, “In these uncertain times it is best to remain as we are”, “In this organisation, change is complex and acquiring a new software platform would be suffering from an unnecessary adoption curve”, etc.
This occurs mainly because many CIOs and CFOs do not see that crises or low business profitability can be mitigated and reversed primarily by using appropriate technologies for the company. They consider that their old ERP can continue to fight for many years and do not see the short-term benefits the adoption of an EOS (Enterprise Operating System) can bring. Where the integration of the operation under a collaborative environment and a single source in terms of information will give the company the tools to reduce costs, streamline processes and improve response times and quality that its customers demand. On the contrary, they consider that paralysing, reducing costs and waiting for market conditions to stabilise is the best weapon to face a critical situation. Typically these organisations are destined to make economic storms worse or suffer more.
The second case occurs when companies decide that it is time for a change and are willing to evaluate technological solutions that may suit the organisation’s opportunity areas. This is already a decision worthy of recognition, but the problem comes when they decide to assess many solutions under a rigid and bureaucratic process shielded in transparency. Usually, more than five solutions are evaluated in a tortuous RFP (Request for Proposal) method. Which, due to its meticulousness and characteristics, can last for months. This causes losses just to continue or simply doesn´t address the areas of opportunity and has a financial impact on customer perception.
Each solution is usually evaluated in such detail, technically and economically, that the business reasons that led to the RFP are confused over time. The value and potential of each solution are also lost. For example, an ERP is evaluated equally against an EOS (Enterprise Operating System) and often chooses the cheapest solution regardless of the more complex implementation and adoption.
In more extreme cases, the evaluation’s complexity leads to postponing the decision and remaining at the same starting point but with many hours thrown away by employees and suppliers.
This article invites you to reflect on technology as a factor of change and, above all, as your best weapon to overcome the competition and face crisis times proactively.
Luis Pedroza
Commercial Director
LOVIS Mexico