Think Big, Act Small

Manufacturers have long focused on leveraging automation and technology to improve operational efficiencies in factories. They are leaders in robotics who typically have strong insight and experience in ERP and back-office systems, and are notorious for developing shadow IT solutions in-house to help bridge gaps. However, the tools needed to support the customer-facing teams are often overlooked and deemed unnecessary or a tomorrow problem to solve. Instead, these customer-facing teams are forced to use spreadsheets, notepads, or insufficient communication tools, causing them to swivel chair into software systems that are disconnected in order to get their jobs done.

Pre-COVID-19, this was barely sustainable. During the pandemic, this approach became impossible and has forced manufacturers to rethink leveraging digital technologies for customer-facing functions. With a shift to remote work amongst organizations, it’s not as easy for team members to walk to their colleagues’ desks or to a shipping location to get the status of something. In the peak of the pandemic, sales reps couldn’t visit their customers or partners to have an in-person review to properly understand the progress or momentum of their business. Similarly, supplier managers couldn’t visit suppliers for quality audits. As people have been incubated in their homes, they are re-imaging work-life-balance and some aren’t ready to give up the benefits of working from home. Our “new normal'' has caused an inflection point for CIOs who are now given a stronger mandate than before to accelerate digital strategies—especially those centred around the customer-first model. The ask is daunting at best, prompting the questions of where to begin, and how other companies in a similar sector are doing.

Having supported many manufacturers and distributors at Traction on Demand, we see a spectrum of launching points. Organizations that would gain from e-commerce engagement are focusing their efforts on increasing website activities, quoting, ordering and coupling them with marketing efforts. Commerce has truly become the differentiation during COVID, where applicable. Many manufacturers and distributors, however, do not sell products primarily through an online platform. It’s common for them to leverage partners like resellers, distributors, and retailers to get their products to a customer. Partner Relationship Management (PRM) activities act as a launching pad to tighten these relationships by creating transparency to promote a “winning together” vision.

The key areas involved include co-marketing activities, deal registration, lead assignment, channel performance, and visibility into the movement of deals where ownership spans across more than one organization.

Organizations who rely heavily on inside sales or customer care personnel to respond to all customer queries—quotes, orders, product inquiries, account preference management and resolving technical issues—have been focused on obtaining a complete 360 view of the customer. These provide insight into facilitating workflows to help get their job done. Think of them as nurses in the Emergency Ward of a hospital. They have to be equipped to handle any possible request and know exactly how to “move the issue forward” and with whom. If an organization has never embarked on a CRM-like journey, they need to start by understanding and designing how they want to capture information regarding accounts—end customers, resellers, contractors, suppliers, agencies, distributors, retailers, engineering firms, etc. They also need to know what key interactions they need to manage, which can be expanded into other areas.

Regardless of where you choose to begin, here’s some critical advice for starting your digital transformation.

Think big when you plan:

● A successful transformation cannot be IT-led without a holistic understanding of the business, or you risk poor user adoption and won’t realize the full gain of the transformation.

● Start with a deep, human-centered approach to knowing how your business works— especially along the hand-offs between teams—and allow your technology selection process to follow.

● When you select a technology, create an RFQ centered on the requirements of the holistic transformation. The platform or tool needs to go beyond the teams and functions that are in scope for Phase 1—the first phase of a project when there is a roadmap.

Act small when you begin:

● Pick a problem and define a measurable solution, so that we know when we have achieved success.

● For global organizations: select one or two regions to start with, but include all regions to evaluate the requirements so they have early buy-in and you haven’t solutioned in a vacuum.

● Get your business processes harmonized or rationalized in advance.

● Leverage kaizen events and GE workshops to accelerate decision making and keep momentum.
At the end of the day, your success rests on your ability to plan. Take the time to do it right, and do it well. Digital transformations are no longer a ‘nice to have’, they are a ‘must have’ to stay competitive, reduce redundancies, and improve the business’ bottom line. These transformations are happening faster than ever before, but manufacturers should value the journey, start small and create a big impact.