Digital Transformation – 5 first steps

Every company is affected by the digital transformation and nowadays there is a lot of talking about digitization. It is necessary to modernize, optimize and automate obsolete processes - in other words, to digitize them so that they remain competitive in the future. No business model will be the same in the next 10-15 years as it is today. So there is a need to take action.

3 Areas of digitization in the company

The digital transformation affects many areas of a company. It is the leap from an analogue to a digital world that affects many technical processes. Above all, it is accompanied by a cultural change.

Digitization is such a complex construct that the question quickly arises where to begin.

Below you will find the 3 areas you should keep in mind.

1 Business models

A digital business model is a transaction that is processed using digital technologies and does not require any operational human intervention as it takes place only between digital systems. First of all, it is important to understand that a blanket 1:1 transfer of existing business models does not work. You need to better understand and analyze your own business model (tools such as Business Model Canvas can help). As soon as you have a clear picture, you should improve the individual elements through digitization.

2 Business Processes

Analyze your business processes and optimize them. The goal is to become faster and more efficient. A simple example would be, to move away from paper to cloud/online processes. If you rethink your business processes and adapt them to new circumstances, you are on the right track.

3 Customer Relationship

Analyze your relationship with customers. Is there still room for improvement? Definitely! You can usually work even more customer-oriented if you include digital techniques, processes, etc. Think, for example, about your customer communication. Do you still contact them by post or e-mail? Why not simply use new, customer-friendly processes and send a personal SMS to your customers? This is communication on a new level, with the passage of time.

5 Steps on the way to the digital age

1. Strategy development. Don't see digitalisation as an abstract annual goal but integrate it into your everyday life. Try to improve the situation every day. Define a goal or create a digital roadmap. Think about where you want to go and first develop a concept and only then think about the means of implementation.
2. Involvement of the entire team. Innovative processes are good and cool, but your team must also be on board. Involve the team in the digitization process from the very beginning. Keep your team constantly informed about new developments. It is quite possible that your colleagues have great ideas for the digital transformation of your company as well.
3. Process optimization through technologies. Implement systems that optimize and simplify specific processes. For example, you can simply start with the introduction of digital documents: you can find your documents quickly, access them simultaneously with your colleagues and send documents immediately. Are you already using a ticket system? There are many software solutions that simplify internal communication enormously and make it more efficient (e.g. Freshdesk, Zendesk).
4. Prioritization. First, identify the goals that are easiest to achieve. Successful implementation will motivate you and your team to tackle and implement even the more difficult projects.
5. Step-by-step. Digitization is a long-term project that means constant evaluation and control. Be realistic and do not have the claim to transform your company into a digital company overnight. Digitization is a long process that may never be complete as new software and innovations enter the market.

Keep moving and be innovative. Because outsiders lose the battle! Just think of former successful companies like Nokia or Kodak, which apparently failed the digitization and can no longer match those successful days from the past.