The pandemic has shown many businesses that digital transformation is one of the essential steps to take to stay afloat. Apart from it opening up a business to effective processes and smooth functionality, it helps them become more competitive.
Digital transformation is for all types of industry, and it’s something that helps meet the demands of modern customers. So, there’s a need for businesses to understand what digital transformation means, its advantages, competitive advantages, and the difference between improvement and transformation.
What Is Digital Transformation?
When a business starts integrating technology into its fundamental parts, it begins improving. But when a business integrates the use of technology into all its areas, it engages in digital transformation.
Digital transformation doesn’t mean a business becomes an eCommerce business or simply moves to the cloud. It means that all the processes that keep the wheels of the business spinning become easier and more efficient with various software.
Where there was a boom in technology performing the simplest tasks for many industries, there was also a boom of software and distinct tools that made business processes function smoothly. This is what digital transformation means, developing tools and software to make everything faster and more efficient.
Digital Transformation Advantages
As we’ve already stated, it doesn’t matter which industry your business is part of, there are advantages of digital transformation for almost every industry. So, let’s discuss the most common ones:
- Advantages for tourism: Bus fares, train fares, flights, hotels, apartments, and other traveling factors can be run with different software to identify the current needs of any tourist.
A tourist traveling across the ocean that gets the flight canceled, gets notified of the next flight immediately. It’s the same with different bus fares and train lines. Everything runs smoother.
- Advantages for manufacturing: With digital transformation, manufacturing processes can be improved by collecting and analyzing real-time data. This way, some errors can be detected before they occur.
- Advantages for distribution: Digital transformation allows for tracking, managing, and evaluating data on delivery, product volumes, setbacks, etc. Companies ordering from distributors can have a much easier time dealing with everything.
- Advantages for retail: The customer experience gets improved because everything can be handed on a plate to them. This means that the information on the available products, the delivery times, the virtual presentation are all there.
Competitive Advantage with Digital Transformation
As we’ve already stated, the processes of the business are all improved significantly with digital transformation, and this can have a direct impact on customer experience. Plus, the operations become smoother making it beneficial and more profitable when a business hires someone such as GD company to transform their operations.
With digital transformation, businesses can reduce costs with process automation and information flow within the company. There’s a possibility to improve customer service by improving the response to customers’ needs.
With all the mentioned benefits, businesses can increase their volume of production and it’s possible that by identifying mistakes and errors easily, the business can improve product quality. Finally, the main benefit is the retention of talented employees that are looking for companies that are digitized.
Improvement vs. Transformation
There are two different ways a business can go about digital transformation. It’s either improvement or transformation. Improvement is based on existing systems within a company, and transformation is based on a complete reboot of the existing processes.
Improving existing systems
When the business is already running on a pretty good system, digital transformation can help improve the system by digitalizing its aspects. Unfortunately, some assets might need to be replaced within an existing system to improve it. Also, improving the existing system might require some additional specialized training for the employees.
Transforming existing systems
Transforming means doing a complete reboot of the existing systems. This means that new systems need to be built from the ground up or implemented into the company structure, which will require training on fundamentals and other aspects of different digital tools.
Conclusion
There are advantages for all industries when it comes to digital transformation. There are multiple competitive advantages to be gained from digital transformation, including customer satisfaction, cost reduction, product volume, service and product quality, and more. Finally, the needs and wants are constantly evolving and so should the businesses evolve with them.