There is no doubt that the future is digital, and it is necessary to adapt methods like digital transformation to survive. As a key strategic initiative, sap digital transformation strategy is an important term describing the application of new technologies, talents, and processes, to improve business operations and customer satisfaction. A robust and successful digital transformation strategy must have all the elements for future growth.
But this is not an easy or seamless task. When companies started storing data on transformation initiatives in the 1970s, the error rate for company-wide change projects fluctuated between 60 and 70%, according to Harvard Business School.
The 2020 report by Oxford Economics surveyed 3,000 executives in 10 industries, including automotive, banking, insurance, industrial manufacturing, oil and gas, public sector, retail and utilities industries, and found that any kind of business transformation works best when the entire organization is connected Managers need to ensure that quality information permeates their ecosystem of the business and allows everyone involved to interact in a way that achieves company goals.”
So, how do you get into this agile, interconnected situation ?
Step 1: Assess your current position in your digital transformation initiatives:
The first step is to review your existing business assets and systems to examine your technology capabilities. Along with it, you have to evaluate the competitors, your market etc. What are the future trends and risks involved? What opportunities can you utilize for the growth of organization and business? What are the risks your company is most likely to face? And critically, what contingency plans do you have for such an event?
This is also a time when you can evaluate your workforce and see where there are skills gaps present so that organization can arrange skill training for the upskilling.
The better you know the insights- its strengths and weaknesses – t he better you can make the most informed decisions related to the technology and digital transformation.
Step 2: Set realistic KPIs for your digital journey:
Key Performance Indicators (KPI) are the basis for cultural and technological change in every company. Instead of general goals like “becoming more sustainable” or “increasing productivity,” KPIs link specific, achievable milestones and goals to your transformation initiative. When setting KPIs, it is crucial to be realistic first. Then make sure you connect with professionals from across the company to fully understand the implications and potential of each department and role within your company.
A good software vendor can provide guidelines and templates to help you ease and strategize solid execution and robust KPI structure.
Step 3: Set -top priorities and quick wins to educate you on your digital technology choices:
Digital transformation is a process, and it cannot get happen overnight . However, leaders and teams have a bottom line and need to demonstrate transformational value initiatives as early as possible . However, the answer is not necessarily to look for the most impressive digitization processes such as robotic automation. On the other hand, the best way to make long term growth and profit is often to look within the company for processes that will offer customers the best profit increase (or loss reduction) or contribute to significantly increased satisfaction and growth .
The insights you gain from your business audit will help you identify your priorities, biggest opportunities, and biggest threats . Work with your software development and digital technology team leaders to find the right digital solution to drive strong early returns.
Step 4: Make managing change in digital transformation a top priority:
Short-term planning and poor communication can cause serious problems when implementing your digital transformation strategy.
Traditional corporate hierarchies are often isolated, with large blind spots from one part of the company to another . Instead, connectivity and flexibility are key concepts behind intelligent business transformation and technology . As the Oxford Economics 2020 report shows, highly connected organizations can work quickly and adapt to changing circumstances and tend to be more resilient than companies with affiliated departments.
Solutions from silos and disconnected processes must initiate with an open thought process by managers, enterprise-wide collaboration and a commitment to change.
In a nutshell, for digital transformation to be successful, organizations must first understand their data management processes. Accordingly, you have to take steps to make sure that the data is accurate, safe and available.
The data can then be used by modern digital systems such as cloud ERP, allowing companies to grow, adapt, and evolve in multiple directions.
Of course, if your present data management practices or ERP systems are not fully up to date, that never means that you can not continue with digital transformation initiatives. It just means that you want to work closely with the software development team or vendor and your in-house team to create good data governance protocols for the project.
Step 5: See customers as the driving force in your digital journey:
Digital transformation is about attracting, engaging and connecting with customers – developing digital solutions that enhance your customer experience and make it more rewarding and personalized. A robust marketing and communication strategy in the initial stage can help your customers look forward towards your digital organizational transformation – and that they understand new advantages and opportunities. This way, you ensure that your customer feedback and publications support your digital transformation initiatives.
Customer feedback and valuable inputs are crucial and are at the forefront of business planning. In a Deloitte report, more than 80% of the business leaders surveyed said that customer feedback is an “important part of enterprise decision making”, compared to only 45% supporting this view in 2013.
Step 6: Create a digital transformation roadmap and gather the right people:
The Digital Transformation Roadmap offers a strategic framework that helps you seize opportunities and deploy new processes and systems as smoothly and quickly as possible.
You need to ensure that your technology provider has solid business transformation services to help you prepare and execute a unique roadmap. This means that you not only support yourself with your new software and tool integrations but also work with you to optimize your business processes and identify new business models. Support and solutions tailored to your business will help you get the best return on investment – adapt faster to changing customer needs and be more flexible and respond to opportunities and threats.
As your business grows and transforms, your software can evolve with it. Every action and step you take towards your digital transformation goals contribute to making your company more visible and more responsive to risk and change – with sustainability and flexibility.
Katalyst is a SAP partner with the perfect blend of extensive domain and industry expertise that initiates you to accelerate the digital transformation journey of your organization through advanced SAP solutions. Reach out to our experts and contact us today to work after collaboration to create and implement the best digital transformation strategies.
