Accepting Technology: How it can Better your Business and Bottom Line
Sticking to tried-and-true business processes has allowed your business to blossom from a struggling startup to a medium-sized company. Yet there is something holding you back from making that big leap to the next business level. You’ve hired the right workers. You’ve developed the right products and services to meet the changing supply and demand needs of your customers. Yet your bottom line has stalled even while your operational costs have steadily increased.
What makes the difference between what your company is doing and what your successful competitors are initiating in their businesses? Technology.
While those tried-and-true trusted business practices have allowed you to make it this far in your business, relying on traditional processes that have become outdated can only take you so far. Your business begins to suffer in many operational areas. Yet accepting new technology is an uphill battle for both you and your employees.
Why Accepting New Technology is So Hard For Companies
Change is scary. When you do the process the same way from the very beginning, you get stuck in that familiar rut. You know what to do to complete the work using those previous methods. So why change something that isn’t broken?
Technology becomes a tool to help make completing the task simpler, in a faster method, and often more professionally. For example, take how you perform your RFP process with managing vendors and strategic sourcing. The traditional process requires you to create paper requests, email bids and then manually update spreadsheets. Today, software tools have allowed the RFP process to be more efficient. Instead of creating paper requests, you can import and export existing data into documents that are available immediately. The technology can also allow you to conduct supplier surveys, make bidder feedback reports, and conduct multiple bidder rounds to obtain the best products at the ideal prices.
Imagine two similar companies competing for the same customer’s business. One company has stuck with the traditional RFP methods while the other has accepted, deployed and adopted newer RFP technologies. The first company is still creating the paper requests and garnering supplier information. The second company has already sent out the emails, gathered data reports, analyzed bid proposals and finalized their supply chain management as they are ready to roll out their products to fulfill orders. The second company is ahead in the game simply because they have adopted the waiting technology that has helped them simplify operational processes.
What Technology Can Do For Your Business
The costs of accepting new technology for your operations often holds a business back. When pounding out the numbers, the initial purchasing, training and implementation costs can’t be justified. Yet you have to go beyond the initial costs and look toward future savings toward your operations as well as the possibility for increased sales. Often this technology will pay for itself in a few months to a few years when implemented and accepted by every member of your company. A key advantage of our FlexRFP™ software is that it is both easy to learn and use. Training is minimal and is only done during LIVE projects. It is also included as part of the package, providing additional cost savings.
Benefits to accepting new technology into your business operations
- faster processes
- increased competitiveness
- cost-effective operations
- scalability
- increased profits
- better quality products and services
Keep in mind this one caveat about technology for your business. Accepting technology is different from adopting it. You may accept the fact that technology can help your business grow its bottom line. Yet if you do not invest in the adoption methods of employee training, process changes and risk management, the technology can become cumbersome to your operations. So in addition to planning the implementation of this technology, you must also plan to have everyone trained and on board with these changes to have a smooth transition.