In the past, companies that had a strong online presence were seen as forward-thinking. Companies like Amazon and Google were trailblazers, showing the world what could be done with ecommerce and search engines.
Today, though, every company needs to be able to compete with these giants. So if your company is struggling to keep up with customer expectations and industry trends, it’s time for digital transformation.
Digital engineering services of experts like Sutherland state, “Helping clients define and realize their business ambitions digitally through emerging technologies.” In this article, they’ll discuss why companies worldwide are going through digital transformation initiatives – from improving customer experience to increasing supplier integration – and how you can start yours today!
Customer Expectations
It’s very easy for a customer to switch from one brand to another. In fact, it’s becoming more and more common for customers to shop around before making a purchase decision. So in order to keep your customers happy and loyal, you need to give them the best possible experience with your company at every interaction point.
If they aren’t able to find what they’re looking for on your website or app, there’s a good chance that they’ll go elsewhere—and fast!
Stagnation
It’s no secret that customers have higher expectations than ever before, and they aren’t hesitant to let companies know when they’re not being met. While this may seem like a challenge, it’s also an opportunity for businesses that can meet those expectations. If you’re not keeping up with customer expectations or competitors in your industry, you run the risk of losing customers—or worse yet, having them flock to a competitor who does.
A digital transformation could mean the difference between being on the right side of these trends or being left behind by them.
Maintaining Legacy Systems
Many organizations have legacy systems that are difficult to maintain, expensive, inflexible, and insecure. Unfortunately, these systems can be difficult to scale and do not meet current business needs. In addition, they need to be more agile, so keeping pace with the speed of change in your industry is hard.
These systems should be modernized or replaced for you to take advantage of new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), automation and the Internet of Things (IoT).
Agility
Agility is the ability to respond quickly to change. It’s often a cornerstone of digital transformation, making it easier for companies to respond to market shifts and other external demands. Agility also allows you to be more competitive than your competitors by acting faster and more efficiently than they can.
Increased Supplier Integration
As the digital ecosystem becomes increasingly integrated, suppliers are now more important than ever. They’re not talking about buying your office supplies on Amazon—they mean that suppliers need to be included in your digital transformation strategy. Instead, they will play a key role in your business’s success and how quickly it can be transformed. Suppliers have always been an integral part of any business supply chain, but now they are also part of the digital ecosystem.
The world is changing and companies need to do their part by being adaptive and staying relevant. So if your company still needs to get a digital transformation plan in place, now is the time to start exploring what it could mean for your bottom line.