Business Transformation: A Framework That Takes You Where You Need to Go
Here at Syte, we’ve spent decades helping manufacturing companies select and implement new ERP solutions. On the surface, that might sound like simply implementing technology to automate and digitize traditional processes and workflows. A “digital transformation” in today’s industry jargon.
But the truth is, an ERP initiative is the foundation for business transformation. And a business transformation is not something that any organization undertakes lightly — let alone a manufacturing company that relies on standard operating procedures and clear roles and responsibilities to make sure they deliver on commitments day-to-day.
That’s why we developed a rigorous framework to help our clients plan and transition to the solutions they need to be successful, in a way that makes the whole process informed and predictable.
In this post, I want to dive in a little deeper, and take a closer look at the framework we use to help our manufacturing clients in their business transformation journey.
Business Transformation Has a Lot of Moving Pieces
I’ve written before that digital transformation is only part of a much larger process. “Digital transformation” is a phrase that gets thrown around a lot these days — but what does it mean and, more importantly, what does it take?
At Syte, we’re firm believers that you have to start where you are, with what you have, before you can plan where to go. You might know that what you’re doing currently won’t take you there, but you have to understand what you have and why it might not be sufficient to take your company to that next level. And in our experience, the answers might surprise you.
What drives your business might not be the same thing as drives your competitor’s business. But until you take a close and honest look at where your business is right now, you won’t know what solution best fits your needs, or the best way to put that solution into place with maximum efficiency and minimum friction.
At Syte, we use a four-part framework to help our clients through their business transformation journey — one that smooths out the bumps in the road along the way.
Mapping Out Your Journey — From Start to Finish
Every phase of your business transformation has its own set of requirements and deliverables. While that may sound like a lot of work, it actually makes things easier in the long run. When you get the earlier pieces right, what follows is a lot smoother.
Each phase has its own discover-define-deliver process, so you always know when you’re done with one step, and ready to move on to the next.
Importantly, though, this is not necessarily a linear process. We start with where your company is at to get you where you need to go.
1: Transformation readiness evaluation
Before you even think about transforming your business, you need to get clear about how ready you are to take on the kind of change you’re contemplating.
That’s why we start with a Transformation Readiness Evaluation. This guided assessment helps you identify where your existing capabilities and capacities are, relative to taking on any business transformation initiative.
This evaluation results in an executive-level report that includes input, feedback and recommendations related to gaps in readiness. It’s the first part of the roadmap forward.
Large-scale projects require a lot of capabilities — project management, business analysis, technical analysis — that your organization might not have in place. Or, capacity may be the bigger issue. You may have the in-house resources you need, but they have day-jobs and can’t give up 50% of their time to any extra-curricular initiatives.
Readiness evaluation is critical to getting a business transformation initiative off on the right foot. Once you’ve determined that you are organizationally ready, you can move ahead to look at what you have in place to enable change
2: Business assessment
The next step after determining your organization is ready for this change initiative is a business assessment. This is where you take stock of your business readiness for transformation. This may sound similar to the transformational readiness evaluation, but it’s a different activity.
The business assessment takes a deeper dive into where your organization is at from an operational perspective. It’s where the executive team needs to ask if they’re really ready to sponsor the initiative, and whether they’re looking at it in all the right ways. Do you understand the workflows in a way that will allow them to be transformed in the most efficient way possible? Are you aware of the potential pitfalls?
This is where you’ll be able to identify the gaps and challenges you might face, and decide on a way to mitigate those risks before you put a plan into action.
3: Solution evaluation and selection
Once you understand your state of readiness, and what you’re working with today — your business processes and people, and their roles and responsibilities — you’re in a better position to start evaluating the technology solutions that might solve your problems.
So many businesses jump straight to this step without doing the up-front assessment, and it almost always backfires on them.
In our experience, when you evaluate your transformational readiness, and do a thorough assessment of your current people, processes and technology, you have a solid foundation for thinking about what kind of new or upgraded solution you need. And that solution doesn’t always have to be new software — it could be new technology, new roles in the organization, training, or something else.
The key is to let the requirements you’ve identified in the earlier phases guide you to what you need to meet them.
4: Solution implementation
Finally, you’re ready to implement your solution. This is where the rubber meets the road, where we help our clients make their vision a reality.
This is where the real value of the early stages of the 4-part framework come through. Doing the “why” and the “what” upfront empowers you to adjust to obstacles that may arise in real-time.
This phase may seem more tactical than analytical, but that’s not to say you can’t adjust. There are almost always unexpected wrinkles that come up — but because you’ve done all the groundwork upfront to ensure that you’re doing what’s right for your business, you can adapt accordingly.
Important note: Business transformation is not “one and done.” You can use this framework to revisit and optimize your business operations again and again as you grow.
Every Transformation Starts With a Plan
Any kind of transformation requires more than just tinkering. It requires large-scale adjustments — but wholesale adjustments, without a plan, rarely result in lasting change or success.
Are you thinking about some changes you want to make in your manufacturing business? Let’s talk — we’re happy to help you map out what you need at whatever stage of the journey you’re at. Schedule your time right here.
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Doing Business Better
You strive for excellence, believe in your people, and want to do things right the first time. And you know that you need help to get to the heart of your business challenges and make the best choices for the future of your privately held manufacturing and distribution company. That’s where we come in.
We help you focus and find exactly the right path to accelerated growth and sustainable success — from your people to your processes to your ERP software.