Companies across industries have embarked on journeys they call “digital transformation”. The phrase seems to be used ad nauseum to mean different things, so the definition of “digital transformation” is simply too loose to know where reality lies.

Instead of worrying about definitions and trying to define which technologies should be canonised as part of digital transformation scripture, I’d like to focus on the business issues that keep leaders up at night. Digital transformation (whatever it means) should try to address three key businesses levers:

Streamlining operational processes;
Optimising the customer experience; and
Securing consistent revenue and cash flow.

Every business needs to have these under control. Yet almost every business struggles with at least one of them – probably more.

How to streamline operational processes

Most companies live with processes they developed a long time ago — Forbes reported recently that “existing business processes are often trapped in rigid legacy systems that are slow and costly to change”. But a decade ago, cloud technologies were still an almost mythical concept, and concepts like mobile application solutions, analytics and AI-driven decision making were only just being conceived.

Those who were bold enough to make fundamental changes to their processes as opposed to simply bolting technology on top of old ones have reaped significant rewards. An Accenture study among 4 300 executives found “dramatic validation that the leaders were definitely on the right path”.

The study demonstrated that leaders have grown “not at 2x but 5x the laggards today — even with the recent humanitarian, economic and social disruptions. It means there’s a quantum difference between what leaders are doing with technology to drive business growth and what laggards are doing.”

Appropriately designed and implemented technology improves data security and privacy and builds trust. Seamless integration strategies allow companies to handle automated workflows resulting in faster processing times.

Optimising the customer experience

In today’s mobile economy, consumers can buy commodities wherever they like — successful businesses create the best possible customer experience of the brand. The McKinsey report linked in the previous sentence explains that “a few leading companies are pioneering a better approach that takes full advantage of the wealth of data now available”.

Today, companies can regularly, lawfully and seamlessly collect smartphone and interaction data from across their customer, financial and operations systems, yielding deep insights about their customers. Those with an eye towards the future are boosting their data and analytics capabilities and harnessing predictive insights to connect more closely with their customers, anticipate behaviours, and identify CX issues and opportunities in real time.”

And that’s what effective and relevant digital transformation should facilitate. Excellence of brand experience increases customer retention, lowers churn and increases per-customer revenue rates. In practice that might mean expecting as few clicks as possible in online transactions. The trick is to deploy technologies that allow businesses to be within their customers ecosystem and then use data effectively to understand which features are most useful to customers and make the most relevant ones available first, and as easily as possible. Greater refinement might even allow for per-customer prioritisation in business apps.

Improving the cash trickle to a steady stream

Revenue and cash flow remain ongoing pain points for both large and small businesses, but small businesses probably struggle more. Developing easy to access consumer channels, with the ability to process straight-through digital transactions has a direct impact on payment frequencies and cashflow. Digital solutions also allow suppliers to grow beyond traditional geographical locations to find new sources of revenue and profit where they may traditionally have relied on foot traffic. Recent mobile commerce initiatives have shown double digit growth in online sales performance.

It’s a journey, not a destination

Continuous improvement is what will drive competitiveness. Being best-in-class across these three key levers and allowing customers, suppliers and all key business ecosystem partners to see the data that’s pertinent to them and their experiences is what makes the difference.

Trusted partners can remove the headache

Apptechnix was established in 2016 and is a full-service technology company specialising in developing innovative, engaging and cost-eﬀective mobile apps, as well as data analytics and consulting services. It’s been creating appropriate partnerships with enterprises that are obsessed with their customers and determined to be competitive. Its commitment and passion is to deliver strategic, innovative and targeted digital solutions using their team of experts with deep cross functional experience.

The team at Apptechnix are skilled and disciplined in their engineering practices, aiming to empower African businesses to grow market share by moving the right levers with customised digital solutions.