Many companies find their legacy system is not able to keep up:
- After long wait times
- Putting band aids on processes
- Not prepared for the growth they are now experiencing
- Too many time consuming processes causing logjams which kills productivity
- Frustrated customers with time constraints
Most customers don’t wait around for processes to be fixed. They look elsewhere for a partner with a better technology solution that can support their needs in the timeframe they require. Where can a company begin to understand what is killing productivity, solving operations back-log and key concerns for customers and sales?
Many are solely focused on working through manual processes. Many are using an outdated legacy system because:
- Too costly
- Time-consuming
Here are two big reasons to re-think those assumptions.
If the processing time for customer facing activities are well below standard expectations, this sends a clear message of:
- First – your company isn’t investing in the future.
- Second – Not interested in growing with them.
Why wait until customers are dissatisfied? A key factor for getting rid of productivity killers is growth for their business. They need support for new and existing customers and their needs for today and future growth.
Many companies realize that automating basic tasks and within existing workflows are critical to customer satisfaction and improving productivity. Many fall short and find that one day they have 12-20% attrition. The time to be thinking about a system or platform upgrade is before customers become frustrated with turnaround and process time. If a company waits, the slow decline of customer satisfaction begins and is not the time anyone should be starting the process of upgrading their platform. This is now going to be an uphill climb. That process should have begun long before now. It is a real possibility that existing customers may not wait until the processes are improved. They need and want to see the impact now.
Be the agile partner your customers need.
Being an agile partner to your customers will bring efficiencies that can drive customer loyalty. Without automation and workflow improvements, those productivity killers will continue to plague any partner-customer relationship.
When considering all processes that kill productivity, it should be noted that just simply acknowledging there is inequity in the current state of operations – is a great starting point. Many conversations will begin with those in direct line of sight for all manual processes. These will happen prior to uncovering the workflow concerns that everyone is endeavoring to solve. Once uncovered, the workflow issues can be fully understood and mapped.
Focusing on the people aspect first, then the workflow processes will assure a successful understanding by all those involved during the discovery process. Who and what it affects both internally and externally needs to be completely vetted, so no person or process is left behind. Once the broad picture is created and a full grasp of the current legacy system is vetted and where it is falling short, only then can it be determined where to go next.
Manual processes are the main problems in the equipment and asset finance industry. Many businesses wait until the pain is so great, then they begin the search for a solution.
So, putting off a platform update is the least effective decision. Waiting only makes the impact greater. It’s time for decisive action.
