When it comes to driving innovation in today’s digital era, automation is a must. Only through automated processes will you be able to capitalize on the best ideas (while killing off the bad ones) and deliver products to market faster than the competition. The traditional use of manual processes, methodologies, and tools simply don’t hold up in the world of higher customer expectations and greater demand for products that deliver new value. Innovation is no longer about simply expanding product lines—it’s time to get automated.
“79% of strong innovators reported that they have properly digitized innovation processes, while only 29% of weak innovators made the same claim.” – Boston Consulting Group
As innovation is the lifeblood of an organization, it is also what drives digital transformation—it’s what will keep your organization on the map, so to speak. And while you may have the ability to select the right tech, products, or services to invest in, prioritize them, create plans, and start execution, your success hinges on how quickly you can turn them into revenue-producing items. To speed up your processes, you must equip your teams with the ability to deliver to the market on time. Let’s walk through a few tips on how you can get started. But first, catch up on parts one and two of this series below:
- Part 1: An Executive’s Guide to Measuring Digital Transformation
- Part 2: An Executives Guide to Delivering on Strategy in a Digitally Connected World
1) Absorb external information and shift your internal focus.
This means looking at competitive data, market trends, and customer feedback to determine what customers really want. Use the information to not only create better products that best meet customer needs, but to deliver them before the competition.
Internally, shift your focus to creating room and budget for innovation, embracing risk, and failing fast. Only then will you have a shot of standing out from the competition and possibly capturing first-mover advantages. According to Forbes, “failing fast is one of the most important elements of success in today’s quick-moving digital transformation environment.”
2) Synthesize all data in order to choose and manage the right ideas.
Spreadsheets are where good ideas go to die, and the bad ideas continue to linger. By automating your internal innovation processes, you’ll be able to deliver new, connected products and supporting services, while also more effectively managing innovations as they move through the pipeline.
With all of your data in one place, you’ll receive the benefits of:
- Improving operating margins by reducing costs and increasing revenue growth;
- Saving time, money, and your reputation by killing poor products faster and earlier in the commercialization process; and
- Delivering more innovative and profitable products to market faster.
3) Start working smarter, not harder.
Too many organizations continue to operate under the banner of “work harder, not smarter,” and it is costing them dearly. It’s nearly impossible to generate the speed of innovation necessary in today’s digital era when relying on manual and antiquated processes, tools, and methodologies.
Instead, organizations need to leverage forward-thinking talent, equipped with automated tools, to create consistent, repeatable delivery of products and improve time-to-market. Only then will they have the ability to reduce the costs of delays, rework, and redesign, deliver transformation projects faster, and identify and mitigate issues and risks before they impact product delivery.
With the right tools, your organization can be the master of the market.
Once you update and automate your digital transformation processes and tools, you will increase your organization’s chances of gaining first mover advantages with higher price points. You’ll have the capability to deliver products on time, have fewer setbacks (which equals higher profits), and satisfy your shareholders, all with the help of automation.
For more information on how you can conquer the competition in the world of digital transformation, check out the eBook, “Deliver Your Digital Transformation Strategy at Speed: An Executive Guide,” and visit www.planview.com to demo a few of the solutions that can help you get started today.
To learn more, continue reading the next parts of this series, listed below:
- Part 4: An Executive’s Guide to Making Informed Investment Decisions
- Part 5: An Executive’s Guide to Executing Faster and Increasing Productivity
- Part 6: An Executive’s Guide to Business Transformation
