The process for sourcing technology for your business is exactly the same as sourcing technology for your home and personal life and can be done in 3 steps.
Step 1 – What is your need?
Instead of worrying about ‘techie’ issues like which computer and software you need first think about what your business needs, and then prioritise. For example:
- Do you need to monitor sales, stay on top of production, ensure high levels of customer satisfaction?
- Do you need to understand costs and profitability?
- Do you need to generate more sales leads?
Once you’ve defined your priorities, the next step doesn’t involve technology either.
Step 2 – What are you managing?
In this step you need to figure out the processes, people and information that you want to manage.
On a whiteboard, or with pen, paper and plenty of different coloured sticky notes, lay out the steps of the process. Jot down what information should be captured at each stage, and who is responsible.
Step 3 – What are your KPI’s?
Finally, in step 3 you need to highlight the key information that helps you make decisions.
For example, costs, margins, volumes, lead times etc. Remember, they are KEY performance indicators so keep it small.
Now that you have a picture of your business process, you are in command of the situation. You now have the power to examine alternatives, without fear of confusion.
Keep it simple
Your business operation might require simple paper forms, a spreadsheet, some basic software, or something more tailored.
In many cases it is highly recommended to implement a simple paper or spreadsheet system to test your process, and ensure you are capturing the correct information.
Whichever ‘technology’ you choose you are in control.
Has thinking about how to source technology for your business made you want to improve how you manage it? Read our articles below to get more tips and advice on how to improve your business.
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