The First Thing About Going Digital Is Something Analog. Sounds Counterintuitive?
Being a business owner in Bangladesh is a daunting task. On one hand, you’re trying to maximize your sales, and on the other hand, you’re trying to run a tight, well-managed ship. Chances are, you have a small core team beyond whom you cannot really delegate much. You have heard that “digitization/automation/technology” might help in this regard. You might or might not have even tried a thing or two to automate your processes so that you can focus on making more profit for yourself and your company. However, you are either unsure whether this “automation” thing will work or you’re quite sure that it won’t work because you have tried to do it once and it was a massive failure. Instead of saving you your time, money, or energy, it had become a headache of your own, adding to the overwhelmed situation you were already in. Whichever category you belong to, this article is for you where we are going to tell you that you probably got the first order of the (automation) business wrong: Going digital is less about digital and more about something analog. We call that analog something “process”.
Based on our extensive experience of owning, running, and working with automations for Bangladeshi and international businesses, we argue that the foundation to a successful digitization/automation that makes you money is a “solid manual process” that has been around for months if not years and documented before the digitization process even starts.
Founders Should Build a Solid Manual Process First, Here’s Why
You’ve probably heard the term “process” thrown around, but what does it really mean for your business? In simple terms, a process is the way your business operates. It’s what you wake up in the morning to follow every day so that your operations are running smoothly. Problem is, many of our native owners stay under the illusion of having a ‘process’, instead what they have is a random task heavy day. Having a load of tasks is not an issue, in fact, a long list of tasks is a step towards achieving structure. But If the day to day process is disorganized or lacks clear structure, then no amount of technology can save your business from chaos.
From our own experience, One of our clients approached us with a business problem that seemed vague and generic at first. They are a real estate marketing company based in UAE. Their problem was not the database of leads, or lack of potential clients. They had all that, but as their business was scaling up, so was the complexity of their operation and management. Then they had the realization of having a ‘digital process’ in order to save time and increase work efficiency. And this is where they made their first mistake. They hired a ‘Freelance Dev’ to automate their working process. Long story short, it failed! Why? Because the dev didn’t care much and didn’t have the necessary skills to ask relevant questions, he focused more on the small tasks rather than the whole project. This is a recipe for disaster and as reality dictates, the events followed exactly that. They ended up burning time and money with an unfinished product they couldn’t use.
There is a fundamental question to ask,
- Was the dev not skilled enough?
- Did the company have a clear vision or process of how to tackle this rising complexity?
Our answer is, the developer had the coding skill he needed but lacked the necessary business skill for project management. The company didn’t have a process mapped on pen and paper with a clear agenda to follow this process manually until it became a part of their operational DNA. They jumped straight onto digitization, and this almost never works. Never!
Our consulting company did solve their problem later on, how? That is a story for another day. Today, I want to drive this point home that, ‘Digitization is an enhancer, it is not an enabler. So, be manual first.’
Clarity is crucial, This is Your Step One
Before jumping into complex software and digital solutions, you need a clear understanding of how your business operates. How do you currently keep track of orders? How are inventory levels updated? How are customers being served and engaged? If you don’t know the answers to these basic questions, it’s going to be difficult for you or anyone on your team to operate the business efficiently, let alone integrate a digital system into the mix.
Having a manual process in place forces you to sit down and think about every step in your operations. It’s about understanding where things are going wrong before trying to fix them with technology. You’ll find inefficiencies and bottlenecks that need to be addressed before any tech can improve them. This is the first step toward getting your business on track for digital transformation.
McKinsey Case Study: A 2018 McKinsey report highlights that companies that first establish strong operational processes see up to 20% better results when adopting digital tools. The report notes that many businesses rush to digital without first understanding their current operations, leading to wasted resources and missed opportunities.
You can find the parallel drawn here with our own case study we mentioned earlier. They couldn’t get to a stable business until we helped them map their operational process first and then went onto digitizing the process. It did wonders for them.
Step Two is Enforcing the Process, Till it Becomes a Habit Within The Organization
Many entrepreneurs, especially those who are struggling, might think that writing down a process that just works on paper is going to help them move forward. We often see large companies run under an ‘agreed upon’ system that no one follows. I argue that a process becomes a habit in the organization once someone stays responsible for enforcing this and carefully chalks out all the stakeholders who are supposed to be the part of this process.
Consider a mid sized business that moves quickly to implement a CRM system to manage customer data. However, the business doesn’t have a standardized way of collecting or organizing customer information manually. The haphazard implementation of this CRM then becomes cluttered with incomplete or inconsistent data, making it harder for the business to see trends and engage with customers effectively. The problem isn’t the technology; it’s that the system wasn’t in practice beforehand.
Set KPIs, measure how a process is being received by the employees. Adjust and advance. I am a strong believer of this statement — ‘What gets measured, gets managed’.
The Changes You will Start to Notice Eventually
Increase of Control and Predictability
When you have a manual process that’s clear and consistent, you are in full control. You know how things are being done, where problems are likely to arise, and can plan your next steps. This predictability sets the stage for you to adopt digital tools that will only enhance your operations.
Ability to Take Mature Technology Decisions
When you start with a solid manual process, digital tools like ERP systems, Factory Automation, and Compliance Management Software can be introduced without disrupting the flow of work. Technology becomes an enhancer, not a disruptor. When you understand how things should work, you can implement tools that support that process.
BCG (Boston Consulting Group) Case Study: BCG highlights a case where a leading retailer adopted an automated inventory management system after first establishing clear inventory protocols. This resulted in 30% less stock wastage and improved the customer experience. The study concluded that systems and processes must be ironed out before digital tools are integrated to ensure they are useful and cost-effective.
Reference: https://www.bcg.com/industries/retail/overview
Adjusting to the Reality of Bangladeshi Entrepreneurs
The bulk of the businesses in the first world countries are moving into digital for better or worse. But let’s face reality, as Bangladeshis we can not just put ourselves in their shoes and join the wagon, because our context of doing business is different, challenges are different. Adding an unplanned digitization on top of such inherent challenges is going to add a lot of burden.
In such cases, the founder needs to sit back and take the role of a master planner who uses pen and paper to chalk out every single operation. Then meticulously force his team to follow his process with simple manual tools until it becomes their habit.
How so? We can not stress it enough how important it is to plan ahead your digitization efforts. Going digital starts with the ‘Going’, and that includes finding out how your intended area of business ‘really’ operates. Standard processes may not always be suitable for different practical reasons. So finding out how much your process deviates from the standard practices is very important. Also find out who are the stakeholders, who does what in your system, set identifiers to measure their performance. You see we are using a lot of ‘you’ in there, this is crucial. As a founder, heavy lifting has to be done by yourself first, you need to push yourself to the daily mechanics of measuring, setting, documenting and following. If this fails, the rest will fall apart too. If you can do this on repeat for long enough you will see areas of improvements in your process, the data will speak to you, they always do. Do what needs to be done for those improvements and as time passes by you will see that the process you made has already become a habit to your stakeholders, employees and to you. Congratulations, you have finally established a solid manual process for your department and you are on the right direction for a ‘Planned Digitization’.
For moving into digitization, do your research and find experts who can help you navigate this area. Finding and choosing the right partner who can help you solve this implementation part is tricky. Not everyone in the market possesses the skill of corporate tech implementation. This is also a story for another day, but let us throw in a direction here — avoid companies who promise you to deliver the job with an unbelievably low price. Always check how the technical contact person is thinking about solving your problem, are they asking you the relevant questions? Is their team large enough? Ask them to explain to you a case study where they solved a business problem with tech, ask them what was the result of their implementation. There are more. But if you are going in this direction, the chances of you choosing the right development team gets much higher.
Finally, you will negotiate on the price that is given. But whenever you are at this stage, keep one thing in mind, Tech is expensive. Setting a hard line on a really low budget is only going to attract you vendors who are there to grab the cash and do a so-so job. If your budget is tight, communicate clearly with the right vendor. Maybe going all digital is not the optimal way, semi digital is fine for your budget. Go for it. Do not fall for cheap, we stress again, look for quality.
To finish up, we have made it clear enough that starting with a clear, strong manual process is essential before you even think about going digital. It’s the groundwork that will allow you to leverage the full potential of digital efforts. Without it, you’re not just adding complexity to your business, you’re setting yourself up for a lot of headaches. Once your manual processes are in place, following them consistently will make your eventual digital transformation smoother, faster, and much more effective. This is how you go for planned digitization.
So, take the time to get your foundation right first. Plan first, the digitization will follow. And your business will benefit from the clarity, efficiency, and growth that come with them. Just like a solid recipe is key to a perfect dish, a strong system is key to building a successful, profitable business.