Do you think that some of your competition has a competitive advantage because their sales teams are processing projects via the Web on tablets? If they are able to start and/or update any project information, find the current stage of any task and also review any project’s schedule, all without calling someone on the phone or waiting on an e-mail, then the answer is yes, they do have a big advantage over you if you are not able to do these as well.
Ask your sales team and other employees how much time is wasted during any given day because they are searching for information that is not at their fingertips. Most employees waste a lot of time every day trying to contact someone to get simple answers such as a reliable scheduled delivery date. And yes, many of your competitors have figured out that with modern technology, your existing staff (not just the sales team) can be a whole lot more productive if everything is live on the cloud (Web) and accessible with any user rights limitations via any Web browser (computer, tablet or cell phone).
So how do you implement a cloud-based communication system to fix this information breakdown that your company may be experiencing? Well, there are multiple ways with different levels of needed money and effort.
The all-too-common method is hiring expensive coders and/or IT gurus who claim, “I can get all of that done for you in-house in about 6 months to a year. No problem!” If you speak with anyone who has gone the coding-in-house route, you will hear a common-repeated phrase of the number 3. Whatever cost and amount of time they tell you, multiply it by 3 and it will be somewhere close to that number to have something resembling what you requested. And the other thing you must keep in mind is that all IT/coders are mechanical gurus who know how to create and fix the coding, but very few understand easy-to-use user interface issues. Another version of the same IT gurus is that they will use a hodgepodge of different software programs semi-bundled together to solve different tasks. In the end, both these methods end up with hard-to-use software not doing everything it was meant to provide, and only the IT/coder knows how to keep everything running, which is a formula for disaster.
You don’t have to reinvent the wheel and hire expensive coders and IT gurus. Nor do you need to do away with all of your current project processing forms so that the transition can be much easier to move to the Web. Imagine how much easier it would be if you were to use your existing forms that everyone is already familiar with and have those same form designs as the user interface that is displayed in Web browsers. Once any information is keyed into the system on one of the forms, it propagates throughout the project processes so that there is no multiple inputting of the same information.
Requirements that you should demand of your Web-based software communications system:
- Project process forms (computer interface screens) designed to match your existing forms
- Create easy-to-follow project selection and product decision options to simplify everything (Idiot-proofing)
- Defined project defaults at all levels – Company, Customer, and Project
- Defined tasks to keep updates on any stage of any project
- E-mails, text and notes all linked to individual projects
- Schedules all linked and dependent upon the next process
- Any type of electronic document such as pictures and print PDF files
- Automated alerts, reminders and notifications via e-mail
- Salespeople, employees, vendors and even customers accessing the project information with limits based on user rights
So what is capable of doing all this? AppWright Web-based software. Normal cost is half that of an in-house IT guru or coder. AppWright is used daily by very large multi-location and small single-location lumberyards, component manufactures and home builders. Let AppWright build your cloud-based project processes. http://todd-drummond.com/appwright/