“If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always gotten.” – Henry Ford
If anyone knew about innovation, it was Henry Ford. Born on July 30th, 1863, Henry Ford was destined for greatness. At the early age of 15, he received a pocket watch from his father which he promptly took apart and reassembled. His ability to understand mechanics left him dissatisfied with the farm work of his parents, and led him to work in the much more industrial city of Detroit. From operating and servicing steam engines, to achieving the position of Chief Engineer at Edison Illuminating Company, he had a knack for innovation. However as most of us know, his true passion was in the development of the world’s first ‘horseless carriage’. With the encouragement of his boss, Thomas Edison and after developing various models over the years; Henry Ford introduced the first Model T in 1908.
However, more than inventing what we have now come to call a ‘car’, Henry Ford was better known as being a visionary. He wanted to mass produce vehicles that were easy to drive and inexpensive to repair. As he grew his company he not only developed the assembly line, but he maintained a commitment to paying good wages in order to have and keep the most qualified employees, and even offered profit sharing to those with longevity.
In today’s time, our fluctuating economic situation combined with immense strides in continued innovation, require each one of us to be just as strategically thoughtful as Henry Ford. Gone are the days when we can simply do business as usual. With the convergence of new technology in regards to the business intelligence, social media, the cloud, and mobile apps; business owners need to have the systems and processes in place to not only keep up, but to move ahead of their competition.
What do you need to support your company’s vision?
- Faster reactions to:
- New product and delivery requirements
- Customer requests, responses, and online complaints
- An expanding global marketplace
- Streamlined processes allowing you to:
- Conduct business in new ways
- Work as efficiently as possible without necessarily being tied down to a desk
- Access appropriate data from anywhere, securely
- Maintain constant awareness of tasks and alerts
- Better real-time data access so you can:
- Identify trends
- Maintain appropriate stock levels
- Generate meaningful reports identifying exact data you need to see
- Make more informed decisions
You may be asking, how these kinds of fast reactions, streamlined processes and real-time data access can be accomplished? The answer is, through properly deploying the appropriate combination of software applications for your business. For example, if you currently have a properly configured ERP System such Sage 100 ERP (formerly known as Sage ERP MAS 90 / Sage ERP MAS 200); but you need to cost effectively improve your sales and customer data, you may consider implementing an integrated cloud-based CRM application. Furthering your company’s commitment to an innovative process may also include: implementing a BI solution, or mobile strategy; integrating social media into your business model; or adding an inventory control solution to assist you in streamlining your warehouse process.
There are numerous technology options available to assist you in your commitment to continuous improvement. Leveraging new technologies to support your business process is one of the very best ways to improve efficiencies, streamline business processes, and achieve the desired end result – happy CFO’s and happy customers.
If you are interested in learning more about which technology is right for your company, please contact us today. We would be happy to provide a consultation to learn more about your unique requirements and help you identify the best options for you.