How to Know If Operations Software is a “Good Fit” For Your Business | Go Evo
Operations management is a business function that’s important regardless of organization size, industry, products sold, or services rendered. Business operations involve planning, organizing, coordinating, and controlling resources and can include managing people, equipment, technology, information, and external resources. All of this can be extremely difficult to neatly tie into one overarching process or workflow.
Operations managers are the bridge between all business processes and if these processes are too cumbersome, manual, or disjointed, it can make seeing the bigger picture difficult. Investment in operations software is one way businesses can help clean up process bottlenecks and get better visibility of company assets and workflow in order to make larger business decisions. If you’re wondering if it’s time to invest in operations software, here are some of the signs you might be right:
Your Processes Aren’t Well Defined
Process mapping is tedious. The average organization has 10-12 business systems operating at the same time, all with multiple ongoing processes. The task of documenting and streamlining these processes can be overwhelming and takes considerable time and attention, but it is vital to the overall success of a business.
Operations software implementation involves defining your processes and procedures, setting timelines, assigning responsibilities, and putting thought into how your organization works on a granular level. Although this work can take time, once your processes are replicated in operations software they can be adjusted, optimized, and updated easily. Plus, you will have valuable data at your fingertips to help you make operational decisions.
You Don’t Have Full Visibility Into Your Assets
Have your technicians gone to make a repair only to find out their equipment is broken or misplaced? Does it take far too much time to manage inventory or locate assets? One of the key advantages of operations technology is real-time access to detailed information on each and every one of your assets.
Lost assets equal a lost investment. The easiest way to avoid asset mismanagement is by investing in tools that can help make it simple to track and update asset statuses without adding a burden to their workday. If you have limited visibility into your assets outside of quarterly or annual inventories you should consider operations software with asset tracking capabilities.
You’re Constantly Tracking Down Paperwork
Too many businesses are still using manual paper-based processes to complete their day to day work. Waiting for paper to cross someone’s desk can mean you are always playing catch-up and run the risk of human error, lost paperwork, or having to double back for additional information. The COVID-19 crisis has made manual processes even more tedious as businesses have had to look to quickly automate procedures like employee screening and increased digital communication.
The minute you start chasing down paperwork you are losing time and money. Daily workflow management systems and operations tools can help to eliminate manual forms and keep accurate records digitally taking paperwork out of the equation.
You Have a Hard Time Pinpointing Bottlenecks
You may know that a certain aspect of your business is slower than others or that you get more complaints from a certain department but it may be difficult to see where processes need changing or what would have the most impact. If this is the case, operations software can be used for just this purpose.
Strong operations technology takes all its inputs and allows administrators to see where timelines are being stretched, resources are lacking, or improvement is needed. All of this valuable information helps organizations make key data-based decisions that can lead to significant operational improvements.
You Find it Difficult to Give Strong Timelines for Work Completion
In service-based organizations, it can be vital to customer service to give accurate and timely information on when work will be completed. Without real-time feedback from the field or your internal team, it can be difficult to provide timelines to both management and your customers.
Field service management and work order tracking are two crucial aspects of operations software to consider if you struggle with estimating work completion or are still using paper-based processes.
If you are struggling with any of these operations hurdles you aren’t alone. The up-front work of detailing processes and optimizing them might seem like a daunting task but operations software is designed to help. Not sure where to start? Our experts are here to help!