Why does your company need a lean digital transformation?
Lately, the importance of digital transformation has been an omnipresent topic in corporate conversations. Its relevance to business competitiveness was felt and amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Business models that were compatible with digital formats gained prominence, and those that were not had to adapt to survive. A strong indication of this is that in 2020 we saw a 30% increase in clients seeking to start or leverage their digital journeys compared with the previous year.
How can we keep delivering value to the customer in this new context? Can the current operation deliver digital demands with agility and in a sustainable way? Are technology investments achieving their initial objectives? Is the expected return being achieved?
The questions above arise as a consequence of the new scenario. Beyond the effects of the pandemic: the speed of changes in customer behavior and, consequently, in corporate environments requires companies to continuously transform the way they work and think. To keep thriving in the face of uncertainty, companies seek to begin their digital transformation journeys.
There are many approaches and conceptual nuances when it comes to this topic. A simple internet search points in completely different directions. The range of subjects goes from data-driven marketing to the internet of things. From app development and omnichannel platforms to artificial intelligence. From business intelligence to augmented virtual reality. From big data to agile methods.
The approaches are diverse because the nature of the problems is also diverse. In the not-too-distant past, the problems that called for digital transformation originated in operations: process robotization or the development of technological tools to increase day-to-day performance, for example. As it accelerated, digital transformation took on a more strategic character, since it became essential for business.
The digital transformation journey must start lean
When it comes to ensuring that operations are connected to strategy and that technology is used to solve the right problem, the lean digital transformation approach is the one needed. This approach proposes the transformation process as a journey that begins with the elimination of waste in a systemic and innovative way, enables the definition of on-target strategies and uses appropriate methods and tools, always keeping the customer experience at the center of its improvements.
Lean thinking is a fundamental element in this process, since it guides the transformations from the analog to the digital world so as to ensure continuous delivery of value to the end customer. This thinking is the basis for a management system whose essence is the ability to continuously eliminate waste and solve problems systematically. This means rethinking the way we lead, manage and develop people. We therefore believe that starting the journey with stabilized and structured processes (something that is possible with lean) favors a robust digital transformation and is fundamental to ensuring success.
Customers’ needs and behavior change constantly, and such changes of course call for agility in responding. The impact of this is felt from end to end of the company, from the development of new products to the delivery of value to the end customer, and it runs through all areas of the company.
More than just changing along with them, it is necessary to ensure that these changes generate organizational learning. To be able to adapt and react with agility, lean digital transformation proposes well-defined Lean-Agile governance, which provides and sustains a simple, resilient organizational structure that is adaptable to the market.
We propose using disruptive technologies as an accelerator and lever for these transformations. The appropriate and conscious use of technology at all the different stages of lean digital transformation exponentially accelerates the organization’s results and strategic objectives, focusing on the two main pillars: operational efficiency and sustaining improvements.
For example, the understanding of behavior patterns that Data Science provides helps in management and decision-making. RPA (Robotic Process Automation), in turn, as well as other tools that accelerate value delivery, contributes to increasing operational efficiency and to developing new products and services.
All this without losing sight of a sustainable approach that ensures customer satisfaction. It is not enough, for example, to use RPA in a process that has not been refined beforehand. Without standards, chaos will be automated, and in the end the disruptive technology will generate more harm than positive results.
The lean digital transformation journey, therefore, sets out to make the best use of technology, deliver value with agility and eliminate waste in an innovative, collaborative and sustainable way. The result is an absolute improvement in the customer experience and the opening of doors to discovery, including ways of generating revenue not yet imagined.
Discover our lean digital consulting: a strategic approach that helps your company extract maximum value from technology, accelerate deliveries, eliminate waste and create innovative, collaborative and sustainable solutions, always focused on the best customer experience. Visit and check it out!
