Businesses today are undertaking digital transformations, rethinking what customers value most and creating operating models that take advantage of what's newly possible for competitive differentiation. The challenge for business is how fast and how far to go.
How can businesses best respond to this shift? How can they take advantage of the opportunity to innovate, differentiate and grow? And how can they do all this cost efficiently, leveraging and optimizing the newest information technologies as part of their overall physical operations?
The best path for a particular company will of course depends on its strategic objectives, competitive pressures and customer expectations. In industries where the product is mostly physical, such as minerals and mining, companies may want to begin digital transformation with operations. In others, such as financial services where new revenue-based services can be offered online and through mobile devices, an initial focus on the customer value proposition can provide more immediate benefits.
What creates value varies from customer to customer. Some customers may value intangible benefits such as design or personalized products and services, while others may value tangible benefits like speed of service or price. Due to IT, some companies within the service industry have been able to leverage the technology to go from simple webpages, providing one type of information, to complex integrated e-markets, fulfilling a wide range of customer needs. For example, the tourism industry is a case in point, using various platforms to provide all the information travelers need.
IT also makes it possible to supply customers with additional, up-to-date information on, e.g., products, availability, customization possibilities, and price. One of the best examples is Dell and their use of IT, which facilitates contact with customer segments, and makes it easier for Dell to provide customer segments with different value propositions. Customers have the added value of being able to customize their PCs. Dell can provide them with timely and personalized customer service, and customers can track order status 24-7. Third, IT supports supply chain management, helping Dell to keep track of partners, which lowers operating costs and in the end product prices. Furthermore, IT solutions make cost reductions possible, not just on the consumer market, but also in terms of operational costs within the company and at suppliers’ production facilities. Innovations such as biometrics are helping to reduce costs. They also add value in the form of enhanced security from a consumer standpoint.
Digital is now firmly embedded in every business. Several technologies underpin today's smart factory. The cloud enables new levels of scalability, flexibility and responsiveness. Analytics and big data allow insights to be derived in real time from massive volumes of data. "Connected everything" creates new ways of automated and personal interaction.
At HARMAN, we deliver next generation of consumer and enterprise experiences at the convergence of design, data and devices. We don’t just help you build software. We help you deliver that holistic experience to your customers – through the convergence of digital cross channel user experience, cloud, mobility, insightful data, and internet-of-things backed by scalable underlying IT platforms and helping you drive your innovations to the market faster.
Our focus is clearly on being a transformation partner to clients for high value-add, complex initiatives, spanning the development of digital strategies to implementing digital technologies and running digital processes. We help CIOs reduce 15% of the cost while racing ahead of the clock to be ready for a digital world. With industry-rich functionality delivered in the cloud, organizations get greater scale, flexibility and agility on demand without the need for investing upfront.
No matter where you are in your digital journey, we can help you achieve digital excellence-much before your competition does. Want to know more about how HARMAN can help your business embark on a successful digital transformation journey? Sign up for our workshop.
