Digital innovation in SMEs
Digital innovation… You see AI, robots, data mining and more such cries coming up more and more often. What is an average SME supposed to do with this? What exactly is digital innovation? Does it really involve shaking up the entire organization? In this blog, we explore this further.
“Digital innovation is the application of digital technology to improve various aspects and processes of the business, drive growth and increase overall efficiency.”(AcceptMission.com)
Digital innovation, improving through digitization
Digitization and innovation are not inseparable. By digitization, for example, you think of replacing paper registration forms with a digital form. If this means that the data has now changed from writing to a digital form, you haven’t improved much. Recording registrations in Excel, for example, is still seen in many organizations. However, this does not make the business process more efficient.
Major digital innovations are changing the world
An innovation is characterized by a change in working methods. Major innovations sometimes result in completely new business models.
A practical example is the use of the app at IKEA where you can try out different furniture in your own home from the comfort of your armchair, or the retail chain PicNic which, through far-reaching automation, delivers products to you from its App while monitoring warehouse inventories. These types of digital innovations are made possible by advanced technologies, but will not be deployed at a typical SME organization.
Small digital innovations increase efficiency
For SME organizations, it is often precisely about deploying more approachable solutions. This enables them to make changes in their operations, making them more effective. For example, consider using a tablet to perform inspections, with the results automatically saved and reported.
Or to digital forms, which with workflow managementtechnique, send information automatically through the organization to the right person to follow up or handle. By using digital techniques, one is able to execute the existing business process more effectively. However, this digital transformation must be carefully managed.
People make the difference
“A fool with an IT tool is still a fool”
Digital innovation is something you do together. In fact, within many organizations there is a great deal of knowledge among the employees responsible for implementing the process. This often involves cleverness that you will miss if you try to manage digital innovation from your office. Therefore, involve employees early on and make them part of the intended solution. It ultimately delivers the best results and it also increases support during implementation.
At our client Falcker, digital innovation is being used to transform industrial inspections, significantly improving the efficiency and accuracy of storage tank and pipeline inspections. Read more in the customer case.
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