Recessions, financial crashes, and other difficult economic conditions are nothing new. Businesses always have to navigate challenging times to survive.
However, recently, the global pandemic, geopolitical tensions and resulting economic crisis have brought inflation to the forefront of our agenda.
Business leaders face many challenges, from staff shortages to supply chain issues and more. These inefficiencies drive up the prices of everything from goods to goods and services – and that’s where inflation comes from.
It’s a tricky time to navigate. However, for businesses willing to think outside the box, dealing with inflation can actually present a surprising opportunity. After all, organizations that survive crises often come out the other side stronger.
Changing your view on inflation
The first thing we need to do is turn the way we look at inflation on its head.
We have been conditioned to think of inflation as an outright negative. And while this won’t be an entirely positive thing, it’s also a natural part of our current economic cycle, and it’s somewhat expected for now.
Throughout history, whenever we’ve seen pent-up demand – as we did during the COVID-19 pandemic – or expansive monetary policies, we’ve seen inflation follow.
Costs are rising. However, that does not mean that our businesses should act rashly and stop spending, above all on innovation. History has shown us that without innovation, businesses often struggle to maintain a competitive advantage within their industry.
High inflation also means it’s a bad time to hold money. In fact, in times of high inflation, it’s a really good idea to invest in high ROI projects with a short payback window.
The truth is, inflation is going to happen all around us no matter what we do, as individuals. So, we need to change our perspective and act according to the circumstances we face.
This means that nowadays, efficiency is important.
Arguably this is the perfect time to review your work processes, streamline the way you work, invest in tools that allow you to do your best work, and be stronger for the future, even in challenging times. And, the key to doing this successfully is in the technology.
How can technology help?
To perform best in an inflationary climate, businesses need to be two things: nimble and efficient.
Staying nimble allows you to adapt, reroute, and shift your course as and when necessary. Efficiency is also important to ensure you’re not wasting valuable time and resources on your day-to-day business processes — maximizing the output of your employee base is the most important thing any company can do in high inflation environments.
The way to achieve both these things is through digitization.
Modern digital platforms allow you to put everything you need to see in one easily accessible place. The result? You get a clear view of all your assets, your inventory, operations, supply chain, and more.
Imagine you are a manufacturer. To keep track of what’s going on, you need a full end-to-end view of your own operations, so you can easily answer questions like ‘Who am I paying and when? And when will I be paid?’
Furthermore, you also need a full view of your supplier’s operations.
By investing in a modern platform that allows you to hold all of this information in one place, you can quickly identify (and resolve) problem areas.
This is exactly what the pharmaceutical company Astellas did, with the help of ServiceNow. Senior director of digital architecture and solutions, Paul Mukherjee explained:
As a company, we outsource a lot, which means our management processes with our partners are very complex. We used to have to fill out multiple tabs on an Excel sheet and then email it around, email it to different parties. And you will never fully know its status.”
To solve this and avoid unnecessary delays or confusion, Astellas implemented a simple workflow solution using ServiceNow. Mukherjee added:
It takes all the pain out of the process. Now, what we’re trying to do is automate the things that can be automated, allowing our people to focus on the things that only people can do. You can basically say, all this boring stuff, which is repetitive, you don’t need to do that. The interesting stuff where you really have to apply some real intelligence to it and brains, that’s what you can focus on.
Not to mention, this level of clarity helps you determine which manual processes in place can or should be automated, freeing up valuable time and resources, which can then be allocated elsewhere.
Digitization can also be a game changer when it comes to customer service.
With prices rising across the board, customer service will be a key differentiator for consumers. Those who excel at offering great service are more likely to find their customers to remain loyal in the face of inflation, meaning it’s more important than ever to get it right.
With workflow technology, you can digitize all parts of the customer service process, eliminating unnecessary paper trails, providing greater visibility into who your customers are, when they were last buy from you, or even if they have any feedback on the process. You can also provide faster and more consistent service overall.
This type of digital recall ultimately brings you closer to the customer and allows you to improve processes where possible.
Taking the opportunity to re-evaluate your processes
In our current inflationary landscape, you, as a business leader, have two choices.
You can allow inflation to happen around you and try your best to get by with what you have. Or, you can lean into it, and invest in tools that will help you turn this into an opportunity to operate more efficiently, accelerate innovation and outperform your competitors in these challenging times.
With the right equipment, businesses can sail smoothly through 2022 and beyond, become more agile, better prepared for future challenges, and learn to adapt together the natural fluctuations of our economy, rather than fighting them.
.