In this article we want to share with you the importance of committing to a software optimization programme, so that you can make the most of your technology investments and digitize your business as much as possible.
This is pretty important to do right now because if 2020 has taught us anything, it's that our companies need to be agile. No matter what happens, we need to have things in place so that we can always access the important data that we have in our business, and to carry on engaging with our customers, no matter where we are located. What that essentially means is that we all have to move away from manual processes (particularly ones that use paper) and move them into software instead. It also means connecting all that software together, so that information is shared across departments and everyone knows what’s going on in the rest of the company.
So how do you go about doing that? Take a look at these 5 steps you can follow to kickstart your software optimization project.
For your project to succeed, it’s imperative you have the right group of people involved. We’ve covered these in more detail in our article “Key Roles Printers Need for Industry 4.0”, but basically there are 3 main people you need in your project team.
In addition to your 3 key people above, you need to add some more people to your software optimization team, because you need representation from every function of your business. You’ll definitely need someone from customer services, estimating, prepress and production as a minimum, but you may also want to include scheduling, dispatch and even accounting - it entirely depends on your requirements and the software applications you use. The Executor, who will have a broad operational knowledge of the business, should make a judgment call on this. The point is that every person on the team should have in depth knowledge of their respective area and so will know what information they require to contribute to the project and make everyone’s job easier. When choosing these team members, you should try and identify those with:
The first thing your software optimization team needs to do is to hold a Project Kick Off meeting. Ask members to prepare for the meeting by identifying some processes within their department that they think could be improved.
Ask yourselves…
During the meeting, here’s an agenda of what they should discuss:
Your project will run like any other project, by assigning tasks, responsibilities and deadlines to your team members. But it’s worth bearing in mind:
The key here is to make your meetings regular, so add them into diaries months in advance, make it clear that attendance is mandatory and don’t accept flimsy excuses for not attending!
By following these 5 steps – creating a software optimization team that consists of the right people and holding regular meetings with clear objectives – you’ll be able to deliver a successful software optimization project that runs smoothly and keeps you committed to continuous improvement.