Digital Transformation in Management: Harnessing Technology for Success

What do you mean by digital transformation in management?

Digital transformation refers to using digital technologies to create and modify the existing business processes, customer experiences and culture, and this is done to meet the market demands and the changing business environments. This transformation of business is known as digital transformation. It goes beyond conventional roles such as sales, customer service and marketing. Digital transformation is imperative for all businesses (Crișan and Marincean, 2023). In other words, digital transformation is regarded as a cultural change that demands the organisation to change persistently and get comfortable with the opportunities and challenges.

Importance of digital transformation

To remain competitive in the changing technological landscape, digital transformation has become essential for all businesses. In the present years, a rapid transformation has been noticed in the business world as all the companies are adapting to emerging technologies to streamline their operations and develop their triple bottom line (Appio et al. 2021). Those organisations will be the winner, capable of implementing technologies in their operations while restoring the best traditions, considering that six reasons necessitate digital transformation in the business.

• The expectations of customers have evolved with the emergence of digital transformation. Customers expect organisations to offer them seamless experiences across various channels.
• The efficiency of a business is improved with the incorporation of digital technology. This is because the process gets automated, productivity improves, and errors are reduced (Appio et al., 2022). For instance, adopting cloud-based solutions allows employees to access data and collaborate with others worldwide.
• Leveraging artificial technologies such as machine learning, artificial intelligence, IoT, and big data by the business helps them to gain a competitive advantage. As a result, businesses can gain insights into improved customer decision-making, customer behaviour and streamlining operations.
• Businesses are allowed to save costs with the help of digital transformation. For instance, the cost needed for workforce and streamlining processes is reduced. Adopting cloud storage also saves hardware costs and, thus, the requirement for physical storage.
• Digital transformation promotes enhanced security. Due to this, the business can protect their data from cyber-attack threats, reducing the risk of data breaches.
• Digital transformation enhances businesses’ agility; thus, businesses become mostly adaptable. They can quickly adapt to the changing market conditions and customers’ constantly changing needs. This helps the business acquire a competitive advantage over all the other businesses that are slower to adapt to new technologies.

Ways to harness digital transformation in businesses

Digital transformation in any business starts by setting a clear goal. There are a wide variety of ways by which digital technology can help in revolutionising various areas of the business. It helps in streamlining the work of various departments. All the financial operations can be automated, ranging from contacts and expenses to invoicing, which helps save businesses money and time. The digital application can make the project management programme more efficient. This is done by monitoring the present and upcoming project management (Ates and Acur, 2022). In addition, when the organisation’s key processes are automated, early detection of errors is also possible.
Digital transformation helps in increasing efficiency. For instance, one of the simplest digital solutions, such as the spreadsheet, has enabled organisations to store finance, staff efficiency and sales data. It also helped to maximise the team’s efficiency by enabling the employees to work from remote locations. Cloud technology, inexpensive storage rates and app integrations have made distance working possible.
Digital transformation is way more than developing the speed of operations and making them more efficient. Technological innovations have allowed businesses to collect and analyse customer data while offering them valuable insights for targeting specific demographics, re-engaging the earlier users and advertising the products before those consumers who share a similar interest (Ates and Acur, 2022). Thus, marketing strategies have been improved dramatically with the adoption of digital technologies.
Digital transformation also helps in effective and improved business decision-making. Innovation and risk-taking are encouraged by leaders who adhere to the advantages of digital transformation. After reviewing the company’s performance, the leaders practise their autonomy to make decisions and learn from their mistakes, adapting to the digital transformation.
Digital transformation helps in identifying the key opportunities that are needed for growth. In other words, the main goal of the digital transformation is disruption. The power to innovate is given by the latest technology (Ates and Acur, 2022). Thus, if the business leaders plan, they can create a new business model to help target the untapped business markets while extending the customer base.

The other ways by which businesses can harness digital technology for creating a human enterprise are discussed below:

• People have predicted that digital technologies such as AI and machine learning will displace jobs (Ates and Acur, 2022). However, if deployed carefully, AI can change the nature of work with the ability to reduce monotony and enhance fulfilment. For instance, EY finds ways to automate tasks that are repetitive so that they are made to focus on more stimulating tasks for creating long-term value. Today, an application known as the EY document Intelligence has reduced the time spent analysing the contract.
• Geography constrains the collaboration of the teams; even with the progress of digital technology, collaboration can be complex as it comprises partners, team members and vendors from different parts of the world. This creates a challenge for international businesses. Even for EY, this is also true; The organisation employs 284000 people in over 150 countries, facilitating better collaboration. As a result, they can introduce new technologies and about 80 per cent of their services are based on cloud technology.
• Digital technology can be harnessed by making the workplace more inclusive. This is because diverse teams are productive and innovative; they can bring positive outcomes to the organisation. However, there needs to be more diversity in the technological fields, and this change needs to be addressed. In addition, technological innovations do not show any signs of decelerating. As a result, the business will persist in facing the increasing pressure to leverage new technologies.

Organisations that embraced digital transformation

To exist in an industrial revolution era, organisations undergo digital transformations and harness innovative technologies for success. Below is the list of organisations that embraced digital transformations and prospered successfully:

• Porsche, famous for its best-quality cars, has been transforming the business using digitisation (Ates and Acur, 2022). This ranges from R&D to various types of software development projects that are mainly designed to get the feedback of the customers. To drive innovation, the company has launched Porshe Consulting Innovation Labs. This is a distinct entity that comprises software experts and technology. While using big data, IoT, machine learning, and blockchain, every team works hand in hand to achieve operational agility.
• Starbucks achieved a satisfactory result using Deep Brew, an AI-based tool (Ates and Acur, 2022). This solution is used for selecting the best locations, and it is helpful in analysing data such as competitor presence, traffic, population and income levels. After accumulating and processing all information, the AI tool is used in forecasting economic performance, profits and revenue. Due to the vast use of big data, the organisation has been increasing sales due to the optimisation menu. In addition, the company also offers a reward loyalty program for the customers to gather detailed information from the clients.
• Unilever faces challenges while adapting to digital transformation. However, due to its adherence to bespoke software development, the company, so far, has been successful in achieving its objectives. In the production process, the company adopted digital transformation (Appio et al., 2022). With the help of predictive analytics and data analytics, the organisation can detect demand estimations and plan production.
• IKEA is one of the best instances of how a conventional company can advance in digital transformation. It has advanced towards a strong plan for offering a customer-centric shopping experience, strengthening its position with e-commerce (Ates and Acur, 2022). Besides this, the organisation has allowed customers to use augmented reality to choose their furniture while purchasing virtually. Company In 2017, purchased TaskRabbit to recruit people who will help customers find furniture. IKEA has acquired geomagical labs for visual AI technology. This new technology enables the customers to upload their pictures, which will be transformed into 3D.
• LEGO also underwent a digital transformation. It invested a large amount of money in mobile applications and mobile games. The organisation experimented with 3D printing, allowing customers to make their products. The company also worked on block developments that added sophisticated elements and sensors.
• Nike also launched an app SNKRS app that provides shoes to customers, having increased scores of interactions. In addition to this, the company is famous for its use of analytics on a large scale (Ates and Acur, 2022). Owing to the digital ecosystem, the organisation can count on interaction, which will help them to tailor their products and messages better. The organisation gained popularity because it was able to respond to the COVID-19 crisis in a way that no other organisation did. This is regarded as another great move towards e-commerce.
• McDonald’s initiated a program known as the Velocity Growth Programme, which transformed the company from analogue to digital. The organisation also established Tech labs in Silicon Valley where a group of data scientists and engineers work together to form the technology infrastructure, extending the digital potentiality to acquire operational agility.
• Walmart is categorised as one of the most successful companies, and this has happened due to its commitment towards digital technology (Ates and Acur, 2022). Autonomous robots have been deployed by the company that provides on-time inventory. As a result of this, the company is experiencing significant growth. According to the reports of the marketers, the company surpassed eBay in occupying the share of US e-commerce sales.

References

• Crișan, E.L. and Marincean, A., 2023. The digital transformation of management consulting companies: a review. Information Systems and e-Business Management, 21(2), pp.415-436.
• Appio, F.P., Frattini, F., Petruzzelli, A.M. and Neirotti, P., 2021. Digital transformation and innovation management: A synthesis of existing research and an agenda for future studies. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 38(1), pp.4-20.
• Ates, A. and Acur, N., 2022, July. Digital transformation and managing technological obsolescence in SMEs. In R&D Management Conference 2022: Innovation for People and Territories.

FAQs

1. What do you mean by digital transformation?

Ans: The strategy for integration of digital technology into the various region of the business is referred to as digital transformation is known as digital transformation. This transformation intends to create value by meeting the client experience and creating business processes and culture.

2. State the significance of digital transformation.

Ans: Digital transformation helps increment the proficiency of businesses via computerizing manual processes and further developing efficiency, accordingly lessening mistakes. For example, embracing a cloud-based technology empowers employees to gain admittance to information, which assists them with teaming up with others around the world.

3. What are the ways to harness digital transformation in business?

Ans: Digital transformation in business can be harnessed by determining the areas that need disruption. It is needed to determine the goal and ideology by which the digital transformation needs to be brought into the business. Furthermore, business leaders need to be adaptable to bring in digital transformation.

4. Name the app launched by Nike and state its importance in digital transformation.

Ans: Nike also launched an SNKRS app, which gives customers access to the recent launches and exclusive releases the company offers.

5. Name a few organisations that adhere to digital technology.

Ans: The organisations implementing digital technology are Unilever, IKEA, LEGO, Starbucks and Porsche.

Author Bio: Mark Edmonds, a capable writer at Scholarly Assignments, succeeds in conveying first class management assignment help to students. With a significant comprehension of digital transformation in management, Mark’s skill radiates through his work on “Digital Transformation in Management: Harnessing Technology for Success.” His obligation to scholastic greatness and extensive information on management standards make him a believed asset for students looking for excellent assignment writing services. Mark’s commitment to understudy success guarantees that students get the best help to succeed in their examinations and embrace the digital evolution of management.