Hospitals are using technology to improve the patient experience, banks are changing how they engage with customers through digital channels, sales teams are discovering the benefits of real-time insights into orders and sales, and organisations across industries are powering their decision-making with data and analytics.

At a recent award ceremony recognising excellence in digital transformation among African enterprises, the extent to which organisations have embraced digital technologies to power their businesses became clear.

Market leaders such Capitec, Lenmed, and Discovery showed how technology could power innovation and operational excellence through the development of intelligent enterprise capabilities.

An intelligent enterprise integrates technology and business processes to deliver significant value to the business through improved supply chain management, better sales processes, more intelligent spend management, and a transformed talent management capability.

Simply put, an intelligent enterprise has access to accurate real-time data about every aspect of its business, helping it deal with complexity while unlocking greater scope of innovation and efficiency.

And as recent examples show, South African enterprises of various sizes are taking bold strides toward achieving intelligent enterprise capabilities – to the benefit of their customers, their employees and their long-term success.

Scaling banking service excellence

Capitec, one of South Africa’s largest and most innovative banks, faced the challenge of a rapidly growing customer base at a time when pandemic-enforced restrictions disrupted face to face customer operations.

Prior to its award-winning digital transformation project, Capitec grew from acquiring 94 000 customers a month to 160 000 customers a month. With many branches closed and customers avoiding branch visits in light of the dangers posed by COVID-19, Capitec realised its reliance on manual data capturing was hampering its ability to provide seamless customer experiences.

Powered by a dedicated project team that enjoyed full executive support, Capitec implemented a business transformation project that equipped its support services teams with improved data capturing, information analysis and business optimisation.

Capitec can now more easily ensure its support services teams meet their service level agreements and can deliver on the bank’s goal of making banking interactions easier and simpler for customers.

Technology healthcare amid pandemic

Arguably no industry has been under more pressure since the start of the pandemic than the healthcare sector. Hospitals in particular have had to run optimally and ensure no disruption to their operations while also dealing with the impact of COVID-19.

For private hospital group Lenmed, the acquisition of a new hospital in the midst of a global health crisis sparked an award-winning onboarding process to its core systems, in rapid time and with clear cost savings.

The group wanted to bring a new hospital it had acquired into its core 51ˇçÁ÷system, but understandably couldn’t afford any delays or disruptions to the hospital’s processes.

Using extensive standardisation and templates to limit cost overruns, Lenmed brought the new hospital onboard in under twelve weeks and at a total cost saving of nearly 40%.

The onboarding is also a template for future acquisitions, enabling the group to confidently grow its footprint without the risk of unnecessary interruptions to its core operations.

Talent management transformed

The past 18 months have not only forced vast changes in the ways businesses interact with customers, but also how they attract, manage and retain their employees. When the country first entered into lockdown in March 2020, most businesses had to radically change how they engage with, motivate and empower their workforce.

In the highly competitive financial services sector, building greater employee experiences gives organisations an edge in attracting and retaining top talent. For Discovery, the quality of talent it attracts has played a vital role in the organisation’s success.

Discovery has a stated ambition to have the best people function in the industry, using a strategy that combines data, skills and technology to find, develop and retain its employees. To support and execute this strategy, the company initiated a project named SmartPeople that leverages 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors to create a standardised, transparent, objective and continuous approach to how Discovery executes its people strategy to drive positive business performance.

This includes recruitment management, which enables the company to track and report on the quality of hires, the types of applicants, where those applicants are from, and more. Using 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors gives Discovery full visibility over its talent force and pipeline and, since everything from recruitment to onboarding to offboarding is handled via SuccessFactors, the company is able to deliver a consistent and positive employee experience.

As companies continue to operate in an unstable and unpredictable business environment, the role of technology will only grow in importance. However, as these examples illustrate, organisations from all sectors  can supercharge their growth and success with the correct investment into intelligent technologies, full support from the C-suite and with clear business value always front and centre in their planning and execution.

The post How South African Organisations are Using Tech to Succeed Despite Disruptions and Uncertainty appeared first on 51ˇçÁ÷Africa News Center.

The COVID-19 crisis has meant companies have quickly planned for remote working and delays in the delivery of products or services, all while keeping customers informed and effectively managing funds as the situation changes.

It’s challenging, but not impossible. The team at  unpacks some of the key areas that businesses can focus on, now and beyond, to successfully navigate COVID-19.

Accurate cash flow forecasting:

Accurate cash flow forecasting based on real-time data has become a key survival tool. “One of the key concerns for the SMEs we are working with is cash flow. We’ve seen how essential it’s been for business owners to be able to quickly pull accurate real-time information about their stock holdings and financials so they can make informed decisions swiftly,” says Heinrich de Leeuw, Managing Director of Seidor South Africa. Knowing what the cash flow realities are now and what they are likely to be in the future helps businesses anticipate problems and adapt accordingly.

Remote working and support:

Businesses offering essential services are the only ones allowed to have teams operating on-site during lockdown. But this doesn’t mean non-essential businesses need to halt all operations. Explains de Leeuw: “If managed properly, with the appropriate systems in place, it is possible to work remotely in many cases. 51ˇçÁ÷Business One offers multiple tools for driving effective remote working.” These include: Live chat (standard functionality) and Web-client availability (browser-driven).The system also enables teams and managers to manage alerts and approvals, keep an eye on KPIs, and see the business at a glance and in real-time without being on-site. Boyum, the CRM e-mail integration add-on offered by , supports remote working realities, making communication seamless.

Pedro Lopes, Group Managing Director of , adds: “Cloud-based communications like VOIP and cloud PABX also come in very handy when teams are all off-site and working at different locations.”

Terrence Chowles, Project Director at , agrees: “Cloud systems are highly effective for remote working. In fact, efficient cloud systems should be used for mission-critical workloads – even when not remote working. They are not dependent on location, so they are not affected by other South African realities like load-shedding.”Chowles goes on to add that Office 365 is also incredibly efficient as a remote working tool. “It allows you an online presence and the ability to collaborate with teams. Plus, you can maintain a security profile on devices in multiple locations.”

Security

It’s important that during a remote working period, businesses know that their data is safe.With multiple people accessing systems from various locations and devices, it becomes essential to have tools in place that enable total security peace of mind. Darryl Maroun, Managing Director at Seidor Networks, explains what those look like. “It’s important that employees can connect securely to a company’s IP and that there is data leak prevention (DLP) in place. Tools like two-factor authentication, VPNs (virtual private networks) and mobile device management (MDM) are highly effective and strongly recommended.”

Adapting with customers in mind

The key to surviving times like this is adaptability, within a stable and efficient framework, all while not losing sight of your customers and their needs. A great example of how working with a solid system like 51ˇçÁ÷Business One can comfortably navigate businesses through choppy waters is how some businesses were able to alert customers about marked down items and move stock before lockdown, which helped improve cashflow. This was especially useful in cases where the stock had a limited lifespan. Successful adaptability also means a suitable continuity of infrastructure and line of business. It may be business ‘unusual’, but in order for businesses to survive, there does need to be an element of ‘business as usual’.

Looking beyond the current crisis, this unusual situation is providing an opportunity for businesses to seriously consider their way of working and to plan properly to ensure they are set up to do business better when the crisis is over. The planning starts with access to real-time data and robust systems.

The post It’s Business Unusual for SMEs Looking to Navigate COVID-19 Crisis Now and Beyond appeared first on 51ˇçÁ÷Africa News Center.