As we continue to find our feet in a world where volatility, uncertainty, change and ambiguity are the only constants, making the right decisions about strategy and prioritising investment is crucial.
As scrutiny on rising costs puts pressure on expenditure, every penny must be justified. In parallel, fluctuating demand and shifting supply chains are forcing new business models and changes in the way organisations operate. Saving in one area often means investing in another to keep pace with new market dynamics. And as the pace of change accelerates, these drivers are ongoing.
This in turn leaves executives with the age old dilemma of whether to look at short term cost cutting and money savings, or time savings which can deliver longer term value through freeing up resources for more value add activities, innovation and strategy.
Any strategist or consultant worth their salt will almost certainly point to the need for decisions to consider long term strategy and direction. But this has to be balanced against the short term pressures being faced, and a need to survive in what continue to be tough markets.
Digital undoubtedly represents a lever for both short term cost savings and long term time savings in the form of resource optimisation. If its potential is maximised and the right software decisions are made, the right solution can drive costs out of the business through a slicker, more streamlined way of working. This might manifest itself in tangible inventory savings, or reduced overheads because reams of filing cabinets full pf paper-based documentation are no longer necessary. Improved credit management can deliver direct cashflow benefits, creating an uplift in profitability, while a move to the cloud removes maintenance costs for servers hosted on premise.
Most would argue however that the real benefit of digital lays in its ability to free up the time and resources previously spent on manual, repetitive, low value tasks. The ability to automate these allows people’s time to focus on creativity and idea generation in the name of innovation. In a climate where agility and speed are prerequisites of protecting market share, this capability has never been more important.
But as with most things there is a compromise. While it’s important to look at the longer term, if the short term is neglected, the risk is that there won’t be a long term to evaluate. When establishing a business case for new software investment, the best, most modern systems will hold potential to deliver cost savings and free up days through automating manual processes. However, it’s crucial to consider the benefits of time saving and less tangible benefits such as better risk management and the agility and innovation which is only possible through having a flexible, integrated scalable platform to deliver visibility and insights across the enterprise.
Ultimately, when it comes to evaluating the respective value of time versus money, the two don’t need to be mutually exclusive. The right digital backbone can deliver on both and facilitate both cost savings to boost profitability in the short term, and time savings and resource optimisation to deliver greater performance in the long term.
Posted On: July 06, 2023
