How to go digital for quick commercial benefit and ROI
Interview from financial newspaper Dagens Industri with Jenny Brännlund, Development Lead & Quality Manager at Nordlo in Lycksele, Sweden.
Nowadays, most businesses in both public and private sectors use digital tools in different processes. But not all experience the benefits they want to access, so sometimes they revert to more manual work methods – which is often a mistake. They need to trust the process and change can take time, but the most important consideration is to start with the business’s needs and to set clear goals. “Digitalisation is a tool, not the goal,” says Jenny Brännlund at Nordlo.
Jenny Brännlund, Development Lead & Quality Manager here at Nordlo, emphasises that a connected process isn’t automatically smart and digitalised.
“Digital solutions that are used correctly free up capacity in employees and can unlock enormous potential by automating monotonous tasks, making existing resources available or providing valuable insights for better decision support. It’s a door-opener to enable decision-makers and employees to focus on the tasks where they create the most value. You might think that the focus is on the technology when we talk about digitalisation, but we believe that the focus should always be on the person.”
Good knowledge of the customer
In its role as IT and digitalisation partner, Nordlo works closely with you, the customer, to get to know your business. As digital initiatives are often based on a problem that the customer itself, or Nordlo, has been able to identify, this is a significant advantage in digital business development initiatives.
“Good knowledge of the customer’s business means that we better understand and are better able to identify obstacles and bottlenecks, and what can be done to address them.”
“You might think that the focus
is on the technology when we talk about
digitalisation, but we believe that the focus
should always be on the person”
Dare to prioritise
Jenny Brännlund emphasises that the possibilities of digital business development are almost limitless. Modern technology has enormous capacity, and the only limits to development are therefore the imagination – and the budget.
“Of course, it’s exciting to adopt a visionary and innovative approach, whichever industry you’re operating in, but if you want to have a successful digitalisation project, you must dare to prioritise. Focus on what’s important, what creates most value for the business and users. It’s good to have a vision, but a clear, shared strategic direction helps you get started quickly so you can pick that low-hanging fruit. The result is quick commercial benefit and a high ROI.”
Pick low-hanging fruits
Examples of low-hanging fruits that Jenny mentions are optimising and automating processes such as onboarding/offboarding, assigning account access rights, regular routine tasks and other kinds of work that require a great deal of administration. But here too, it’s a matter of starting with your basic goal and your needs.
“Digitalisation doesn’t have to mean expensive, large-scale solutions. It’s often about having an efficient development process in which you benefit from existing infrastructure and make what you’re already paying for more cost-efficient. For example, many people currently use Microsoft365 for chat and email services, but many people aren’t aware that you can access so many more features in the M365 portfolio.”
Nordlo can provide support here with guidance, design and implementation, so that your company really maximises the value of the services you’re paying for. According to Jenny Brännlund, this is also a way of investing in the future; digital business development creates better conditions for future growth and competitive strength.
“If you’re passive in your digitalisation journey, you’ll fall behind those competitors that continue to invest and optimise. We know that it’s in the interaction between people that the most value is created, and digital business development increases that potential by removing administrative obstacles; we want to help our customers and guide them on this journey,” concludes Jenny Brännlund.