In this blog, we explore how Digital Transformation of the North Pole has taken place this year as Santa and his elf’s have been working hard to move to a new digital operating model transforming their end-to-end processes.

The north pole is the point where the Earth’s axis of rotation meets its surface, but it is most famous for Santa Claus. A mystical man and his diligent elves working on old, inefficient, outdated systems to make sure that Christmas is magical for every single one of us. Much like Santa a lot of businesses are still reliant on outdated systems which are ultimately hindering productivity, customer experience, decision-making, communication and ultimately leading to increased costs.

Digital transformation is required to help organisations modernise and avoid these pitfalls as much as possible. Digitisation is defined as the conversion of analog information and systems into a digital format by using appropriate devices so the information can be stored, processed, and accessed through different equipment and networks. Converting the information into a digital format can lead to different methods of working, such as the recently popularised remote working. Digital transformation incorporates changes to culture, business technologies, and the processes that drive better business outcomes. Integrating cloud-based technologies means that the people within the organisation are better connected with centralised information, which could reduce costs by 30%. This sets up the business for success as working methods evolve.

Knowledge Management

Knowledge management plays a key role in implementing the necessary transformation for the organisation. The idea is to make sure that information is easily accessible and that everyone in the company is aware of it and where to find it. An example would be if the marketing team created a new case study, sales and customer service teams would also need access without having to constantly request it from the marketing team. Allowing automatic cross-department access promoting collaboration.

Strategic View

The idea of changing major aspects of an organisation can be daunting and will often be challenging but there are certain things that an organisation can do to make sure that the result is a success. The first would be to take a strategic view, this means from the offset there must be a clear end goal in mind. Only when the business objectives for a digital transformation project are clearly defined, can you set how you will reach them. While setting goals, it is key to also understand the problem, solving the problem is a lot more valuable than selling a product, as a great product is one that solves a problem.

Customer

The next thing to consider is the customer, creating an integrated experience that accounts for the customers’ needs and displaying a deep understanding of what the customer wants is vital. Customers often want to have ease of use and convenience, focusing on how something will be outputted to a customer allows the organisation to create value by being convenient to the customer. After the hard work to transform the organisation, it would be a waste if the result did not account for the customer’s needs.

Culture

Often even after a successful digital transformation plan has been implemented, the organisation might still experience problems with performance and productivity. This of due to a neglect in understanding the culture within the organisation. Digitisation should be treated as a strategy for deep, fundamental improvements in how people work and collaborate. Organisation culture should be addressed before any other plans to digitise. Using existing tools to incorporate systems and functions well at a high level is important. The focus shouldn’t be on bringing something extravagant to the market, instead we should use what is readily available, such as a smartphone with some dedicated apps to make life easier. Tech is available, things such as open-source platforms, sensors and data transmission tech is all available. Coupling digital tools with the right team members who know how to get the most out of it will allow them to be implemented easier. Rely on people with strong tech skills to guide your digital transformation and choose digital tools that are designed to be easy and intuitive for the less tech-savvy.