Be Brave, Automate and Turn Your Minor Competencies Into New Profit Centers

OneVision is a Business Reporter client.

We hear a lot about “digital transformation” these days, but there is still a lot of confusion around what it actually means. The term itself seems vague; does “digital” mean to integrate the latest technology into every part of a business? Or does it imply becoming completely paperless?

In its essence, the concept of digital transformation is not just about using digital technologies to solve problems; rather, it is about aligning an enterprise to be future-proof and successful.

The underestimated minor competencies

While digital transformations are being pushed and implemented, smart business leaders should also consider digitalizing and optimizing areas and activities of their business that correspond to more than just their own core competencies.

For example, the core competency of leading car manufacturers is developing cars that feature great design and appeal to drivers while also being safe and reliable. As part of the business, car manufacturers also print manuals containing information about their vehicles. If the manuals are printed in-house, companies can benefit from lower costs and higher profitability.

This example can be extended to e-commerce, currently booming amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Almost every delivery requires a printed delivery note, and most products include various printed items—the package insert for medications, the label that tells us where our clothes were produced, price tags in the supermarket—along with printed materials related to the pandemic like barcode packaging of vaccines, banners and signage at coronavirus testing centers and printed government documents, to name a few.

Companies and government agencies operating in the industries and fields mentioned above certainly don’t have printing as a core competency. However, all of them need printed documents for their daily business. What is the best way to generate them? Ideally, in-house printing is preferred because it is cost-effective and quicker than outsourcing, and protects confidential information that enterprises don’t want to risk revealing.

Automated workflows, file preparation and production planning

To take a recent example, the U.S. government didn’t have time to wait for an external printing company to prepare the required documents for former President Trump’s impeachment proceedings. And above all, confidentially was paramount. But this wasn’t a problem, thanks to the U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO), one of the largest in-house printing operations in the U.S. Using inkjet and automation technologies, the GPO produces a high volume and wide variety of printed products in a very short time every day.

Using advanced in-house printing, recurring work steps and processes in the production chain run automatically via software. The automated workflow, automated file preparation and automated production planning eliminate manual operations, lower the error rate, reduce costs and increase efficiency.

But what does this mean for business leaders and their organizations? It means they should be brave enough to let automation take care of the things they don’t specialize in, and allow new profit centers to emerge. Intelligent automated solutions enable in-house printing of smaller runs in shorter times, with more personalization and efficiency.

Automation does not just happen naturally. Software companies that do their work properly conduct an on-site assessment, offer an overview of current production processes, enterprise goals and product ranges, and propose solutions that automate production and make it more economical. This requires the cooperation of the company, and the leaders involved must take the time to determine the actual situation and the target figures together with the software company.

However, this time investment will be rewarded and will create completely new profit centers. The world belongs to the brave.

For more information, please visit www.onevision.com/10-reasons-for-automation 

— Jasmin Khalil, COO OneVision Software North America & Head of Marketing, OneVision Software AG
_{This article originally appeared on Business Reporter. Image credits: iStock 1282119894}