In my previous blog, I shared my thoughts on how digital transformations are enhancing customer experience in the supply chain.  

In this blog, I am keen to share my point of view and recommendations around key strategic areas that companies can use to digitize their operations and best practices to implement.

1. Before implementing digital transformation, define your plan.

Because of continuously evolving technology and advancements, the corporate world is fast-paced. Every year, developing and growing technology affect even the most established businesses. 

Uber revolutionised the taxi business in 2009 by enabling users to hail a vehicle using a smartphone app. Amazon Go is the newest evolution of Jeff Bezos' thriving e-commerce firm, providing a network of convenience shops in the United States with automated, cashier-less self-checkout stations (quite a mouthful). 

Google and Elon Musk have recently been competing to unleash self-driving automobiles on the public. 

With all these new ideas entering the market, businesses need a long-term plan to adapt, compete, and thrive in this new digital terrain. 

A digital transformation approach begins with three key questions: Where are you now? 

What do you want to be doing tomorrow? 

What are your plans to get there? 

Companies need a strategy that specifies which technologies must use and protects against digital disruption. That is why, before leveraging the potential of digital transformation, it is vital to understand your critical systems and processes to find possibilities.

2. Reimagine the consumer experience

With consumer’s increasing power over how businesses offer experiences, it's time to create new ones that match their needs. According to an HBR poll, 40% of respondents rank customer experience as their top digital transformation objective. 

Because every consumer interaction influences a company's overall image, focusing on customer relationships is a good decision. According to the same poll, 72% of respondents are happy about the change to digital since it gives new opportunities to build stronger connections with clients. So, if you want to improve your clients' entire experience, put time and money on technology that enhances business partnerships.

3. Establish an IT infrastructure that is agile and adaptable.

The right technology to fuel digital strategy is critical in today's corporate environment. Organisations acknowledge the need to establish agile systems, with 86% believing that cloud technology is vital to digital transformation. The cloud helps businesses to be rapid, dynamic, and adaptable, enabling your company to test new initiatives that are cost-effective and low-risk, allowing you to leverage technology to satisfy client needs more quickly. You may generate a 360-degree perspective of your client by effortlessly linking SaaS applications such as customer databases, Big Data analytics, and online and mobile apps. You will discover how, when, and why your consumers conduct business with you by utilising this data, and you will be able to give a better, more enhanced customer experience. 

It leads us to the second component of digital transformation: Personalisation.

4. Make the consumer experience more personalised

Buyers now want businesses to treat them as individuals, to understand their specific preferences and buying history. 

According to Accenture, 75% of consumers are more inclined to purchase from a firm that: recognises them by name, knows their purchase history, and recommends items based on previous purchases. 

• Perhaps most astonishing is their openness to let firms use their data. 
• The good news is that consumers are content for businesses to utilise their data to enhance their experience. 
• However, to capitalise on this potential, you must invest in CRM. 
• You cannot treat your consumers like individuals if you do not use CRM. And it's hard to deliver a unique experience without keeping the history of how your company interacts with customers. 

A CRM system allows you to evaluate and examine customer-related data based on prior encounters with your firm. You may get a vital insight into your consumers, for example, by analysing general queries, product bids, and support inquiries. This data may help produce highly targeted messaging based on specific client preferences, resulting in a more customised experience. 

The ability to deliver the appropriate message to the right person at the right time leads us to our third and last success element for digital transformation: a seamless multichannel experience. 

5. A unified multichannel experience

With several technological advances, customers may now receive what they want, when, and how they want it. More than half of all customers now anticipate a response from customer care within one hour. They also expect the exact response times on weekends as they do throughout the week. Because of this desire for immediate satisfaction, organisations must be available and on-demand 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Everything is now occurring in real-time, so businesses that can provide their clients with immediacy, personalisation, and accessibility will win in the long term. Consumers nowadays are not confined to a single channel. They shop in-store, shop online, provide comments through mobile applications, and ask queries of your support staff via social media networks. 

By connecting these events, you can establish a single digital profile for each consumer engagement with your company.

Companies must consider establishing a digital transformation plan if they haven't already in today's fast-paced, constantly connected, and always-on society. By embracing digital transformation, organisations can engage contemporary buyers and deliver on their expectations of a seamless customer experience regardless of channel or location.

So, here's where to begin:

Instead of buying on-premises solutions, consider cloud options first. Cloud supply chain visibility solutions and services allow businesses to be agile and respond fast to consumer requests. Furthermore, you are always up to speed with the newest features, so you are never left behind. Your clients have learned to demand personalised experiences. To provide customers just that, use the data in your supply chain management software to analyse prior communication, purchasing history, and behaviour. 

Digital transformation is critical for improving the consumer experience across the supply chain. Many businesses find it challenging to keep up with the fast-changing digital scene, but Cozentus is here to assist. With our supply chain management services and skilled employees, we can help your organisation transition to a digital-first operation. 

Customers desire seamless experiences regardless of channel. Consider how you may connect all of your company's digital platforms to deliver a unified, user-friendly consumer experience. 

Concentrating on these three criteria will assist your firm in embracing the new digital world, exceeding consumer expectations, and improving the overall customer experience.