In a recent address by finance minister Lawrence Wong to attendees at the Singapore Institute of Directors' Directors Conference, Minister Wong noted that "the gap between leaders and laggards will continue to widen" should companies continually opt not to innovate. Companies require continuous rejuvenation to stay relevant.
Theory versus Practice
This is good in theory. But what happens when your workforce is made up of predominantly older workers who have fixed ideas and set ways of carrying out their duties. How would a wholesale company convince its staff that the adoption of digital transformation brings more benefits than maintaining the status quo?
This is precisely what a 30-year-old beauty equipment company did during the Covid-19 circuit breaker in 2020.
Digital makeover of a traditional beauty supply business
At Synergetic Beauty System, its management and staff were very used to traditionally plying their trade. Paper was the mode of transmitting information, from invoicing to customer addresses. All but one of its 5-person staff are aged between 50 and 60.
Lockdown meant that this beauty equipment wholesale business had to quickly re-evaluate and consider solutions to adapt to the "new normal." Customers could no longer simply walk in and make purchases. Knowing that the pandemic would alter the way customers buy, Synergetic quickly sought advice on digitally transforming their business. What resulted was their own e-commerce website with accompanying new sales channels on Lazada and Qoo10.
Speedbumps encountered on the way
With processes automated, employees spent less time processing invoices and delivery slips. Cheques and hardcopy payslips, together with employee records, were digitalized. Their physical storefront handled fewer cash payments as customers preferred contactless payments. Returns were quick, with a 10 per cent increase in revenue.
Older staff were initially apprehensive about moving away from physically recording transactions and manually tallying their inventory. They sometimes needed support for operating the POS system. They received this support together with training tailored for companies who opted for digital transformation. Its supportive business owner also added to the success of this digital transformation initiative. He recognized that he had to give his mature employees space to build their confidence when using digital tools.
Get in touch with our digital solutions experts immediately for the first step towards digital transformation at sales@zooloo.asia.
- Read about The Digital Transformation Journey
- Learn more about our “Digital Backbones”
- Learn more from our eBook series on Digital Transformation for Wholesale Trade
Tags:#digitaltransformation #B2B #digitaladoption #digitalintegration #covid19 #digitalsolutions #wholesaletradesector #wholesaletrade
