How to Reduce Lost Hours – Get Technology Working For Your Business.

What's worse than wasting money? Wasting time. And as a business, it's easy to fall into one or both of these traps, largely because of inefficient ways of working, which almost always results in lost hours.

How many hours in a 12-hour day are spent on value creation and how many are lost to inefficiency? Think of all the various areas of operation in a typical builders' merchant business and ask yourself could you re-shape and re-organise to create more value? Could you work smarter, smoother and faster?

Think about the delivery side of your business - arguably the beating heart of a builders' merchant - and how scheduling, vehicle routing and maintenance play such a key role in maintaining good performance in terms of drops per day.

And then think about some of the reasons why supply deliveries are deviated from their schedule. How many hours are lost because of problems at delivery point, traffic congestion or vehicle maintenance?

Imagine if there were no inefficiencies within your organisation. Think what this could do to your profit. It would certainly only result in a better, higher value business.

Saving time is reason enough to make changes, but we often underestimate how far-reaching the savings can be. Businesses should be looking at every workflow in detail, on a regular basis, to claim back the minutes and seconds they need to become more efficient and more profitable.

And of course smoother everyday procedures mean less stress on employees, and stress causes millions of pounds in losses each year in the UK. Happier employees also mean less turnover and higher productivity.

The bottom line is that resource efficiency, whether in energy, people, product or transport, is key to operational efficiency and thus to the service levels and ultimately customer satisfaction.

Investing in new technology, for example, enables businesses to achieve time savings and improve worker productivity. And with today's builders' merchants becoming increasingly dependent on technology, it's more important than ever to use these solutions the right way.

It makes sense, therefore, to take some time to reflect back on your business and discover where you can make changes to optimise your operations. Areas such as project management, billing and invoicing, time tracking and other back-end processes can be time-consuming and potentially lead to wasted hours and resources.

Get technology working for your business with this five-point checklist.

1. Are you spending too much on the wrong technology?

Don't invest in any technology unless you totally understand what it is for and why you need it. There are many different ways of going about solving a problem using different kinds of technology and you need to be confident you are not investing in something that will not deliver the benefits you were expecting. It is very common for businesses to purchase multiple solutions that wind up doing the same thing. When choosing software solutions, purchase those that perform multiple functions instead of a different solution for each function. It's cheaper and integrated, and it's always easier to learn a single solution.

2. Are you automating your business functions?

Just about any manual work can be replaced with a software solution that's faster, more accurate and more cost-efficient in the long run - so replace your pen, paper and even Excel spread sheet with a specialised, automated solution.

3. Are you in the cloud?

Many businesses have been caught up in the hype surrounding cloud computing, often without really understanding what it is and how it can help, forgetting that cloud computing is simply a means to improving operating models and is not the end goal. There is no doubt that cloud services, DropBox and iCloud for example, can allow your business to work smarter and more efficiently, but it's vital to keep a level head and take a sensible and pragmatic approach when it comes to integrating new technologies.

4. Are you keeping a balance between prioritising employees and technology?

It is important to ensure that workers do not feel displaced or threatened by the growing dependency on technology. Business owners need to be sensitive to this and any management strategy needs to take a holistic view, where the integration of technology is done with regard to its impact on the workforce. Ask your employees to evaluate new technology as you introduce it, and encourage discussion and open conversation within the company about what changes - both good and bad - the new technology is bringing to the business. Then act on the feedback you receive to get the best possible fit for your business.

5. Are you aiming for evolution or revolution?

Implementing new technology does not require a complete overhaul of current systems but can be a small operational change. The rise of the software-as-a-service model has meant that businesses can invest quickly and easily in new technologies without the traditional capital expenditure costs.

To find out more about Navman Wireless products and the services we provide contact us here.