Well, we are but in general, research shows that our chemical industry is not very digital.
HBR published an article that reflects on the level of digitalization across industries and research shows that the chemical industry has a way to go before it can reap benefits in the form of higher revenues through lowering administration costs, shortening sales cycles and directly engaging with customers with relevant content for them.
Research shows that the chemical industry has the potential to digitize its’ B2B industry and to digitally engage customers directly. However, more often than not an internal organization is the main hurdle in the path of digitalization. Legacy systems, traditional ways of doing business and storing data in separate systems and even filing cabinets, are just a few we can mention.
The primary concern is very low customer-facing digitalization of sales and marketing funnels.
But how can we overcome the obstacles and become successful in the digitalization of our business?
Digitalization means Change
McKinsey’s research shows that almost 50 percent of chemical companies in the top quintile from 2000 to 2004 no longer were from 2010 to 2014 [McKinsey on Chemicals, July 2016].
Today’s chemical companies can’t expect to keep delivering above-market returns by continuing on the same path. But then again changing the way we do business can be stressful.
However, digitalization is the use of digital technologies to change a business model and provide new revenue and value-producing opportunities, according to Gartner’s glossary.
Digitalization without changing anything will not happen. Whenever we implement digital solutions and digitize processes, the way we do business changes, people’s jobs change and with that perception of what is important. Being aware of this will definitely make it easier for digitalization to succeed but it is just one stepping stone to success.
Driving these projects inside an organization always demands a champion of digitalization that will drive development, stimulate everyone involved to get better, engage in development and embrace a new way of doing business as their own.
Source: Harvard Business Review [https://hbr.org/2016/04/a-chart-that-shows-which-industries-are-the-most-digital-and-why]
Get everyone on board
Every minor or major change in a company cannot be successful if people do not believe in it or if they don’t perceive it as their own. The first step towards a successful transition is onboarding everyone who is working on a particular part of the company we’re digitizing behind one single goal broken down to as many milestones as needed to succeed. The second step is the cooperation of these individual experts in order to successfully transform a business model. It is vitally important that we thoroughly understand what we are changing and how it connects into all aspects of the business.
Sometimes small smart changes locally can turn into big dumb surprises for the business.
Only a comprehensive analysis and thorough understanding of company culture and its processes will eventually bring higher revenues and lower costs. And in turn, this will be a gateway to happy customers that are in habit of doing business with us.
Platform
Choosing the right platform to fit organizations’ needs is just as important as anything else. Keeping in mind that no platform fits universally to every business, it is vitally important to understand that before the integration and to figure out how the best match between the two can be achieved. Mapping success path and understanding milestones that have to be hit in order for implementation to be successful, is the key in every digitalization of business.
What can we do for you?
At BENS Consulting we are helping professionals succeed for the last 25 years in the chemical business.
Allchemist is a platform that embodies all of our know-how and past efforts to digitalize our partners’ businesses. Allchemist is a great tool if you feel that you’re up to the task yourself and you only need a binding agent to make everything work.
On the other hand, it can be a platform that does all of the heavy liftings inside an organization.
Want to know more
If you would like to find out how Allchemist can help you out dealing with these efforts, get in touch with us HERE and we will help you explore all options.
