Improve your ICT channel margins


Johannesburg, 28 Jun 2019

Using digital technology to streamline business operations and reduce expenditure is now a feasible proposition.

Note: This extract forms part of an eBook: What Great Resellers Do, That Good ICT Resellers Don't.

Efficient operational processes are one of those business basics that never hit the headlines or generate much press, yet remain a largely invisible and indispensable part of running a profitable company. It goes without saying that they can play a crucial role in increasing channel margins as well.

Digitising the basic channel processes of quoting, ordering and paying results in making them more efficient and improving their accuracy and visibility.

Efficiency

Digitising channel processes such as quoting and invoicing increases their efficiency, as driving these operations through a central platform removes some of the labour-intensive manual processes associated with them. The platform features enabling this can include pre-populated document templates, the pull-through of document details from a central database and the automatic conversion of document types, such as quotes to invoices. By increasing process efficiency and speeding up turnaround times, businesses can effectively lower their overheads and reduce expenditure by getting more done in less time.

Accuracy and reliability

Digital systems – provided they’re correctly configured and don’t go offline – are more accurate and reliable than corresponding manual processes due to the ability for machines to perform routine tasks repeatedly with no deviation. Digital software systems don’t get bored or tired. In addition, digital systems can send e-mails and mobile notifications at specified times without fail, prompting humans to increase their reliability too.

Visibility

In contrast to manual operations processes that can tend towards disparate and disconnected documents and information, one of the advantages of a unified digital system is its ability to track information flow throughout its system. This, of course, lends itself well to information visibility. Digital systems can keep a log of the status of all items and can log all actions with accurate times, ensuring administrators have an audit trail to follow should they need one, while search tools enable them to find any system item quickly.

Simplicity

Simplicity is another aspect of channel operations that is vital to efficiency, yet often overlooked.

Research firm Gartner mentions that customers value suppliers who make the purchase process easier. It also states that supplying customers with the right kind of information and support significantly decreases the kind of purchase regret known to reduce customer loyalty and advocacy.

Digital platforms can have various product features that facilitate simplicity of operations and make life easier for its users.

Reseller customers, for example, can search for, view and purchase products on their resellers’ platform marketplaces, while resellers can manage their customers' licence adjustments and user licence allocations via the platform as well. By integrating multiple channel-specific functionalities under one roof with single sign-on access, cloud sprawl is contained and a measure of operational simplicity is introduced.

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