A couple of weeks ago, I visited with a large global CPG company to discuss (what else!) their challenges and opportunities with their TMS. This group had just finished up a multi-year “mega project” to re-platform their old system and replace it with a new one, single instance, in the cloud, for all geographies globally.
The end result after several years and multiple “mega digital transformation firms” appeared to be a business struggling with the unsolved process and solution gaps (in-transit visibility, analytics, optimization…), but a shiny new piece of technology.
Brief aside – my oldest son, now 12, loves basketball. What he loves even more though are basketball shoes. He will literally research shoe brands, unboxing (Newman!!!) videos, and digest many hours of content just about basketball shoes. He saves his money, buys a ridiculous looking pair, and then expects to play like Draymond Green (my personal choice).
My 12-year-old is probably like many companies out there. And unfortunately, probably like many consulting firms out there. The process of selecting, buying and implementing a new tool isn’t transformative at all. That technology is a tool that may be an enabler of change, but unless you put in the effort – it’s not going to *just do it* for you.
So, if you’re the organization buying the ‘digital transformation’ – the tool and the process of implementing the tool isn’t a complete solution. You still have a *little* way to go on that journey. We tell clients that “the transformation begins at go-live” – you haven’t been transformed at all in the implementation, only digitized. The important part is what comes next.
(And you probably don’t want an army either, but a small, highly specialized team to help clean up the mess and drive the business forward.)
In the end, ‘digital transformations’ can be transformative – but companies must view the go-live as a beginning, not the end of the journey.
JBF Consulting specializes in helping large shippers select, implement and manage their Transportation & Fleet Management systems so they can get more out of their investment.
If you’d like to learn more about how JBF can help optimize your digital transformation process or simply begin a discussion, please contact us at (203) 807-5231 or JBFinfo@jbf-consulting.com
