Choosing the right technology – Part one

As we move into the Summer and businesses begin to look longer term, you might be thinking about changes.

Are you planning to implement new technology in the next 12 months?  Perhaps a new ERP system or a tool for your salesforce to make them more productive?

You’ve done your homework, maybe even selected the solution you want. It all sounds great but are you sure it will deliver the promised benefits?

This is a scenario most business leaders go through. More often than not, the final decision is more a leap of faith than a well-argued business case. But it doesn’t have to be like that.

Following these 4 simple steps can significantly reduce the risk of your project failing to deliver the expected benefits.

Step 1: Capture your business requirements
A business requirements document (BRD) defines the needs of the business and your expectations. It captures feedback from all key stakeholders. The BRD isn’t a technical document but rather focuses on the business needs that will be met by the new technology.

The BRD needs to provide a thorough and comprehensive description of what the business is looking to achieve. The more information you capture the greater the likelihood you will end up with the right solution. The types of information the BRD should include:

• Business objectives – what are you looking to achieve with the new technology? For example: Enable our sales team to service twice as many customers or Enable the warehouse to process 50% more orders an hour
• Process maps – outlining the current processes, inputs and outputs, which need to be supported
• High-level diagrams – to show what new requirements/changes you want to include

Ultimately, the BRD provides the information that you need to give to potential suppliers so that they fully understand your needs before they submit their proposals.

Step 2: Identify potential suppliers and finalise your requirements
Do your homework. Find out which suppliers can potentially meet your needs. Look at what other similar companies to you are using. Are they happy? What are the problem areas?

Invite a few suppliers to pitch to you informally, so that you get a feel for what’s out there. If you see something you like and hadn’t thought of before, add it into your BRD.

In our next update, we will look at the final 2 steps – creating a tender document and running a selection process.

If you want to understand more about choosing the right technology, click here or please get in touch with Steve at steve.kerridge@bhp.co.uk

 

Our team at BHP Consulting all run successful businesses, we understand that businesses are unique and our approach involves sharing this experience to improve your business. For an initial telephone conversation or face-to-face meeting, click here