How can IT help the business innovate?

Contrary to popular belief, innovation in the business is not only about technology but also about people and process. In order to innovate effectively, the organization should get certain aspects of its business in order. Finding new ways to do business is more about implementing new channels, services, products and processes than fixing core issues. Preparing the business for innovation is essential and should be part of the strategy.

I recently had the opportunity to see part of the inner workings of a large retailer that helped me identify issues and opportunities for improvement and innovation. For years I have bought costly products at this retailer and to this day I can safely say that they have no idea how I have contributed to their sales. In my latest effort to buy an elliptical exercise machine over a period of over two months, I had to visit the retailer at least ten times, make a lot of phone calls and connect to their portal countless times.

My initial order was placed through the portal. It was disappointing to see the limited functionality and information available to me as a customer. There were no alternative products recommended, no information on availability and an estimate offering delivery times between one and three weeks. After five days I got a confirmation that my order was received and then another month for the product to be ready for delivery. Meanwhile my impatience grew and after making a few futile calls to the call center I decided to start looking around. Luckily for this retailer the specific product I was looking for was out of stock at competing stores. By chance I decided to visit one of the stores belonging to this retailer and found the product I was looking for at a greatly discounted price.

The store also offered me the possibility to pay using their credit services. However, the initial order I placed through the Web made this option unavailable and the sales representative was unable to cancel it. As a client I was dealing with two internal organizations with separate sales order systems and I had to maintain contact through two channels to resolve the issue. It was clear to me that these organizations did not share unified inventory and sales order systems. As a client placing the order through the portal I was unable to take advantage of the discounts offered at the stores and deal with the issues through a single point of contact. To top it all off, after an additional two weeks I had to inform the delivery organization that I had cancelled the order.

From an IT perspective it is imperative to offer integration of processes and information. This retailer has a great opportunity to reduce cost of storage and delivery times by centralizing inventory management and offering more information and greater control over order management. Also, this retailer went through a lot of cost and effort to provide me with a store card. Yet every time I try to request information about my order I have to provide additional information related to it. This leads me to think that there is a limited vision of the client. Maybe customer relationship management is not a top priority at this mass retailer but if it wants to be competitive it will have to start to learn about its clients and their buying habits.

Once the business has its information and processes in order it can start to offer innovative services with greater ease. For example, as a client I should be able to get my order quickly and have access to all the required information without much hassle, while it is in transit. Using tags and effective inventory management, not only can better information be provided about the status of the delivery but greater control can be exerted on delivery times. Also marketing promotions can be adapted to improve rotation of targeted products.

One of the problems I was confronted with at the store was the time I had to wait to be attended. Meanwhile the sales representative was bombarded with questions about pricing, availability and characteristics of the desired products. What if the information in inventory systems is made available to prospective clients through well placed self-help information kiosks in the store or though specialized mobile applications? These kinds of solutions require implementations that build upon current infrastructure and provide quick wins to the business. For innovation to occur effectively, project implementations must be kept short and focussed. The goal is to progressively add business solutions that respond to client needs with an orientation towards experimentation. By leveraging in-house know-how and implementing projects with reduced scope, the business not only loses less investment on failed solutions but also learns more quickly about how to respond to client needs.