All companies looking to undertake a digital transformation first want to know how technology and better data can be used to improve their performance. 

Investissement Québec’s program “Audit industrie 4.0” provides help and support for a diagnosis and digital plan, followed by a structured approach to selecting solutions and planning for management change.  This is where the digital action plan comes in.

The Digital Action Plan outlines the steps required to achieve a digital transformation (activities, tasks, responsibilities, budget and timeline). The deliverables of an action plan can vary considerably from company to company. For example, selecting a CRM to better manage sales, or selecting an ERP to optimize productivity.

But what reasons the efforts of creating a digital action plan? This is what we will explain in this article.

10 Reasons to have a Digital Action Plan

We’ve identified 10 reasons that will convince you to invest in a digital action plan. 

1. Benefits to customers: Digital transformation meets the needs of customers who are already actively engaged in digital relationships with businesses. This will automatically improve customer service.
2. The management of relations with suppliers is optimized: reduction of costs and delays, innovation and quality improvement.
3. Positive impacts on the company’s work organization: the optimisation of work processes, the alleviation of employees’ tasks, the creation of a stimulating work environment are only a few positive effects of digital technology.
4. Reducing the impact on mission IT systems: the digital action plan is designed to prioritize projects according to the needs and requirements of the company. Thus, mission systems (payroll, accounting, etc.) are preserved in order to avoid interfering with operations.
5. Return on investment: savings in productivity, efficiency, staff requirements, operating costs, etc.
6. The scope of the project (selection of processes to be optimised, identification of priority digital transformation projects) depends on the strategic and operational orientations of the company.
7. The pace of the transformation project is adapted to the company’s digital maturity (use or not of digital tools to interact with customers or suppliers, data collection and use to make decisions, digitization and integration of business processes).
8. Risks related to the digital shift are identified and managed: risks related to information security, impacts on corporate governance, resistance to change, impacts on skills, etc.
9. The use of internal resources is limited and optimized: the number of people involved in the digital transformation project is minimal. The required expertise is put to good use.
10. Interdependence with other projects: The Digital Transformation project is dependant on or interdependent with another priority project for the company.

A few tips for a successful digital action plan

• Communicate the Action Plan. Employees can provide sound advice on the steps that are necessary in order to achieve the plan’s objectives. Also, they will be more likely to consecrate serious efforts towards its implementation if they are invited to participate in the process from the start.
• Establish a monitoring and evaluation process.  Monitoring may include internal reporting and regular meetings about the progress of the digital action plan.