Whatever industry your business is in, you’re likely looking for the next best way you can one-up your competitors, and one way you can do that is by adopting more effective operations than them.

Just as technology continues to become more prevalent in our personal lives, it’s now too becoming an absolute necessity in business. While almost half (51%) of businesses still use manual processes to get things done (Field Technologies Online), they are soon to be left in the dust by companies who have adopted operational software, particularly tools like operations management software.

Operations management software, simply put, can help to increase a business’s efficiency by making the most of the resources you have available to you. By doing so, this software increases your potential to achieve results (profits). Whether custom or off-the-shelf operations software, bringing these tools into your organization is often a great step toward bettering your business.

To decide if operations management software is for you, let’s take a look at some of the advantages it has to offer.

1. An all-encompassing business tool.

Operations management works to improve business practices from a variety of angles, from enhancing your management practices to increasing efficiency and productivity. For an operations manager, let alone the employees beneath him, assessing and improving existing practices will most likely require him to jump from one software application to another.

Instead of making operations management a more time-consuming task than it already often is, your team can access their favorite operations-related tools from within one system. With everything in one place, your team will reduce wasted time and increase productivity.

2. More effective & efficient processes.

At the heart of operations is business processes—most businesses have at least 12 business systems and 10 processes within each of those systems (BEM). Even when these processes are put into place, they can be difficult to instill in new employees, track, and evaluate. Moreover, when these processes are poorly documented and distributed, businesses can waste time, incur errors, and negatively impact employee morale.

As in the name, one of the greatest advantages of operations management software is its ability to improve your business’s operations, or your business processes. Not only can your software help to streamline your processes through project management tools, but you can supplement those processes with business process automation.  

Find out how automation can help even small businesses.

3. Improved planning & scheduling.

Effective processes are often guided by an overarching business plan. In fact, one study found that organizations with a business plan grow at a 30% higher rate than those who don’t (BPlans). With this in mind, the effectiveness of each business plan can vary greatly based on how well each segment of that plan is delegated and scheduled out.

While planning and scheduling across an organization can be challenging, operations management software can greatly simplify ensuring that everyone’s on the same page. Through the integration of project management tools, your employees can better track who is doing what, what tasks are complete and to-be-completed, and more.  

4. Remote access to files and folders.

Thanks to technology, many employees no longer need to be in the office to contribute to an organization: This has led to an increase of remote workers, with almost half (43%) of employed Americans working remote at least sometimes (The New York Times). However, remote work can be a bit more complicated when a majority of your operations are paper-based.  

When you adopt operations management software, however, you can easily say goodbye to many paper-based processes. With your processes, calendars, documents, and more stored within a cloud-based system, your employees can access documents from the office or abroad. Not only that but going paperless can help to increase productivity by eliminating the potential for lost documents or the need to organize filing cabinets.

Learn more about how you can start going paperless in the office today.

5. Better accountability.

Even if your business already takes a more digital-based approach than a paper-based one, it can be difficult to know what your employees are working on. One study found that when a person makes an appointment with an accountability partner, that person increases their chances of success by 95% (Medium), and the same can be said in the workplace.

Rather than pairing off each of your employees with an accountability partner, adopting operations software provides a less evasive system of accountability. Through the creation and delegation of tasks to office-wide document management, every employee’s piece of work is out in the open, which fosters an environment of accountability and increases productivity.

6. Higher employee retention.

While often overlooked in operations management, maintaining a high employee retention rate can improve efficiency and cut costs. When you hire a new employee, not only do you have to pay for the time required to train them, but the time spent searching for that employee. Overall, while the cost of turnover varies, it certainly isn’t free: In 2017, the cost of new hires ranged from 16% for an employee earning under $30k to 213% for an employee earning $100k or more (CAP).

If employee retention is an ongoing concern, using operations management software for your onboarding process may help to improve your retention rates. Businesses with streamlined onboarding processes have a 50% greater new hire retention rate, as well as 54% greater new hire productivity (UrbanBound). In this way, by streamlining your onboarding processes with your software can help your retention rates improve.

7. A competitive advantage.

Whatever industry your business is in, you’re likely looking for the next best way you can one-up your competitors, and one way you can do that is by adopting more effective operations than them. In fact, 84% of small businesses still relying on manual processes (Small Business Trends). That said, if you have a small to medium-sized business, you can outdo many of your competitors through operations software.

Operations management software, for example, can streamline your operations and speed up product delivery to your consumers. Maybe you have an online business that ships products to its customers: Your software can help to create more efficient order processing, speeding up how quickly your employees ship the product and your customers receive it. In this way, you’ll provide better customer service than your competitors that still use manual processes.

Ready to build custom operations management software?

If the advantages of operations management software seem appealing to you, it’s now time to decide whether custom or off-the-shelf software will be a better fit for your business. Several popular off-the-shelf examples include Monday.com, Plex, and Integrify.

While these systems cater to most operations management needs, you may find that there are areas where they fall short. That’s the beauty of custom operations management software: It’s tailored to meet your unique needs. Forget trying to accommodate your software—get your hands on software that will accommodate you.

Start your journey to custom operations management software … Contact us!