When I was a young child, my father would take my siblings and me to the fast food restaurant. I didn’t like pickles, mustard or onions, so he ordered me a hamburger with ketchup only. I would then spend the next five to ten minutes waiting for this burger, since it was considered a special order. Now many years later when I order that same burger, it’s delivered with as many or few condiments you would like, with no extra wait time! So, as I view the eCommerce space and the possible ways to connect with customers, I’d ask in which scenario are you working? As the economy has tightened in recent years, customer demand to connect transactions electronically has increased tremendously. And with that said, requirements differ even more from customer to customer. The new norm is requirements variation- vast variation! It is no longer the exception.
If we think about the changes that have taken place in this space, we need to consider how they impact people, process and technology. We also need to think about how our organizations would survive if we did not embrace the variation and demand.
Many who develop the electronic transactions have been in their positions for several years. How do you change their mindset to be productive in today’s variable environment? How do you foster productivity within their environment when process is changed? How do you change the processes to make them more efficient and faster when variation is the norm? What technology tools are needed to get the job done? Each organization has unique needs, but there are also common themes.
In the upcoming weeks I will be blogging about these topics, as well as discussing the future of this technology. Our ketchup-only hamburger no longer keeps us waiting at the counter. This same behavior should be instilled in our electronic processes. Let’s not keep our customer waiting!