Like digital transformation, business optimization is a broad term that gets used so often it’s become an easily ignored buzzword. Look past the hype, however, and small businesses will find that the many benefits of business optimization are worth exploring, especially during the COVID-19 crisis.
Challenges facing small businesses
Consider the example of a small manufacturing company like a distillery. Every day involves managing—among other things—production, inventory, online orders, other sales, multiple vendors, and various forms of distribution.
As small businesses like these grow, they typically deploy a variety of different, siloed ERP, CRM, and other systems and applications that don’t work well with one another, resulting in costly errors and time-intensive inefficiencies such as duplicate data entry.
Simply staying on top of moment-to-moment demands is difficult enough during normal times. Everyday challenges are amplified during the pandemic, when staffing levels vary from week to week and more time is needed to focus on responding to constant changes in operations, consumer demands, and more.
Going further—to not only meet daily demands but also gain visibility and insights into the future—is impossible for many small businesses. Fortunately, these are the precise problems business optimization is designed to address.
How business optimization can help
Business optimization is the process of identifying your goals and then implementing new processes to make your business more efficient and cost effective. For example, business optimization can help you:
- Identify areas in which costs can be reduced without hurting performance
- Automate repetitive tasks, freeing staff to focus on more business-forward initiatives
- Reduce time-consuming errors
- Gain insight into trends to inform key business decisions
- Improve the speed and accuracy of business forecasts
Business optimization goals and strategies differ, but outsourcing to an experienced partner that uses the latest technologies and platforms is often a good place to start. You can then access cloud-based, business-wide accounting software solutions like Sage Intacct to automate everyday tasks. Such cloud-based solutions are available anytime, anywhere, and help ensure that all your business systems are connected—resulting in greater visibility, better reporting, and more time to focus on getting your business through the pandemic successfully.
Learn more
Insero & Co. is a public accounting firm with decades of experience working with businesses and nonprofits. Our experts provide customized consulting services, including end-to-end business optimization services for businesses of all sizes. We can also serve as an extension of our clients’ accounting departments and fill specific positions to meet immediate needs. Whatever your needs during these challenging times, we’re here to help.
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About the Author: Kimberly Gangi
