Manufacturers face enormous economical pressures every day. They’re under constant pressure to increase productivity, produce low-cost quality goods, and efficiently schedule workflow methods. To do this, they must rely heavily on the latest technology to sustain a competitive advantage.
Cloud technology is one of the fundamental ways to improve business processes, which in turn helps companies deliver faster, cheaper, and better service than ever before. Here, we explore several key areas within a manufacturing company and how cloud technology can help them conduct their business even better.
Product Development
Developing new products may be the purview of your sales, marketing, or production departments. But freely sharing knowledge and information among these three departments is crucial for successful product development and launch.
Cloud computing is ideal for product development cycles. Not only can information be shared freely, but information is shared more quickly. On the occasion when someone from sales meets with a client, they can enter feedback into the system via their smartphones. This information can be accessed immediately by the marketing and product development teams, who can use it to develop better products or enhance existing ones.
According to an article on Forbes, one manufacturer avoided an allocation issue because of the speed with which information was shared during the product launch cycle. This was made possible through cloud technology, which uses internet-based services to share information in real-time.
An additional benefit to product development from cloud technology is shortening the time to market. A shorter time to reach the market cycle can increase competitive advantage. Many high-tech manufacturers are using cloud technology to effectively collaborate among their departments so that they can reduce the product development lifecycle.
Lastly, field tests can be conducted with clients during the prototype phase, and feedback can be entered immediately from test locations. Feedback shared on Monday can be included to the product design by Tuesday thanks to the on demand sharing of information via cloud-based systems.
Sales Departments
Sales departments have always relied on data to boost productivity. Feedback from leads, sales calls made and calls completed, fuel sales reports. Add this to cloud technology, and you have a powerful ally in your objective to boost overall sales.
Cloud platforms enable you to manage both direct and indirect sales channels from one dashboard. You can now track individual, group, and divisional progress towards goals and sales quotas in real-time. Sales managers can also use cloud-based systems to evaluate the profitability of each deal. The resulting data gives your sales team the incentive to strive and achieve their goals.
Marketing Departments
Furthermore, the marketing department also benefits from cloud-based solutions. Some challenges that marketing departments face regularly are cost constraints, time management and accessibility.
With that being said, cloud-based technology is an inexpensive infrastructure to implement for both small and large departments. This allows for an even playing field between small businesses and large corporations. Marketers also have the ability to manage and control content without depending on another department and has the added benefit of increasing productivity.
The cloud also allows a marketing department to access information with ease and can improve communication with the team. Consequently, cloud CRM applications improve customer service, support and integrate marketing campaign data all into one system.
Human Resources
Human resources too relies on the cloud these days. HRIS Systems help manufacturers manage a global workforce through cloud-based applications. Self-service portals take some of the weight off of a corporate HR’s shoulders and help update systems quickly and effortlessly.
By using cloud-based systems throughout the company, manufacturers are streamlining operations. They are improving productivity and connecting departments for better collaboration. Shorter time to market, prompt incorporation of customer feedback and improvements throughout the organization can lead to increased productivity, profits, and customer satisfaction.
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BAASS Business Solutions
At BAASS Business Solutions, we seek to help our customers improve processes to become more profitable. We take the time to understand the needs of your business and help you select software that will improve efficiencies, service, and profitability. Many of our products are cloud-based, giving you greater access, flexibility, and efficiency. For more information, visit BAASS or contact us.
