Innovation has become a key advantage which can contribute with competitiveness in organizations; a routine company that does not adapt to patterns and trends that the market and its environment generates will be destined for failure or a minor success that it can actually achieve.   

That is why in this article, Pablo Betrano, Innovation Coordinator of Grupo STT and German Valero, IT Coordinator of Grupo STT set out the advantages when innovation for Latin America; the main points of improvement in the area, the initial signs that indicate when a company should innovate its processes, the process innovation steps, the business positions in charge of innovation, tracking metrics and how Grupo STT can help your company with this topic.

Advantages of process innovation in Latin America

Carry out effective and continuous process innovation can help your company to have advantages as:

1. Reduction of operating times: in this area, innovation with the use of the correct technology, allows the company to do more in less time, so the operation is optimized.  
2. Greater team effectiveness: not only the effectiveness of the process improves, but that of the team also does, since innovation contributes to a consolidation of business areas.   
3. Improved decision making: by having higher and better indicators taken from an improvement of operations, decision making is strengthen at the managerial level, which facilitates it.
4. Satisfy customer needs: customer satisfaction is also benefited, which is vital and priority in all organization.

Process innovation improvement points in Latin America

Process innovation in the region can have improvements that strengthen it to in turn give greater support to its advantages; among those improvements are:

1. Management involvement: increased support for senior management processes is essential, since it is not hand in hand with IT; the improvement in the operative part is affected.
2. Share knowledge: people within the organization become sensitive to sharing information; for confidentiality issues they become jealous with the information, but it should be highlighted that always a IT department request is to improve the process and the operative part, and not for other purposes.
3. Forge the company´s DNA: creating a differentiation from one company to another is key as it gives a unique feature to stand out and the companies do not always do it.

Initial signs to begin process innovation 

Improvement points can be identified as part of the business activity as the ones indicated previously or other signs that make the company know that it is time to apply process innovation; among them we can mention:

1. Market differentiation: a changing and variable market is a clear sign that demands innovation and should be addressed 100%.
2. Competition increases: the presence of new competitors manifests itself at an accelerated rate; that is why it is key for a company to think fast and have in mind automation and digitization of the operational part. 
3. Change in business strategy:  strategy shall be well executed; there are “overnight” changes that can easily fluctuate at the level of employees, services and products.  
4. Change in the life cycle of products/services: a very changing life cycle implies to keep them in time and not make the vitality of the product or service decrease.    

Process innovation steps

There are a series of steps to follow when innovating; the same follow a sequence that makes work easier for the company when choosing to innovate your processes, these steps are: 

1. Create an idea box: the first step is brainstorming that gives options that allow to address the request or requirement to deal with the problem or problems that the company has in this area.
2. Create the design and innovation plan: aspects in brainstorming should be taken into account and be parameterized; in such parameterization improving time management and company´s resources are key and should be kept in mind.
3. Select technology tools: an exhaustive analysis of all the ideas in the box should be carry out and select the tool that best solves the requirement.
4. Internal communication: once new processes are defined they must be communicated to all the organization. 
5. Put into practice: carry out the new production process to be able to measure it in a determined time and generate reports.

Positions or posts that carry out process innovation 

An innovation area is fundamental, although if a company does not have the same the presence of a IT team is necessary. However, all positions in a company are necessary to innovate; each employee shall generate a vision of how to reduce operational costs and thus become more effective and efficient.  

It must be taken into account that 1+1 = 3 and that it is not equal to 2, because all the employees add up and all of them contribute to the effectiveness and stability of the company´s processes.

Process innovation tracking metrics

As any new process, the same should be measurable to indicate to the organization after a definite time, if the same worked or not; among the main metrics are: 

1. Increase competitiveness: it is not only to compete; it is to be characterized to be unique in the market.
2. Differentiation of products or services: become the only ones in the market is achieved by showing something that the rest does not have; you have to become a point of reference and a role model for other companies.  
3. New ways to cut costs: significant cost savings is also a good metric. 

Grupo STT can help you with process innovation 

Grupo STT can guarantee opening to new markets with experience and avant-garde in innovation technologies with more than 21 years of experience. It can make your company focus on new effective strategies to expand in a range of services and products that your organization offers; and also has the option of creating new strategic alliances to consolidate its product or service, protected by internationalization, as well as satisfaction of internal and external customer processes. 

Our company has new inclusions, with years of experience in implementing cloud technologies without fear or resistance to change; between them we can find: RPA or process optimization by robotics, mobile developments, Oracle + Netsuite; always taking into account case incidents for continuous improvement. We have new distribution channels always looking for new media and ease of adjusting to the environment, which has allowed that aspects as the current pandemic did not stop our operation; and Grupo STT always has under the spotlight the creation and incorporation of new companies or subsidiaries that allow to expand to new areas. 

¡Contact us!

info@grupostt.com

Hugo Carmona Espinoza

Regional Community Manager