Digital Transformation: The Need of the Hour for SMEs
37% of small business leaders face operational issues like erroneous signatures on contracts, adding 4–5 business days for contract completion.
Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) support a nation’s economy. They provide employment opportunities to citizens and contribute to a nation’s revenue. While new and modern technology has been the playfield of large companies, the COVID-19 pandemic and the change in working style that followed have allowed SMEs to gain access to the latest digital tools to transform their operations overnight. As a result, SMEs have the potential to transform their processes and improve their overall productivity.
Even today, SMEs face several challenges that a big company can work around, thanks to more funds, staffing, and resources. Common challenges SMEs face are the inability to take risks, manage daily operations, finance, and scale appropriately. Moreover, as per the World Bank, SMEs are less likely to raise funds from banks. Instead, they are more likely to obtain funds from friends, family, and internally due to their inability to handle significant risks.
In addition, small to medium businesses still depend on legacy document archival and processing methods. SMEs must embrace digital transformation to improve customer experience, increase productivity, and nurture partnerships. An easy but inevitable way to achieve this is by digitizing manual workflows and documentation.
What documents can be digitized?
With groceries to medicines, everything available online, it is about time that even document workflows are made digital from end-to-end to make workflows smoother. Here are the documents that should be digitized:
● Employee Records — SME companies should digitize their employee records. This will help them efficiently track their contracts, hiring materials, I-9 forms, W-2 forms, and other documents. In addition, it helps employees maintain and access records in case of their exit. This way, SMEs can scale their business and keep their processes orderly in the long run.
● Invoices — Organizations measure their sales through their invoices. It also helps them track their inventory and the number of expenses incurred. Digitizing invoices helps eliminate the use of paper and helps clients enjoy a smooth customer experience. Moreover, getting invoices signed by clients becomes a cinch with electronic signatures.
● Contracts — Contracts are valid documents between employees of your company and customers. Companies need to hold on to them till the completion of the contract. However, digital contracts make it effortless for companies to store and archive them online.
● Financial Records — SMEs must preserve financial records such as tax returns, employee pension funds, business deductions, and invoices. Government agencies or banks can request them in case of loans to scale operations. Digital financial records help make dealings highly transparent and easy to send to them.
● Non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) — NDAs are vital documents for preserving intellectual property from elements that could mean harm and foul play. The use of digital NDAs can simplify sharing, e-signing, and archival of documents.
● Company Policies — SMEs must follow the best practice of communicating their policies or updates to their current version. Verbal communication is a thing of the past, and if you own or run an SME, then you must know that your employees are bound to hold you responsible for government policies, etc. A digital approach helps employees to be abreast of all developments in the organization. Amendments and updates to company policies can be made with a simple email.
There is no limit to the types of documents SMEs should digitize, prioritizing those that are essential to their functioning.
47% of organizations that adopted e-signature and digital workflows reported gaining new customers during the pandemic.
The Road to Digital Transformation
Small to medium businesses have a tough road ahead of them due to economic uncertainty, changing expectations of customers, and the looming figure of large enterprises hovering over them. Digitization helps them to reduce the time spent on mundane tasks and automate workflows. Here are some benefits of accelerating the pace of digital transformation:
● Reduced Time to Market — Businesses can leverage digital technologies to market a product or service in less time. This provides more time for prototyping and acting on the latest trends. A holistic strategy can be set in place for all departments in an SME to work in conjunction.
● Employee Productivity — Digital transformation can free up employees’ time to create new products and strategies. Automation of mundane tasks can pave the way for smooth communication and streamlining the workflow.
● High Customer Satisfaction — Customers who are digital natives can switch to new trends. SMEs can leverage the same technologies to deliver an above-average experience. This can lead to repeat customers and long-term relationships. SMEs can utilize digital technologies to focus on personalization and provide an excellent experience for customers.
Also Read: How E-signatures can Help Enterprises Scale
How eSignatures Help SMEs overcome the Gap
The current SMEs are struggling with the aftereffects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Customer demand and broken supply chains have affected them as well. They understand the need for workflow automation to make their business more efficient. But investing in new solutions leads to hesitation because of the risk involved. However, electronic signatures or eSignatures help them get a good start in their journey and keep up with the change. Read on below to see its major benefits:
● Security and Compliance — Electronic signatures contain advanced security measures to keep the information in documents safe. They rely on two-factor authentication (2FA) to prevent unauthorized access and real-time mail trails to monitor the status of documents. In addition, eSignatures comply with the latest amendments in electronic signature laws globally to make the online transaction secure.
● Convenience — SMEs can use it to gain signatures on essential documents from any location. eSignatures support remote authentication, making it easy to gain signatures with a few clicks. This bypasses the manual requirement of scanning and printing documents.
● Quick Turnaround — Electronic signatures help SMEs get quick resolutions from clients globally. It speeds up the entire process of signing and helps verify the identities of all parties involved.
● Simple to Use — eSignature solutions are easy to use, allowing the user to complete the entire process within minutes.
Companies, regardless of size, need to learn to adapt and implement a digital transformation strategy. The strategy offers them new opportunities to engage with modern buyers, deliver a seamless experience, and create an agile work environment.
DrySign, a trustworthy and reliable electronic signature solution provider, helps SMEs to work at par with large enterprises. It can help companies create value and leverage better opportunities. Document processes and signature approvals become simplified with eSignatures, allowing SMEs to improve efficiency and modernize their operations.
Get all your signing needs completed with DrySign.
DISCLAIMER: The information on this site is for general information purposes only and is not intended to serve as legal advice. Laws governing the subject matter may change quickly, and Exela cannot guarantee that all the information on this site is current or correct. Should you have specific legal questions about any of the information on this site, you should consult with a licensed attorney in your area.
