The Agile Company

By Anthony Muhl

02 April 2010

The agile company recognizes the entrepreneurial spirit and is capable of flexing the departments within the company to meet the demands of its customers. When a company experiences rapid growth it becomes increasingly difficult to respond to the demands of clients in a timely manner, thus empowering departments to change direction as needed becomes an important key in overall success.

Companies that utilize the expertise of Information Technology find new processes to support the clients including e-commerce websites, CRM and ERP systems are better able to assign resources based on demand matching skill set with the job function that is beneficial to the company as a whole.

For retail chains the importance of proper inventory management becomes such an integrated task that the use of outside expert consultants is highly recommended. Proper inventory management infrastructure will allow a link between inventory levels in each store and the manufacturers, warehouses, and distribution channels. With the help of ERP and predicting buying patterns companies are able to scale back on excessive inventory levels which erode the profits from the annual sales, while looking at the flip side – companies are better able to increase inventory on high selling items ensuring that the shelves are stocked to meet the demands of the consumer, thus increasing profits.

The explosive growth of fiber optic networks driving new high-speed wireless data networks around the world have placed new demands on IT departments within companies to deliver corporate networks on a global scale. Companies that utilize new technologies while incorporating the paperless office will flourish – not that the cost of paper is a driving force; however, the idea of inputting raw data directly into software that drives business decisions rather than the old filling out paper forms method that has no visibility. The key is to have all departments in a company reporting events as they happen and allow for software that is designed to drive decisions provide value in the form of automating predictive patterns to drive growth.

The agile company must be interacting with clients providing a positive experience delivering the short-term expectations. The same company must also be working on the ability to deliver the long-term, profit generating deliverables utilizing every competitive advantage affordable. The agile company knows that a new market entrant will call-on their clients and must make every effort to keep existing clients without the use of price as a determining factor.

The company that does not recognize that the completive landscape is constantly evolving by changing technologies, competitors, and economic factors will find that they have been overlooked by consumers that favor a company that better meets their needs. The modern tastes, styles, and trends are defined by a constant changing push from designers to create a better product for consumers to desire. Technology is part of the mix just as economic factors will push companies to cut costs to survive. This cycle is not always a negative force on a company as many have been challenged to change processes in order to profit vs. dropping a product line.

Where to go from here? First, create the agile company as part of your corporate culture, simply by introducing the entrepreneurial spirit. As your company grows – bring in project managers that specialize in the use of ERP systems to predict buying patterns thus able to allocate labor based on need. Employees must be willing to participate in wearing multiple hats to support the business community as a whole. The benefits of being agile will show in more than the bottom line as your company finds new success in the marketplace.