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Data Automation and AI Analytics

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Data Automation and AI Analytics

Today, we are proud to introduce a new guest writer. C. Stephen Clegg is a Managing Director at Winsby Inc. where he oversees the analytics division, Zintoro. He’s developed an AI model that shows exactly what your company’s strength and weaknesses are, based on your past three years of invoice data. The model is trained to predict where your revenues, customer retention, and purchase frequency are headed if nothing changes in your approach. It also provides the ROI on Winsby’s marketing programs, according to your customers’ purchases. In his debut blog for Learning Without Scars, he writes about data automation and AI analytics.

Data Automation and AI Analytics

Today, data automation and AI analytics is available for equipment dealers to easily service their
customers by identifying what defines the best customer service to drive profitable growth. The
days of opinions, intuition and guessing to make business decisions are in the past.
These automated and AI driven systems are affordable to almost every dealer of any size to
compile metrics into simple actionable real time reports and forecast the future. This approach
allows management and employees at every level to focus on what the customer needs and
expects while anticipating what resources will be required in the future. The ROI on these
programs is paid for many times over with reduced operating, sales, and marketing costs.
The equipment industry is extremely cyclical and seasonal. Most equipment dealers do not have
the tools, key metric reports and forecasting programs to take action and make intelligent
decisions in a timely manner. They often rely on subjective metrics that are not linked to
measurable operating and financial results. The lack of usable data causes management to be
reactive and always scrambling to solve the latest unanticipated problem.
Successful equipment dealers use AI automated systems and reports to monitor and solve their
major customer service and customer engagement issues which include: employee engagement
with customers, internal operating performance metrics, customer retention and engagement,
and identifying and closing sales opportunities.
If you do not have accurate operating and financial information, you will be unable to allocate
your time and resources effectively to the activities that will keep your dealership profitable and
support your future growth.
Programs such as Zintoro.com Artificial Intelligence (AI) Analytics shows you what you can
expect in your business over the next 12 months. It forecasts the number of transactions, the
number of active customers, and the expected revenues with an accuracy that exceeds 95%. It
also provides specific recommendations on how to improve your growth. This data can be
analyzed by department and by location, as well as overall.
The platform identifies customers that are at risk of being lost and tracks key metrics on a rolling
12-month basis, shows and tracks the key metrics that drive your company’s growth and
identifies leads for your sales reps.
By understanding your potential for growth and your current market position, the program
identifies the areas where you are falling short and where you excel, producing insights, backed
by data, into how to grow effectively and efficiently. The program is also able to identify what
tools are working and which customers are at risk of leaving, and it shows the markets and
industries you need to target to grow your business profitably.

The reports clearly identify sales reps, departments and customers that require attention, so you
have an easy-to-follow road map for growth using the key metrics and forecasts.

Some of the core key metrics reports used by successful equipment dealers include:
o Forecast and actual results for revenue, transactions, and active customers by
customer, department, branch and overall
o Sales retention leads for your sales reps to contact—customers in danger of being
lost
o Comparative rankings for branches and sales representatives
o Market Industry Analysis with the greatest opportunities
o ROI on sales and marketing programs

The following is an example of a Revenue ROI report for marketing programs, such as calling
prospects and customers and sending information to them, distributing emails, and conducting
customer satisfaction surveys, removing the guesswork from whether your marketing and sales
programs are working.

The equipment industry is a difficult business to operate. Zintoro.com, an AI analytics program,
allows you to plan and focus on building your business versus always struggling to react to
customer demands.

Did you enjoy this blog? Read more great blog posts here.
For our course lists, please click here.

Embracing Automation

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Embracing Automation

Tonight, guest writer Jennifer Albright shares with readers the ways in which our “new normal” can bring about some positive change with embracing automation.

Embracing Automation in a Post-Pandemic Dealer World: Creating a Smoother Tech Implementation Experience.

As much as I think we are all tired of hearing phrases like “unprecedented times”, “pivot”, and worst of all, the dreaded “new normal”, the past 2 years have put a spotlight on how critical technology and adaptability are in the dealer world. Equipment dealers are as much about relationships as they are about selling and servicing equipment, so the idea of introducing a lot of technology may at first seem counterintuitive. But regardless of whether it’s the result of folks working from home during the pandemic or customers becoming more tech-savvy in general, we’ve reached the point where it isn’t as much of a choice as it is an inevitability. When done right, software streamlines back-end processes which can free up capital and reduce or refocus headcount, reduce opportunities for fraud, and can improve the customer experience making it easier to do business with you, thereby strengthening your relationships with your customers. A real win-win.

In my experience, dealers have often avoided implementing new technology…it’s time consuming, it’s disruptive, it can be expensive, and for many, change can be scary. However, the cost of not embracing technology at this point is exponentially more than the cost of the software itself. Yes, of course it’s time consuming and disruptive even under the best of circumstances, but there are many steps that can be taken in order to make it a better experience for all involved.

The Problem is a simple question…. Where to begin?

First, define what you’re trying to accomplish. You can opt to start small and automate a stand-alone process, or you can go all out and introduce or replace an ERP system. Regardless, you’re going to want to choose the right tech and the right partner for the job which starts with a formal RFP process. Use your selection criteria to create an RFP that can be sent to all participating suppliers, and create a scorecard by which your selection team will use to rate the responses.

The next step is one that is often overlooked, but is absolutely critical. Map your current processes and define where you want to be through the use of the new technology. By skipping this step, many dealers wind up simply forcing bad processes into the new system which is a recipe for failure. This exercise provides the GPS coordinates for where you are and where you want to be.

Involve your key stakeholders – don’t let system selection happen in a vacuum, seek input from the folks who are actually doing the tasks in question to shape your selection criteria. Far too often I see dealers excited by a slick sales pitch or demo and make decisions without comparing apples to apples, involving the right people or asking the right questions, which can of course cause issues when it comes to actually living with the new tech that they’ve bought. Technology shouldn’t be an impulse buy, but rather a business decision that has been reached through a thorough and structured approach. The preparation takes longer but it is well worth the time spent.

Once you’ve gathered the right people and created your RFP and decision criteria, reach out to the suppliers you wish to include in the bid process with your RFP documentation. Establish a single point of contact internally so that all suppliers are receiving the same information. Allow each supplier the same access to your team in the form of a demo and Q&A, and review their product using the scorecard that you’ve created. Taking this type of structured approach allows you to come to a decision based on facts and data as opposed to emotion.

Pro tip – be sure to also review the suppliers’ contracts prior to making a final decision. This way you don’t award the business to someone only to find that their terms and conditions won’t work for you.

Once you’ve decided on a tool and signed all of the paperwork, the hard work begins – or the fun, depending on how you look at it. Having an internal project manager is critical, as this person will herd all of the cats, ensure that everything is handled on time, and keep the project within budget. I’m often asked why the dealer needs a project manager when the software provider assigns one to the implementation. The thing is, those folks typically know their product but they can’t know your business like you do. This is where the input from your stakeholders is especially important, as they’ll be able to ask the right questions to ensure that the software is configured to meet your needs as a dealership.

Another critical aspect of the project that can’t be ignored is testing. Test every common scenario that your folks would face when using the software that you can think of. Don’t assume that everything will work the first time – the purpose of testing software is to try to break it. The more you can do to ensure that everything works prior to go-live, the less frustration your people will feel when trying to adapt to using it.

Last, but certainly not least, overcommunicate. Communicate early and often. Talk with your people about the purpose of the new tech and listen to their concerns. Reinforce what efficiencies they’ll gain, learn what frustrations they might feel, and listen. Given the long tenure of so many dealer employees, change can be challenging. While everyone can’t always have a say, most people just want to be heard. When people feel heard, they tend to be more accepting of change even if it isn’t what they wanted. Train, and provide ongoing training opportunities to ensure that folks are using the new technology correctly – and that new employees are learning to use it correctly versus falling victim to the telephone game.

New technology can open up a whole new world of efficiency and opportunity for dealers. There are so many tools created specifically for our industry, it’s pretty exciting to see how many companies are dedicated to our success. While it may not be a quick process, taking the time to define your needs and processes, assemble the right team, assign the right resources, test, and communicate will make your next implementation a smoother one.

Did you enjoy this blog? Read more great blog posts here.
For our course lists, please click here.

Automation

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Automation

Are you noticing the changes?

The world is becoming even more confusing and complicated as we are faced with increasingly rapid and dramatic technological advances. The most disquieting aspect of it now is that it is not just physical activities, using robotics for example, but now it is cognitive skills as well.

We are surrounded by Artificial Intelligence (AI), Virtual Reality (VR), Autonomous Vehicles (AV), and Disrupting Demographic Destinies (DDD). Things are changing very rapidly.

This is sometimes called the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

We are also seeing this affect different generations in different manners. From Millennials to Baby Boomers these technological changes are viewed very differently. And not everything is positive.

The technology around us has been something that millennials have grown up with and they are very comfortable with it. Baby Boomers not so much. But there are other aspects of technology that are beginning to come under more critical scrutiny. It seems that social media has the same effect on the brain as alcohol and drugs. You get a hit of dopamine, the very same response in your brain to alcohol and drugs, every time you get a response to your posts. Think about that for a moment.

Technological advances, particularly in cognitive activities, are not going to be slowing down anytime soon. Robotics will be coming to your operations. Order processing in the parts departments have been changing over the past four or five decades. I first saw an automated distribution center in Stuttgart, Germany. It was a Kodak plant. When I walked in the warehouse the lights went on. There was not one person in the building. This was the central distribution center for Kodak for Europe. When an order was entered, at any region in Europe, for which there was a need for a “part” robots went to work. They were given instructions by computer and they then went out to the warehouse, found the right aisle, turned into it, found the right elevation, went up to it, found the specific location and centered in front of it and then it picked the parts. They scanned the units and in so doing they were able to pick the correct quantity. It was very eye-opening experience for me. That was 1973.

Today, a friend of mine, who currently works for Google, has multiple patents pending where he can control the cursor of your computer only with his eyes. No mouse, no keyboard, exclusively with his eyes. Imagine that? Just pause and think about the prospects of things to come when there are inventions and innovations taking place like that already in the works.

The problem with all of these advances in technology seems to be that we are not realizing the gains in productivity that should be a byproduct of these changes. After all the main indicator of productivity gains is the average hourly wage. That hourly wage is starting to increase again after a few decades of gradual declines. That is not a good thing for society as a whole as the haves get more and the have nots struggle more.

As a society we need to work on solving this productivity problem. I have often said that we spend trillions of dollars on technology but very little on sociology. How society evolves to embrace the new technologies and jobs will be interesting to observe.

Today there are more job openings than there are people looking for work. The employment participation rate is finally starting to grow again after nearly a decade of decline. New and younger employees approach their lives in different ways than my generation. They are less patient than we were in their progress in a company. They want to be constantly learning. They are very curious – often asking the magic question “Why do you do it that way?” They don’t like the answer “because that is the way we have always done it.” They also want to continue to learn, to continue to grow as individuals. If they aren’t learning something from you they will leave. Gone are the days when people would think that when they left school learning was over. Today it is just the beginning.

With more job openings than employees to fill them we are on the cusp of some big changes in wages. John G Fernard, an economist at the Federal reserve Bank of San Francisco is quoted as follows – “You could meet the demand for a while by hiring workers, but with the unemployment rate at 3.8%, eventually you are going to run out of easy-to-find workers. Because workers have other opportunities, you end up having to pay them. And once you see wages going up, you say -We have to become more productive to cover our costs.” We are right at this point today. What is interesting to note is that the last time productivity grew dramatically was also when unemployment was at 4%.

This Fourth Revolution, is about adapting yourself to the New Realities of the work place. There will be differing methods, and processes, and systems brought into life. That will also require more adaptable employees. People who will embrace change because that is what they expect to happen. A constant evolution of work. This will focus on the customer and their needs and wants and also about being the “Lowest cost supplier of the highest value products or services.” That will only be possible with talented, well trained, properly paid loyal employees.

We are presenting you with the learning tools. You have to provide the opportunity to your employees.

The Time is NOW.