Digitalization and automation- Bringing the much-needed relief for hyperlocal ecommerce businesses

“Technology, for a majority of right reasons, has made businesses more enabling and expeditious. And, digitalization and automation have become integral to any businesses’ success in today’s era.”

Introduction

The role of technology in any businesses’ success is pivotal. As the consumers of today want more online marketplaces to come up, them providing easy browsing of products and services on offer, and them offering exciting deals and promising lightning quick deliveries, all this is not possible without the intervention of technology in businesses. Digitalization and automation, now finely interwoven into businesses in the form of technology, have provided the modern-day businesses numerous reasons to smile so much so that they stay positive and hopeful not just about the present times but about their future as well.

‘Digitization of business’ and ‘digital transformation’ have been buzzwords for more than a decade now, but this terminology is still going strong for a reason. Digitization and digital transformation have become bigger priorities than ever as businesses have shifted towards hybrid work models and customers have increasingly embraced online channels.

Let’s take a closer look at what digitization and digitalization actually mean (commonly and most often confused terms) and how its amalgamation in business processes along with automation is all that an aspiring concern wants.

Understanding the concept of digitization and digitalization

Expressing as simply as it can be, digitization is the conversion of analog information to digital form with suitable electronic devices so that information can be processed, stored, and transmitted through digital circuits, equipment, and networks.

In other words, digitization relates to converting information into a digital format so as to adapt to the transforming digital call. Digitization of a business leads towards a more digital workplace. Often, leaders mistake this as meaning simply an absence of paper, but it can mean so much more. For some organizations, it can mean a different style of work, such as accessing information from mobile devices in the field and collaborating with remote workers in new ways. These process changes require more than just replacing paper documents with digital ones.

Digitalization, on the other hand, is the use of digital technologies to change a business model and provide new revenue and value-producing opportunities. It is the process of moving to a digital business.

It must be noted that while digitization may be a part of a digital transformation initiative, digital transformation also encompasses the changes to business technology, culture, and processes that drive better business outcomes, including a better customer experience.

By way of explanation, think about how your expectations as a consumer have changed. When you purchase a new phone and that phone immediately contains all your contacts and photos, that’s digitization. When you call your bank or hospital and your transaction history or medical records are readily available, that’s digitization. When Amazon Prime saves all of your card numbers and shipping addresses so that you can order anything that you need and see it on your doorstep in two days, that’s digitization.

How does digitalization affect a business?

Digital transformation doesn’t just impact customer interactions and transactions, but it also changes business operations to an overwhelming extent. As hyperlocal ecommerce and hybrid work models increasingly become the norm, businesses must adapt so that employees can work and collaborate efficiently, regardless of their physical location. Adopting cloud-based technologies that keep people connected and information centralized ensures that businesses are setting themselves up for success.

The key here is the fact that digital transformation requires a fundamental shift in thinking and opens up a slew of possibilities for disruption. For instance, businesses prior to technology taking over them used to run physically that had altogether different ways of promoting and selling products. Nowadays, as technology has progressed and has been completely absorbed by businesses into their operations, they have novel ideas and approach of promoting and selling their merchandise. What was difficult and often daunting for businesses in terms of marketing a decade back, has become as easy as a pie for them.

Courtesy to the whopping growth in technology and digitalization taking over a number of businesses’ affairs, it has become easy to reach out to the existing and prospective customers and realize the objectives of the business in an unhindered manner.

Automation and hyperlocal ecommerce

Automation has been at the helm of all business transformation and upgradation in the recent years. It is by virtue of technology and automation, that ecommerce has gone hyperlocal. To this change, the role of hyperlocal ecommerce delivery software and apps in the growth of businesses cannot be negated. Yes! Hyperlocal deliveries have found great strength and support in automation. It would not be wrong to assert that today, every industry has adopted automation in some form— and ecommerce is no exception. In fact, ecommerce automation is responsible for the experiences behind some of the world’s favorite brands.

That’s the beauty of automation. When it’s done right, it makes processes so seamless, you can’t remember doing them without technology.

Hyperlocal ecommerce has had a share of involvement of automated processes so far that have streamlined and eased the process of inventory management, logistical operations and order fulfilment for them. Automation makes businesses efficient to the extent of making lightning quick deliveries to the doorsteps of the customers. In fact, it is an automated hyperlocal ecommerce delivery software that has businesses exploring the hyperlocal avenues in the recent past.

All in all, businesses must be cognizant of the fact that automation is designed to handle all the standard, mundane tasks that take up your team’s time — not the ones that require true human input. With ecommerce automation, you’ll have more time to focus on things like building partner relationships, emphasizing on projecting your business’ image, and strategizing ad campaigns and strengthening the brand, besides others.

What does the tech-enabled future hold for hyperlocal ecommerce?

There is little doubt about the fact that technology is going to ingress businesses and consumer’s lives at an increasing pace. With increased technological adoption, business processes are bound to get increasingly automated and thus efficient and improved. Similarly, the increased access to internet and exposure to newer technological adoptions by the customers will make them even more techno-savvy and ravenous of things that are offered in a hyperlocal marketplace.

The coming into being of technologies like blockchain and artificial intelligence also promise a sea of change, possibilities and advancements for hyperlocal ecommerce delivery software partners and onboard businesses in the hyperlocal ecommerce space. For instance, drone deliveries have been successfully made in some countries, while in some it is still in its nascent stage and the customers are liking the concept.

Moreover, the introduction of robots in making doorstep deliveries can also witness businesses welcoming the change and thereby flooding the hyperlocal space with even more promises and possibilities not just for aspiring businesses, but for consumers and investors as well.

Wrapping up

With technology taking over, times are getting challenging and even daunting for businesses. There is no doubt about the fact that with increased technological ingression into business operations and consumers’ everyday lives, hyperlocal ecommerce has brought the much-needed relief for ailing and aspiring businesses and has helped them reimpose hope faith in the hyperlocal model of ecommerce.

One thing is established that with technology acting as the pivot for all business-related aspects, automation and digitalization are going to become even more critically central to activities concerning a business. As automated processes and digitalized operations take over and become the order of the day for them, businesses are bound to carve a niche for themselves in the competitive hyperlocal landscape of present times.

Because it is the use of digitalized and automated processes that can strengthen logistics and supply chain of a business and can assure them of speedy and efficient deliveries to the doorsteps of the ever-ravenous consumers. Automation does certainly make hyperlocal ecommerce expeditious and fulfilling.