A Gartner Expert Explains Why Most B2B Transformations Fail - Jackie Swanson

So we know that in B2B, it's very common still that you get mail orders, that you get phone calls, that a field team is out there picking up the orders on sheets and paperwork and what else.

Get back to the office and everyone needs to type it.

What's the most common failure mode that B2B companies do when they try to move dealers off manual ordering?

Yeah, that's a great question.

First thing that I see right now, especially like all the things we're talking about with the rise of AI and all of these really cool field management services and technologies, is that people implement a technology and expect it to be this magical thing that is going to change the world and is going to allow everyone to be more efficient and more productive.

And that's the opposite of the way that you should be thinking about these new technologies.

So first of all, let me acknowledge it is incredibly exciting.

They can do amazing things.

They can use data to drum up insights that will really benefit your business and will streamline operations.

It's absolutely an exciting time for that.

However, it's really about the process and about that optimized operating model going back to the original thing that we were talking about.

It's about optimizing that and then having the technology fit that.

And because of AI, technology is now more personalizable.

It's more, you can really meld it to the business.

And that's really what we're recommending to really do right now.

Look at your business, say what are those outcomes that you want, and then have the technology match that process.

I love your answer so much, really, because this is what we, yeah, it's absolutely true.

This is what we are dealing on an everyday basis here at SyncSpider and at B2Bware, that we have such problems to solve that mainly are translate able to the wrong process rather than the tools.

You see, especially in B2B, that every other company has another ERP software.

So there are Only in the German-speaking area, and we are small compared to the US, we have 600 EAP software solutions, 600 different solutions, and they all do not talk to each other.

And this is, I think, exactly where I can help, of course, and where a good process can help.

And What we actually did for our customers already is a simple tool.

You put in the PDF you get or the email you get and then it produces the order as digital format for your ERP.

And that's easy.

It's easy to implement.