Okay that headline may seem a bit extreme, but imagine this scenario:
Jared had been in the construction business for nearly a decade, and he was used to hard times. But lately it seemed that no matter how much he hustled, every job opportunity went to his arch nemesis Zach.
What made matters worse was that when Jared heard rumours of jobs going Zach's way, they were always for less than what his company asked for - meaning Zach had some kind of edge on him. That didn't sit well with Jared so he decided to investigate further.
He soon discovered the answer: Zach was using digital technology on all his projects! And he had been for quite some time. From estimating materials accurately to using augmented reality to plan effectively, these technologies allowed him to underbid Jared each time without sacrificing quality or safety standards.
Feeling discouraged, Jared went home and started researching ways he could incorporate similar tools into his own operations so that he could become competitive again in such challenging times.
However, it didn’t take long before Jared felt overwhelmed as the opportunities seemed endless and he had no idea where to start. On top of that, the initial investment was a show stopper for Jared: with record inflation his costs were already high and there was no way he could afford to implement these technologies.
Feeling resigned, Jared wondered if it was time he shut it all down and retired.
Zach on the other hand seemed to be practically laughing. He started investing in process automation years ago. Initially, through simple tools like Zapier, Zach was able to reduce costs and reinvest the savings into other digital solutions and technologies. Since none of his competitors were doing the same, he was able to keep his prices up, which increased his ROI. When sales started to dry up due to high inflation, Zach’s high margins allowed him to lower his prices.
While Jared’s business is floundering, Zach’s has plenty of profitable work in the pipeline.
There you go. A scenario that many Canadian companies are facing today. But all is not lost for Jared and his company doesn’t need to ‘die’.
Through the Canada Digital Adoption Program, businesses like Jared’s can apply for grants up to $15,000 and interest-free loans as high as $100k. Qualifying companies can be like Zach’s and reduce overhead, increase efficiency, and respond to market forces more quickly!
If you’re interested in learning more about process automation, or about my role as a Certified CDAP Advisor, feel free to book a quick video call with me using this link.
