A Year Like No Other

And no. We’re not talking about 2020! Even though it may well have been a year like no other, we all know far more about how and why than we ever wanted to. Enough already and good riddance!

For office furniture dealers, what also promises to be a year like no other—and in a good way—is the one that lies ahead.

It’s not all good news, of course. Even with the promise of vaccinations rolling out to a growing segment of the population, there’s no reason to think that 2021, at least for the next few months, will not continue to confront us with the same challenges that we faced in 2020.

More encouragingly, though, there’s also every reason to expect the coming year will present the dealer community with some significant new opportunities to strengthen their business.

Ironically, those opportunities have come about largely as a result of the pandemic.

Before the COVID-19 virus, our industry had begun down the path of digital transformation path but it was at a snail’s pace that was painful for everybody.

The pace of change accelerated dramatically with the pandemic, giving people the opportunity—and the motivation—to leverage automation tools that never existed before.

Over the past six months if not longer, dealers have been holding enhanced virtual meetings, consolidating office space and digitizing and centralizing virtually everything they do in a way that is dramatically changing how they operate. And that’s just the beginning!

Step Two in the digital transformation process calls for a long, hard look at the technology you’re currently using to determine just how well it can function in the new, post-pandemic world that’s emerging.

What will really make 2021 a year like no other for your business is if you decide it’s no longer possible—and for many reasons it isn’t—to run your dealership using a system that fundamentally has not changed in ten years or more.

Ultimately, today and for the foreseeable future, using the right system is all about access to shared databases and consolidated interfaces. If you’re an office furniture dealer who’s using a system that does not have an integration point, then you should start looking at systems that do.

Otherwise, all you’ll end up doing is funding the further development of software that does little more than increase your own IT costs.

That’s never been the a way to run a business and today, the price for acting like it is is steeper than it’s ever been.

Putting it simply, you should always demand a clear and very obvious return on your IT investment. The only reason to increase your IT budget is to generate decreases in your other line items. If that’s not happening, all you’re doing is throwing good money after bad and it’s time to stop.

And if you do nothing else in 2021, it will make it a year like no other.

You will not only end up spending less money but you will also have better processes, better systems and, if you capitalize on the new business development opportunities that are out there, you’ll actually make more money.

Are you ready to stop settling for what the industry has accepted for far too long and start looking for the world class solutions that your business deserves and demands? We can help. To learn more, contact Avanto’s Matt Danyliw (PH: 860-400-6030; Email: mdanyliw@goavanto.com) or visit www.goavanto.com/.