A four letter word that might help business.

I have recently started to think that every company "levels off".  They hit a plateau and stay there.  So then I ask "Why?".  Why does this happen, and why do other companies, doing the same thing, grow?
 
One of my conclusions is that these companies have different tolerances for risk or change.  RISK is the four letter word.  Let me explain. 
 
Would your business invest, let's say, 10k today knowing that your ROI (return on investment) was 6 months?  What if it would save your company money on month 7 and every month after.  Would you do this for your business?
 
Most would say "Yes".  I'd do that. 
 
Now what if that 10k investment involved 4 meetings that took an hour each. 
 
Now from these meeting you discover that every employee will change their duties just a bit.
 
Would you still invest the 10k?
 
If there was a pause there, you most likely will not invest the 10k, and would not move your business from where it sits today. (Company B)
 
If you didn't even blink and said "yes" about the 10k investment because it will save or make your company money in the same year, then you have a higher risk tolerance.  Your company will move from where it sits today into a more progressive position. (Company A)
 
This higher risk tolerance will propel the Company A beyond the Company B.
 
I am suggesting that if you could increase your risk tolerance that you will see a break in your plateau.
 
Train yourself into recognizing plateaus in your business and try different ways to break through. 
Repeat this pattern for every plateau.
 
So your business looks something like this.
 

Open yourself up to some risk and learn what your company can do. 

If you would like to find out more about Mountain Scanners, please visit our website.

http://www.mountain-scanners.com/

If you have a question for me, just send me an email.

jon@mountain-scanners.com

Jon Zalinski

VAR

VAR
This is a term tossed around my industry.  Does VAR mean anything to you?

Maybe it means "Value at Risk"?

Maybe it is a variable in Java script?

How about "Value added Reseller"?

Any clearer?  Not to me either. 

I'm in the software industry and in the software industry a VAR is a Value Added Reseller. 
BLAH BLAH BLAH. 
Still means nothing to the costumer.

So I thought that I would shed some light on the term VAR from a VAR point-of-view.

I would like to trade out the title of VAR and exchange it for something like "My geek broker" or "Our Paradigm Shift Consultants".   I took that from one of Robert Urwiler's Hierarchy of IT Value.

I added "My" and "Our" because we work for you.  So possessive is appropriate. We also specialize in listening to your needs and formulating a solution that meets your specific needs. 

We are an extension of your business.  We consider ourselves a partner in your organization, and we want to help you achieve your goals.  Since we have assisted many other companies there are some best practices that we share but we are there to help you with your biggest business PAIN.  Just call us, and we are glad to listen and suggest solutions.  We have a quiver of products that will help you with a solution.  Most of our recommendations have very quick ROIs (returns on investments) and we will even help train your staff on how to use these "solution" tools.

So VAR and Value Added Reseller are terms labels us from the product side of the industry.  I would like to reverse that perspective and come up with a some terms other than VAR from the customers side.

I'd like to post the top 5 ideas for new terms that would replace "VAR".  Please add your thoughts in the comments below.  I will post them the first week of January.

Oh ya, please check out our website to learn more about "your geek broker".  http://www.mountain-scanners.com/
Jon Zalinski
Mountain Scanners

Business "New Normal", are you prepared?

Businesses today are finding their "New Normal".  The feeling that we have hit the bottom and now it is time to prepare for the future is something that I am hearing of more and more.  Still, some are saying that we have not hit the bottom yet, but for the most part there is a growing concern for business in the future.  Here we are today and how will we or should we prepare for the future.

Payroll has been adjusted.  Fixed costs are trimmed.  So what next?

How does my business prepare for the future and exist in this "New Normal" climate.

Now understand that Mountain Scanners is a reseller of information management systems and a document scanning service bureau.  So I will address the inner office or back office, because this the heart of the organization.  It is also where we spend most of our time.

Many of you have your inner office processes down to a "T".  With any increase in the economy you are prepared to either do more work with the same amount of staff or hire someone in the hopes that we are "seeing things turn around".  This is where I would ask you to stop for a minute.

Step back and ask yourself a few questions.

How am I meeting my new customer's needs?  Is my company positioned to GAIN a competitive advantage to all of the other companies that are doing what our company does?  How can I exceed my new client's expectations, in the hopes that they will refer my business to another potential client?


I think doing the same as what you did in the past will only prolong your "New Normal" struggle.

Find ways to improve your inner workings.  Use technology to help you with your improvements.  There are a lot of uses with your existing technology that will improve your inner office that will "WOW" new customers with improved customer relations.  Position your business as the leader in this "New Normal" climate and grab as much market share as you can.

As you can imagine, there is a sea of products out there and very little time to research them all.  I suggest that you start in one department and then move to the next.  Maybe start with your AP department.  Improved customer/vendor relations could save you thousands of dollars a year.  (ie. Better terms with vendors on products, or answer customer questions on the same phone call) Your business must change to meet these "New Normal" expectations, and if you  exceed these expectations your business is positioned for the future.

If you like what your reading and/or would like more information on how we help business and organizations of all kinds, please visit our website at http://www.mountain-scanners.com/ or call me.  Click our "Contact" tab on our website for our number.

Jon Zalinski
Mountain Scanners
"The information that you need should be at your fingertips."

PDF = Portable Document Format

Most people today get what a PDF is.  Most people my not know that it stands for Portable Document Format.  A PFD is a product of Adobe.  This document format is easy to share because any computer user can get a free PDF reader from Adobe.  So yes Adobe has made it is easy to create, send, and open PDF documents.

The word portable is something of a perspective issue for me.  Seems I'm sitting in a chair when I create, send, or open a PDF document.

But now, in the age of the the "dying desk top", I am seeing more access and interact with documents over portable devices like laptops, iPads, and/or iPhones.  So yes documents are now portable while you are on the move as well.

There seems to be a shift in perspective that is user based, which is really pushing development. 

This brings me to portable users and products and/or applications for a user on the go.  "THE CLOUD"
"The Cloud" is a tech word for Internet or out in space.  Cloud applications are becoming more and more available.  I am seeing this "Cloud" taking over the way in which we interact with work, with files, with home, with family, and with government.  I am see a HUGE swing in mentality and system usage. 

Servers are going to be a thing of the past.  The expense, the maintenance, the IT department, the hardware, the back up, the security, firewalls, cabling, ftp, LMNOP.   NO MORE!  How much will that save you or your company?  HUGE MONEY!  Let me bring this to a user (you) level with this question.

Would you buy Microsoft Office off the shelf or have it installed on a new computer today?

If you said "yes" right away, you are not the category of customer that is pushing the "Cloud" revolution today.

If you said "no", your ARE the customer of today and tomorrow and the "cloud" is for you.  With products like Google Docs and OpenOffice, why would you pay for Microsoft Office?  These products are just right for you. 

Now let me give you a bigger point of view.
What if you had 100 computers in a company and you had to decide weather to buy software for each one?  Lets back up our point of view even more.  What type of computer would you buy today?  Desktop? Laptop? Maybe all laptops with wireless keyboards and mice.  Now would you buy software for each of them?
What is your plan for sharing corporate information? 

• SharePoint? NO WAY!  We are NOT buying a server and all of the stuff that goes with SharePoint so it can NOT work. 
• Email? Not very secure

I'll give you the "Cloud Answers" to these questions that will SAVE major money.  Send me an email and I'll send you my answers.
jon@mountain-scanners.com


If you like what you read, and would like more information like this.
Please follow this blog and I'll keep it coming or visit our website at
http://www.mountain-scanners.com/

Newton's First Law of "Business"?

Newton had it right. Outside forces change the direction of a business.
Companies that don't evaluate themselves internally until outside forces act upon the company are doomed.
If you were to just look at company investments, I use this a bit loosely, personnel, computers, and print/fax/scan machines, you have all of the components needed to increase productivity and accuracy. Most companies just don't know how, and are very caught up in the day-to-day that they can’t even see the need.
IT departments know how to fix and network computers, but they are not aware of the software available to help the company do their business better. Owners and CEOs evaluate the company and suggest cutting expenses. #1 being payroll, but that does not attack the issue of how to run the business better. Seems to me like they are doing business harder.
I have only seen a few progressive companies use their CIO and ask them to evaluate the business and have it run smarter. If the company does not have a CIO then the use of a consultant comes into play, and worth every penny.
There are plenty of helpful software products out there that help the business run smarter. A little time and financial investment and training here WILL affect the bottom line and may even effect their competitive advantage. Especially today when most companies are running their business harder. Their gaps in their business processes get larger and their company suffers. The writing for that company is on the wall.
Companies that are still using paper in any of their business processes are losing money to their bottom line daily.

Companies that are prepared for today and for the future WILL run their business smarter.
I have plenty of case studies and white papers if you need any references for any industry.

Technology is now very helpful and now affordable. OCR engines are more accurate and scanners are very user friendly. There are plenty of options out there for the home office to the enterprise wide solutions. Most good softwares are including or have a workflow module. Workflow is very useful.

To get techy SharePoint is not your silver bullet. It is a cog in the wheel, but a very good tool. ECM in another important cog as well.

If you want any other information, just send me an email and I'll it get it to you same day.

Jon Zalinski

Check our our web site http://www.mountain-scanners.com/

Document Management + Process Management = Enterprise Content Management

By Jon Zalinski / Mountain Scanners

I wanted to shed some light on Enterprise Content Management.  I hope to answer a few questions like...What is it?  What does it do?  Why should I consider it?  and How can I justify that purchase?

I'd like to start with a sample company.  Let's say this company has downsized recently because business is a bit slower.

Most companies today have computers that help them run their business.  They use applications for specific purposes.  There happens to be a software product for almost every job duty out there.  I am sure you could name at least 5 applications that are used within a typical company.

Word
Excel
Some sort of email app
Quickbooks
Maybe a point of sale
Or a reservation application
How about a design app
I guess you can add what you use.

Traditionally the investment to purchase computers is a no brainer.  I guess you can see the value in that investment.

Now this company would like to start producing money.  How does this process begin and where does it end?  There are departments that are involved with their tasks and personnel trying to be productive enough to keep up with task demands.  After downsizing, task demands have grown and personnel are now trying to do more.

Picture Painted?  Good.

Now let's pick apart the company into components. 

Personnel
Computers
Documents
Processes to complete
Deliver services or goods
Keep existing customers
Attract new customers

Let me know if I have missed anything.

If you were to put a stress on one of these parts you may lose existing customers and you probably won't attract new ones.  This is a direction that a lot of companies have gone or are going, but this company is hanging on and pushing through.  So far, customer satisfaction is still good, and the level of competition has declined.

This is the point at which a company can really gain some competitive advantage if the company was able to meet the added stress demands.  This is where Enterprise Content Management comes into play.

Enterprise Content Management (ECM) software investments usually have a quick return on investment (ROI) because of the efficiency it adds to company internally.

I'll explain. 

One of your most expensive resources is personnel.  So how can you maximize that investment.  The second resource that is sitting in your company are the computers that you use everyday.

Now lets say that by utilizing your personnel and your computer infrastructure your personnel would be more productive, the business would run more efficiently, and the end result was a great customer experience. 
This is the point were a company then decides to work smarter rather than harder and gains high levels of customer satisfaction and jumps ahead of the competition.

Enterprise Content Management is a software strategy that includes Document Management, Workflow Management, Information Management, Business Process Management, Project Management, Data Management, and Electronic Document Management, to name a few, which provides the tools for this company to "Run Smarter".

If your duties at work involve finding paperwork, filing paperwork, doing key entries from documents,  producing orders, approving purchases,  printing, copying or faxing paperwork, paying invoices, looking through applications, and everything else your would do throughout your work day............
Remember this.  There is a way to do what you are doing...... smarter.

With a little investment that has a quick ROI......your have everything to gain.
You can't afford to do nothing because your competition is looking into using an Enterprise Content Management solution in their business.

Take the first step towards gaining your competitive advantage by learning more about ECM.

If you like what you have read or would like more information...
Visit our website at http://www.mountain-scanners.com/
Or call me at 970-945-7236.

5 Areas that will add VALUE to your company.

by Jon Zalinski at Mountain Scanners

1. Customer Service

2. Technology

3. Quality

4. Cost Management

5. Delivery

If you were to improve these 5 areas of your organization, you would gain a competitive advantage.  I would venture to say that customer satisfaction and sales would would go up. 

I will add some ideas to each of these 5 areas.

1. Customer Service- Ask your customers.  They will tell you.  For example,  I currently do business with my local bank, but every time I need a new service they make me fill out another application for that service.  It would be nice if the form was already filled in with my critical information so I can move on with my day.  I know that they have my critical information already.

I can buy something on Amazon with one click.  This should be easy to fix.
How about having a live person pick up the phone?
How about a follow up call from a supervisor just to make sure everything is OK with the service that was provided.

2. Technology- Use of technology can go a long way with your customers.  Can you answer a customer's question on the same phone call?  Can you automate an information path electronically? Maybe, improve speed with transactional business.  Are there ways to eliminate the number of key strokes in repetitive  data entry duties.  Maybe the use of technology would allow for collaboration across the company. Come to find out, that you have an expert in the wrong department, or you get more thorough input to help you make a vital company decision.
OK, how about one click to purchase something.
Or even better signing a contract on your smart phone.

3. Quality- There has been a big push to de-value products or services in price.  But the in doing so the have also de-valued their products or services.  An advantage would be to ADD to the quality of your products or services.  Here are some call out words that should make you think about your organization.  Testimonials, satisfaction guaranteed, try before you buy, years in business, here is our mission, on time, paperless, friendly, helpful, relationships, trust, on time, certified, and at your service.

4. Cost Management-  You have made your big cuts and you are now running as skinny and you think you can.  Where else could you streamline costs?  Spend on technology to save in payroll productivity and materials of paper and ink.  Manage your records digitally so you do not need to save the paper files in storage facilities. Spend a little more here to save a lot more there.  A robot that is purchased to help in a factory has and upfront cost but a long term reward.  These are the kind of cost management strategies I am thinking of.  Immediate cost management has passed.  So what is your strategy to manage your costs in the long term.  If you could streamline your internal fixed costs with a long term mentality and things do pick up Win Win for you.

5. Delivery- What if you could deliver something faster, or process something quicker.  How about being on time or even early.  If your competitors are delivering products or services can you beat them?  How about a bank that process your new service with just a signature...what if the signature came off of your smart phone.  How about automating the way you process your orders, no paper, all digital, and by doing so orders were entered and delivered earlier than your competitors?  This would also shorten the cycle of production to payment.

Well the purpose of this was to inspire you to think about your industry and how your company can gain a competitive advantage within your industry by adding VALUE.

I hope you also understand that this VALUE perception must be from the "point of view" of your customers.