Feb 28, 2019Every time I receive a call to give a lecture about technologies applied in business, specifically about radio frequency identification (RFID) and the Internet of Things (IoT)—subjects that I have studied in depth for more than 20 years—I often says that we need to think about processes. No technology can make a difference unless it is considered a broad simplification in business processes.
But what does it mean to make a difference? Regardless of the sector, be it retail, health care, manufacturing or agriculture, at the end of each business cycle, making a difference represents cost reductions or increased earnings. In other words, making a difference leads to increasing the volume of money accumulated by a company after the completion of business processes.
This week, an executive from a large multinational RFID provider called to tell me about what he has learned regarding the best projects that have been developed by the partner companies with which he works. "Perin," he said, "I've noticed that the guys who make the most interesting and successful projects are the ones who understand the needs of the customers well."
This executive presented several examples of pilots and cases in progress, which will soon be presented at the RFID Journal Brasil website in the form of materials focused on business rather than on technology. Companies that truly make RFID deliver the best results are those focused on solving business problems, regardless of the technology involved.
I have witnessed what he told me for several years now, and I applied this knowledge while editing IT for Business 2 - Business Analysis, written by MIT engineer and Brazilian consultant Suzandeise Thomé. This book says the use of technology must always be questioned, regardless of how wonderful, charming and revolutionary the IT tool in question might seem to be.
No matter how great a technology is, we need to evaluate, from time to time, if we are too focused on the solution to be implemented, and not on the problem to be solved. That is, we must modify and update our business, and processes must always be in the foreground when we do so.
Edson Perin is editor of RFID Journal Brasil and the founder of Netpress Publishing.
