Denmark’s digital competitiveness is top-notch. Once again, we occupy first place in The European Commission’s Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) for 2021, which calculates the degree of digitization across the EU countries. The first place is largely due to the efforts of Danish companies to launch digital strategies and initiatives. The degree of companies’ integration of digital tools has increased significantly in the last couple of years. We can conclude that Danish companies generally embrace digital strategies and utilize the many opportunities that digitization brings.
Usually, there is always room for improvement. Business models can get challenged, and traditional ways of thinking can be replaced by new ones. There are still companies that are falling behind in digital transformation. Overall, it is the Danish SMEs that lag a little behind the large companies.
While digitization holds great potential it often requires resources, knowledge, and the right set of skills to invest in and implement digital solutions. In this article, we have gathered 5 reasons why digitization is an important element on the path to growth.
1. Digitalize or risk being left behind
The first good reason to digitize is pretty obvious, but still important to point out. If you stick to traditional, old-fashioned, and thus often manual work processes, you will not keep up with developments and your competitors will overtake you. Digitization is not a choice. It is a condition for remaining relevant in the market.
2. Streamline workflows with digital services
Danish companies are demanding tools to facilitate administration and at the same time make it more efficient. Of course, digitization cannot be avoided here. Digital tools eliminate unnecessary processing and wasted time, as tasks are completed faster and with fewer errors. Increased digitization makes companies more productive and strengthens competitiveness. The report Redegørelse om Danmarks digitale vækst 2022 states precisely that when companies incorporate new technologies that optimize production, reduce resource-intensive processes and increase sales opportunities, it helps to maintain jobs and contribute to growth and welfare. These are some of the benefits of digitizing workflows.
3. Focus on competencies and core services
As mentioned above, there is a positive correlation between productivity and automation, and digitization. And why then? Among other things, the fact that manual typing takes time costs money, and takes the focus away from the company’s core services. By digitizing and automating, typing work and other processes can be left to technology and employees will have more time on their hands – time that can instead be used on efficiency, optimization of customer relations, and other value-creating activities.
4. Data, data, data
Data is probably the most used word in a business context in the 21st century. In many ways, it is companies’ primary raw material. With good reason. Digitization creates even more data and offers great benefits if you manage to use it effectively. Digitization can help to provide better control over, and insight into, processes and data. With digital tools, you will be able to collect and share data across platforms. This is something that you can use to make the business more efficient, which is of course a significant source of growth in the company. We can go through a quick example. By digitizing and automating your expense and document management with Acubiz, you get better control and overview (and data) of your employee expenses. Better control and a greater overview mean that you can minimize errors in the work processes and make work easier for the administration. PS. Remember to keep track of your data in accordance with the Personal Data Regulation.
5. Digital documentation does not fade
Today, quite a few companies still keep physical receipts. These physical receipts quickly fade, so the text becomes indistinct, they disappear easily and then they take up space in the archive. If documentation is stored electronically, it is ensured that it can be easily found when needed – and that it is found in a readable condition! Soon, companies will need to store their receipts electronically, because the new accounting law has entered into force. It aims to facilitate the administration of companies through digitization and automation of bookkeeping. This is clarified with the requirements for digital bookkeeping in a digital bookkeeping system and digital storage of attachments. So there is no way around it – document handling must be digitized in one way or another from 1 January 2024. It might be a good idea to start digitizing document handling – better today than tomorrow.
With new technologies and solutions comes a greater amount of data. The large amounts of data entail a greater challenge in securing data. Digitization thus places demands on security. Do you use suppliers who help you digitize workflows? If yes, remember to make it clear what you expect of them. They must be able to document and guarantee that your data and digital traces are handled properly and securely.
