Five tips for smarter IT work

What actually is the purpose of digitalisation? In today’s society, it’s the rule rather than the exception that companies are constantly looking for new IT solutions. Perhaps you’ve seen employees sighing over some “new invention” introduced by their own company or its partners.

That’s when you need to take a step back and think about the purpose of the “new invention”. At Garantell, we have a simple answer to that question: simplification – and that’s certainly something that most companies are looking to achieve in their digitalisation work. So, for that reason today we’re offering five tips on how you can use IT to simplify things.

A good place to start is to review how things currently work, for both employees and customers. What could be done faster or simpler with IT solutions, or how could they provide a better overview or synergy gains? Usually the answer to that question is: quite a lot.

Here is a list of our top five tips. Some of the measures, in addition to simplifying everyday life for both customers and ourselves, also helped us to win Smart Industri 2018, a prize awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (IVA) in collaboration with Teknikföretagen.

Perhaps there’s something that could inspire your workplace?

  • TEST, TEST, TEST

We’re not afraid of testing to find the right way forward without causing too much hassle. The idea is that it ought to be easy for everyone. Easy for the user and easy for us to handle. We like development to take place close to us so that we can influence it ourselves, but also to have the hardware close at hand so that we can quickly fix problems or respond to rapid changes in a situation.

  • DO IT YOURSELF

Of course, as we choose to do a lot ourselves, we sometimes encounter problems and concerns. However, that just leads us onward and upward. Instead of purchasing a ready-made IT solution that we then have to adapt to, we adapt the tools according to how our customers and we want to use them. That allows us to adjust the tools easily if we find a better or more effective way of doing something. Times, needs and conditions are constantly changing – so must our IT solutions.

  • CUT WAITING TIMES

Today’s work climate is often stressful. People want answers quickly. Where are the bottlenecks in your flow? We asked ourselves the question: should the customers have to wait several hours for a quote because there isn’t a seller available at the time, or should it perhaps be easier for the customers to get the quote in just a few seconds by generating the drawing themselves?

We wanted to offer that option, and many customers are now filling in the parameters, such as preferred width, depth and load capacity, of their shelving or the dimensions of their rear mesh, in order to get a complete quote with just a few clicks. Customers can even design their own machine guards directly in the tool we developed and named Garantellator. They can also place orders and get delivery dates directly in the system. In fact, it is exactly the same tool we use ourselves. The Garantellator is our only tool for creating the right solution, regardless of project.

  • REDUCE THE RISK OF MISTAKES

Many of the mistakes that occur in the industry (whether sales, production, packing or shipping) occur due to the human factor. Therefore, increasing digitalisation and automation as far as possible reduces the risk of mistakes, as well as misunderstandings when information needs to be communicated, sometimes at multiple levels. We have built the Garantellator to meet internal demand and to control the workflow. Once everything is done digitally, in the right order, and calculated in advance, this reduces the risk of human errors and of us making promises we cannot keep. The customer is given accurate information about, for example, lead times, freight volumes and costs from the start and can also make changes to their quotes as conditions change.

  • PACK SMART – THINK AHEAD

In the past, individual small products could be packed on large pallets, but this leaves a lot of empty space, to the detriment of both the customer and climate. We had an IT tool built to calculate how each item should be packed and how large the pallet needs to be. Not only the products, but also the pallet, are therefore automatically manufactured with the right dimensions from the start. This is calculated at the same time as the quote is issued, so the shipping costs are immediately visible. Once the pallet is packed (by the machine or on the conveyor belt) and packaged, the booking is sent to the freight forwarder.

While the pace of our digital development has varied depending on the department, we are now linking it all up into one whole. Keep an eye out – we'll soon be telling you about even more innovations at Garantell!

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