In conversations with our clients, we often hear about challenges related to internal workflows. Employees may have tasks that are simple but maybe the process has started to consume lots of energy and time. Processes may be repetitive and unengaging, so it is difficult to maintain accuracy. These kinds of problems are not unique to your sector of the business “solar system” - in fact they are a common occurrence in the universe of business: there is a “black hole” in the process that is sapping resources.
What if your Drupal or Wordpress website was more than a standard billboard or store? What if your website could be extended to solve those time sucking problems you are experiencing? We love to explore this with our clients by using our proven processes to creatively problem solve. Here are some ways we’ve done that recently:
eCommerce: Fulfillment is no joke. Handling the workflow for incoming orders through shipment should be streamlined. But with eCommerce, there is still a great deal of room for tailored solutions. Custom product displays, categorized order feeds and sales reports stretch beyond the basic eCommerce solution. Even mission critical tasks like tax calculation and shipping integration are opportunities where eCommerce processes can be improved.
Warehouses: To take eCommerce a step further, our websites can be extended via APIs for endless applications. One opportunity allows the website to integrate with warehouse and stock management software that may already be in place within your company. Integration with Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions can bring the warehouse and the eCommerce presence into the same arena, allowing for a streamlined supply chain.
Batch Processing: Instead of thinking of your Drupal or WordPress website as just a forward facing entity on the web, it can be helpful to think of your website as a computer instead. The website can handle repetitive tasks, consolidate data, and display it for consumption. Large quantities of data can be recorded and manipulated with batch processing. Whether that be with email blasts, number crunching, or scheduling jobs to run processes, batch calculations can be a powerful tool to improve processes.
With each of these examples, the thing to remember is that the exact problem you are experiencing may be truly unique to your agency. But the type of problem is probably a lot more common than you realize. We thrive in partnership with our clients to identify these “black hole” kinds of problems no matter the magnitude. When we work together beyond the point of “just a website,” we launch into a level of creative problem solving that goes far further than the classic definition of web development. In truth, this is our favorite place to be with our clients - continually improving processes by building a website to do the work for you.
