When an industry embraces standards for doing business, friction is reduced and barriers melt. In our information-based world, data standards are crucial not just for the efficient functioning of complex business processes, but also for the tech-enabled innovation at the head of everyone's agenda.
And because customers apply their best experiences to every party with whom they deal, when one industry gets with the program, others get pulled in. One recent example is the powersports business. A new data standard for this industry has been created so that companies can work together to give customers the kind of experience they've come to expect with other types of vehicle. The quoted benefits include “simplified ordering processes, higher parts availability and better service technician support”.
When car dealerships began to get their systems act together, it was a novelty – but not for long. Today's novelty is tomorrow's business-as-usual. The “new normal” sets a new bar for companies which most likely see themselves as existing in an entirely different space... Until their customers tell them otherwise.
The great thing is, the powersports folks may think all they're doing is catching up, and recalibrating their market positioning. But they're doing so much more. They're going to sell more stuff, and more services. They're going to create better relationships with their customers. Their value chains are going to have so much more potential. By implementing industry data standards, they're saying yes to growth. MPN
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