In the current era, where technology advances by leaps and bounds, it is common to hear terms such as "digitalization of processes" and "digital transformation". Although they are often used synonymously, the reality is that they represent different concepts with crucial implications for companies. According to experts, confusing them could lead to misunderstandings and, in the worst case, to wrong strategic decisions.
"Digital transformation is not developing an app, or having a presence on networks, nor is it digitizing a process that comes from the physical world, nor is it wasteful of paper. It is nothing like that. In any case, that is the digitization of something. Digital transformation It is much deeper, it is a radical change in the way of doing business," explains Gastón Gugliotta, General Manager of Streambe, a company specialized in technological solutions for the improvement of processes and the digital transformation of companies.
Gugliotta clarifies that "of course today transformation is closely linked to technology, but it does not mean that I must adapt my business to a new technology; rather, it is the other way around. The business model is what changes, and the technology accompanies him, always."
Statistics support the growing relevance of digital transformation in the business landscape. IDC noted that direct investment in digital transformation will reach US$7 trillion with a CAGR of 18% by the end of 2023. Furthermore, the digital transformation market size is projected to grow at a CAGR of 19.1 %, reaching US$127.5 billion in 2026, according to Markets and Markets. The World Economic Forum predicts that digital transformation will add US$100 trillion to the global economy by 2025.
The benefit of digital transformation, according to Gugliotta, goes beyond the tangible aspects: "It is difficult to talk about benefits, for me it is an urgent need, because if you do not transform, you will be out of competition." With the speed of change, Gugliotta points out that digital transformation processes that previously occurred every decade now happen every two years, which underlines the urgency and constant evolution in the business environment.
Digital transformation in transportation
Automotive Freight Transportation (TAC) plays a crucial role in Argentina and represents an impressive 93% of interurban freight, surpassing other means of transportation such as rail (4%) and waterway (3%), according to data provided by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
However, despite its importance, TAC faces significant challenges in terms of efficiency and optimization. One of them is vacancy: trucks travel empty 50 or 60% of the time, according to the same IDB research.
Another factor that reduces the productivity of the sector is the limited incorporation of new technologies in logistics management, that is, insufficient digitalization.
“We developed our Transportation Digitalization Index (IDT), created from a survey of 335 Argentine transportation companies of different sizes and locations throughout the country, and we discovered that in terms of digital transformation, only 5% of companies makes a significant difference in efficiency and operational security” says Diego Bertezzolo, Co-Founder & CEO at Avancargo.
That is, most carriers still combine manual processes with basic levels of digitalization. In addition, it coexists with another significant problem: the overwhelming paperization of the industry.
“At Avancargo we have a clear thesis: digitalization is simplification. We understand digital transformation as a means to simplify processes throughout the logistics chain. And, for this reason, we have the purpose of making logistics more efficient through technology at all levels and with an objective of economic, social and environmental impact” mentions Bertezzolo.
Develop the B2C channel to reach entrepreneurs
Another case is that of Citratus, a family company dedicated to the manufacture and marketing of fragrances for the cosmetics, fine perfumery, aromatization and cleaning industries, present in the Argentine market for more than 20 years, and in Mexico since 2020.
In 2019, the firm joined the digital transformation by launching Be-e to promote the sale of fragrances through e-commerce, an innovative way of marketing an industrial product to smaller entrepreneurs who could not access high-quality products.
Be-e sells the same essences that Citratus sells industrially, but with different packaging and through e-commerce. It became “the first brand in Argentina that sells concentrated essences through that channel,” says Valeria Henn, founder and managing partner of Be-e.
“Digitizing our work allows us to sell aromatic essences from our website and be in permanent contact with entrepreneurs from all over the country,” says Henn.
The great challenge was to sell the aromas from a distance, so they created a system for sending olfactory strips by mail, which they also attached to the purchase of any container, so that their customers could discover other fragrances. And e-commerce metrics back up its impact. In 2023 it sold 30% more than the same period of the previous year.
Digital transformation in football: financing clubs through tokenization
Tokenizing means taking an asset from the real world to the digital one using blockchain technology. Whether it is the entirety of that good or a fraction of it, the objective is to issue a token that represents it and is exchangeable.
Win Investments is a Spanish platform created by two Argentines that tokenizes sports rights of soccer players so that training clubs can achieve financing and, at the same time, anyone can participate in the player transfer market.
Within the global transfer market, the country that exports the most soccer talent is Brazil with 2,061 transfers for US$ 843 million in 2022. The second is Argentina, with 1,004 transfers for US$ 380 million. Until now, this volume of money was distributed among the wealthiest and most important clubs, with the most relegated being the training clubs and the players themselves.
The digitalization model is already being used by institutions such as Argentinos Jrs and the CAI of Comodoro Rivadavia (the first club in the country to use the system) and, starting in May, the tokens of 27 players from the Club Atlético Independiente de Avellaneda, one of the big 5 of Argentine soccer.
“We believe that democratizing access so that football fans can support their clubs is essential to making sport more transparent,” explains Valentin Jaremtchuk, CEO and co-founder of Win Investments. And he adds: “Win is the vehicle so that anyone can reliably finance the club of which they are a fan.”
What's coming: convergence
Regarding trends, Streambe observes the imminence of a stage of technological convergence.
"We are entering a phase of convergence of current technologies. Although we currently perceive them as independent technological trends, they are beginning to merge," says Gugliotta, who in turn anticipates that "in the coming years, we will see a convergence that does not imply the arrival of completely new technologies, but the unification of existing ones".
According to Gugliotta, technological convergence will force special attention to be paid to crucial aspects such as information privacy and security. "The volume of data resulting from this convergence will be located in various environments, which will lead us to greater responsibility in the management of privacy and information security. Computer security companies will play a fundamental role in this scenario," stands out.
Source: Vox Agency.