Two years ago, I already mentioned how important digital transformation is for golf clubs in order to maintain competitiveness, enhance employee productivity, and serve guests more efficiently (see also customer experience & personalization).
The main motivations of businesses to invest in digital transformation are
- Increase productivity to streamline operations (35%);
- Ensure that technology and data better support operations (35%);
- Working in a more agile, flexible way to take advantage of opportunities;
- Response to COVID-19.
A new McKinsey study found companies’ technology investment priorities in the last 2 years were:
- Enhancing IT infrastructure,
- Strengthening cybersecurity & data privacy defenses,
It turns out from this study that cloud-based solutions are gaining momentum:
“Companies are also ramping up their adoption of cloud technologies, which can create a more flexible infrastructure, speed up technology deployment, and get digital products to market mor quickly.”
One of the few positive side effects of the latest pandemic is that companies trust cloud-based ERP solutions much more.
Some CFOs looking to cut costs amid the economic uncertainty are actually increasing investment in cloud ERP to drive savings and better support their remote workers.
ERP is further integrating with other technologies, such as internet of things (IoT) devices and social media, to automate even more and provide greater visibility and a better customer experience.
I thought I’d share this background information with you before reporting on the technological enhancement that the St Andrews Links Trust has embarked on.
St Andrews Links Trust is embracing cloud-based ERP software
The move is part of a digital transformation across the St Andrews Links Trust, which has also included a recently relaunched website, to modernize its digital operations and provide customers, suppliers, and staff with a world-class service both offline and online.
Paul Cree, Head of Finance at St Andrews Links Trust, praised the team at Scottish-based Eureka Solutions, which tailored and rolled out the Oracle NetSuite system that is transforming the way the St Andrews Links Trust operates its
- 7 courses,
- 3 clubhouses and restaurants,
- 4 shops and
- its far-reaching eCommerce website.
St Andrews Links Trust faced common problems for many such organizations, such as various platforms do not integrate or communicate, causing complexity that creates huge amounts of unnecessary and unprofitable work for staff across the business.
Paul Cree, Head of Finance at St Andrews Links Trust said
“We needed to step up to a more modern platform. We knew we wanted a cloud-based option and that transforming our purchase-to-pay cycle was a priority.
Now, we are able to dissect our data in ways that is meaningful to us, building the reports we need centrally, but also allowing departments and sites to access their information and only their information.
The time and effort this will save at our month end is a big win.”