It’s summer time (in the northern hemisphere) and the living is easy. Fish are jumping and… well… you get the idea. It’s tempting to look at the months from June to August as the time to sit back, take a few deep breaths and relax until everyone is back from vacations before jumping back into the plans for wrapping up the year and planning for next year. But, this should be time to take a look around and do some assessment.
- Start with a look at your environment for creating the documents that you send to customers. When was the last time you made sure that all of the updates were installed and all of the new features were well understood by your team? If it’s been awhile, you might be surprised to find features and facilities that can make your document workflow more efficient. If there are new people on the team, this is a great time to arrange to get them trained and more productive.
- Have you updated your workflow software components lately? If your team has been adding patches and keeping up the maintenance, you may be surprised to learn that there are new features or metrics that could give you more insight into bottlenecks or unused capacity. There’s no time like summer to give your vendor a call and let them tell you what’s new and make sure your team is using what you are paying for!
- Have a chat with each of your vendors. Summer is a great time to have them come in and tell you why they should continue to be your vendor, what’s new in their product lines, and to give you a heads up on any changes that might be coming. Book a couple of hours and let them make a pitch. It will keep you up to date and keep them on their toes.
If you get these three things covered during the summer, you’ll be ready for a productive and profitable fourth quarter!
Come back if this is of interest, and drop me a note if you have questions or ideas!
Pat McGrew, EDP
Data-Driven Communication Evangelist, Kodak Business to Business Solutions
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