Achieving peace and productivity through technology
Andrew Roise, vice president of enterprise applications at Kodiak Building Partners, says wood technology is about “getting people’s buy-in and embracing their appetite for change.”
Before shelling out big bucks for shiny new software, Roise, who previously worked at Epicor, suggests picking the low-hanging fruit by getting the most out of your workplace’s technology. “ERP is expensive, so go with a proven solution,” he says.
Collaboration and communication between departments is essential to extrapolate data in a meaningful way (and avoid duplicating efforts). Make sure different departments are on the same page, as customer analytics relates to opportunity tracking, share of wallet, track usage, and project cycles, he says.
No matter what system or software you choose, it’s important that it “helps employees do their jobs better” and allows you to “strengthen your strengths,” says Lloyds. Anything else could just be additional, potentially expensive noise.
Speaking on the subject of AI, Royds offers a hopeful and pragmatic view. “Your job will not be replaced by AI; it will be replaced by someone who uses it effectively. Learn how to add value on top of AI,” he says. Roise cites Read AI, which can summarize and transcribe meetings in real time, as a particularly useful tool. At the end of the day, those who learn how to leverage AI to increase sales and increase efficiency have little to lose and much to gain.
Timber professionals also need to consider cybersecurity. Lloyds said his team has shown that Kodiak executives are attempting real-time cybersecurity attacks to drive out the level of concern. The company also uses multi-factor authentication and consistently educates its employees on how to protect their data.
