Nine lessons in leading digital transformation

1. Know when to step back and lead

For Ronan Hafferty, owner of Irlam-based luxury bespoke interiors manufacturer Hafferty Interiors, digital transformation prompted him to reconsider his own role as the business grows.

“It's made me realise that successful projects come from planning properly, engaging the right people from the start and making sure everyone understands where you're trying to get to,” he said.

“As we've grown, I've become involved in sales, purchasing and a bit of everything else, and I've realised that's actually holding the business back. If we're going to keep growing, I need to spend more time working on the business rather than being involved in every decision.”

That means empowering the wider team while Ronan focuses more attention on the company's future, including plans to embed AI across the customer journey, progress a CNC router project and develop a client portal.

2. Turn big ambitions into clear priorities

Haydock-based VitrineAlu is developing Synapse, its own AI ecosystem, with the long-term aim of connecting different parts of the business through specialist AI tools.

For Managing Director Paul Fradley, LDT brought greater structure and prioritisation to that ambition. VitrineAlu has focused first on projects capable of delivering quicker and more visible impact, particularly for customers.

“The ambition has always been there, but the programme has given us the structure, the tools and the confidence to turn that ambition into a clear, achievable roadmap for the future.”

The company has already relaunched its website, introduced a new trade portal, secured funding to develop its AI platform further and is exploring how existing machinery can be made smarter rather than simply replaced.

3. Give digital transformation a purpose

At Dukinfield workwear and chefwear manufacturer Tibard, Operations Manager Luke Harrison has focused on ensuring digital projects support the wider direction of the business.

“It's very easy to focus on projects and technology, but unless everyone understands what you're trying to achieve as a business, it's much harder to make the right decisions. Developing our purpose, mission and vision has given us a real anchor for the direction we're taking.”

Another phrase from the programme has stuck with Luke. “Slow down and walk the track.”

For him, that means properly scoping projects and building a roadmap before implementation. Tibard is applying that thinking to production and stock dashboards, its IT infrastructure and better integration between systems.

4. Understand the problem before choosing the solution

Salford commercial lighting manufacturer Ricoman is applying digital transformation to a specific challenge involving quotations.

Requests previously moved between emails, phone calls and spreadsheets, making it difficult to track progress and identify bottlenecks. Internal Sales and Support Lead Eve Dobrowolska is helping develop Ricobot to improve visibility and provide better data.

The ambition is to reduce quotation turnaround from days to hours while freeing teams from administration to focus on higher-value work.

“One of the biggest things I took away from the programme was the importance of really understanding the problem before jumping to a solution,” Eve said. “Spending time mapping the quotation process and involving the people who use it every day helped us identify where the real bottlenecks were.”

5. You don't have to do everything at once

Sharron Watson, Managing Director of Bolton-based The Awning Company, had ambitious ideas including an online configurator and more automated customer journeys. LDT encouraged her to break those ambitions into manageable phases.

“One of the biggest lessons for me was that you don't have to do everything at once,” she said.

“Focusing on some early wins first has given us a much clearer route forward and made those bigger projects feel much more achievable.”

The business is putting that approach into practice by improving its production dashboard, making better use of Flowlens, trialling an online shop and developing an internal version of its configurator before rolling it out to customers.

6. The skills you need may already be in the business

Digital transformation doesn't always begin with recruiting new people. Sometimes it starts by recognising capabilities already within the business.

Avocet Materials Group discovered that a team member recruited to inspect Formula One components had a first-class degree in data analytics and had been building dashboards in his spare time. Today he is helping the Holmes Chapel manufacturer develop dashboards that provide much better visibility across the business.

CEO Kieren Hall said, “It really reinforced that sometimes the capability you're looking for is already there, you just need to create the opportunity for it to flourish.”

For Kieren, it is part of a wider recognition that successful transformation is about people and strategy as much as technology.

7. Bring people with you on the journey

As Stockport cast iron radiator manufacturer Castrads develops plans for automated assembly and wider opportunities for robotics, Product Design Engineer Jason Riley has put greater emphasis on communication and stakeholder engagement.

“One of the biggest things I learnt wasn't actually about technology, it was about communication.”

The business is applying that thinking to its automated radiator assembly project, comparing different options and involving colleagues from engineering and factory management as it considers a significant investment.

“For me, the programme has changed the way I approach automation,” Jason said. “I still love the engineering side of it, but I've realised that the technical solution is only one part of the project. If people understand what you're trying to achieve and feel involved in the journey, you're much more likely to deliver something that works for the whole business.”

8. Challenge the process before you digitise it

For Alan Coleman, Managing Director of Wigan-based Homestyle Kitchens, one of the biggest lessons has been to challenge a process before looking for a digital solution.

“I've always enjoyed solving problems with technology, but one of the biggest things the programme taught me was not to start with the technology,” he said.

“Start by asking whether the process is needed at all. If you can delete it, delete it. Only then should you think about digitising what's left. That way of thinking has changed how I approach every project.”

One project to come directly from that thinking is Homestyle's Project Hub. It aims to bring information currently spread across phone calls, emails, WhatsApp messages and conversations into one place, allowing the team to quickly understand what is happening with each project.

9. Look beyond the technology to how information flows

Preston-based Amtrim had already invested in digital templates, 3D measuring and other technologies to support the manufacture of bespoke marine canopies, covers and upholstery.

But LDT encouraged Managing Director David Brindley to look beyond individual pieces of production technology and consider how information flows through the entire business.

“The programme changed my view of digital transformation from being predominantly about production technology to looking at the flow of information through the entire business,” he said.

Amtrim is now exploring how its existing investments can work together more effectively, including the flow from 3D measuring and CAD design through to CNC cutting.

“One of the biggest things I took away from the programme was that technology has to follow strategy, not the other way round.”