Which Processes Should You Digitize First in a Business

Introduction: the mistake of digitizing everything at once

Business digitalization is a fascinating topic, and even though there's a lot of talk today about digital transformation, it's rarely explained where to actually start. Most companies that want to digitize, especially for the first time, start from a mistaken idea. They believe that once they pay for a system, everything will be ready in no time. However, they don't stop to analyze the most important thing: really knowing the company and understanding its internal processes.

Usually, in an attempt to save money, they think digitizing everything at the same time is the best option, but that's exactly where the problems begin. Digitizing the right processes first really does save money, time and a lot of frustration.

This raises a key question in any digital transformation process: where do you start when everything seems urgent? Before anything else, it's important to stop, take a breath and calmly analyze which processes are worth digitizing first in the company. It's not about rushing or implementing technology because it's trendy. It's about prioritizing strategically.

Start with what's repetitive and manual

The best starting point is always repetitive, manual processes, since they consume the most time and generate the least value if they keep being done the traditional way. This includes tasks like manual data entry, double or triple recording of the same information, and administrative tasks that repeat every day.

Some very common examples are manually logging customers in Excel, copying information from emails into spreadsheets, manually tracking orders or requests, managing tasks through WhatsApp messages, manually validating documents, logging incidents in different files, and putting together weekly reports without any automation.

Digitizing this type of process has an immediate impact on the company's productivity. The changes are noticeable quickly and, most importantly, they free up valuable time. That time lets your team focus on more technical, strategic or higher-impact activities for the business.

A clear example of this happened at a company I worked with. They had so many operational problems that they ended up with unsigned sales contracts, and nobody noticed until months later. All of this happened because of a lack of control, poorly defined processes and poorly prioritized digitalization.

Then tackle what's critical to operations

Once many of the manual processes are eliminated and operations start becoming more organized, the next step is to digitize the processes that are critical to running the business. At this point, it's essential not to get swept up by how visually appealing a system looks. What really matters is how functional it is, how easy it is for the team to understand, and whether it's aligned with the company's real processes.

I've worked with software that promises to do it all, but in practice ends up fragmented across several modules or even different applications, which ends up complicating operations instead of improving them. In contrast, there are systems that might look simpler or more rustic, but are designed to be easy to use, prioritize business logic, and focus on functionality before appearance.

At this stage, it's worth digitizing processes like sales, invoicing, customer service, support and inventory. When any of these critical processes fails, the whole business is affected.

Next, what impacts customers and suppliers

After getting internal operations in order, it's time to move on to the processes that directly impact external parties, like customers and suppliers. This includes things like response times, customer experience, post-sale follow-up, automations via WhatsApp or email, and complaint and incident management.

At this stage, technology really starts to make a difference, since it enables better service backed by clear, well-defined processes. It's not about responding just to respond. It's about having the right information and a clear process for resolving issues.

What you shouldn't digitize first

To wrap up, it's important to remember which processes you shouldn't digitize first. It's not advisable to digitize processes that nobody really understands, processes that are constantly changing, or processes with no clear owner. Digitizing chaos only creates more chaos. First, you need to organize, define and understand the processes — and only then digitize them.

Digitizing isn't buying software. Digitizing is organizing processes, prioritizing well, and choosing tools your team can actually use.

👉 Recommended next read: Types of information systems in businesses