The Spot on the Horizon

No fluff, just action.
When companies go digital, they usually skip one crucial step: defining a strategy. Straight into action mode, typical Dutch SME behavior.

But action without direction is like a road trip without Google Maps or Waze. You leave full of excitement, only to end up frustrated, taking detours, and maybe—just maybe—reaching your destination.

In this edition of Heel Holland Digitaliseert, we’re building bridges. Between your business goals and digital transformation. So that digitization actually becomes part of your business strategy—and delivers results that matter.

Read on for a hands-on approach.

Spot on the Horizon‍

Let’s say you run a logistics company. Thin margins, heavy competition. Your spot on the horizon?
“We want to double our revenue within five years.”

Ambitious, we love that. But let’s be honest: that won’t happen by simply hiring twice as many people and doing twice the work.

To enable that kind of growth, you’ll need to think in terms of:

• Process optimization
• Automation
• Digital support
• Efficiency
• Scalability

IT is more than just executing current processes or modernizing legacy systems. When treated as part of your core strategy, IT becomes the engine that drives growth and sharpens your competitive edge.

Gap Analysis

Once your spot on the horizon is clear, it’s time for a gap analysis.

Sounds like a fancy consulting term, but it’s really just about understanding where you are, and what it takes to get where you want to be.

Create two columns:

Where we are now (Ist)

• What’s slowing us down the most?
• What’s eating up time and/or money?
• Where are the risks and errors?
• What tasks do employees find repetitive and annoying?

Where we want to be (Soll)

• What does our ideal process look like?
• How do we prepare for trends or external changes?
• What capabilities do we need that we don’t have today?

The gap in between? That’s your digital transformation roadmap.

Offsite Session

So how do you make this practical? My advice: take it seriously.

Clear space in the calendars of your leadership team and your key IT people. A good cake and an inspiring location always help. Then dive into your spot on the horizon and gap analysis.

Start by answering a few questions separately. Discuss your answers to understand each other’s perspectives. But also answer some key questions, like “how do we get there?”, together. That’s where alignment happens.

Looking for a practical tool? I highly recommend the ‘Effectief Digitaliseren’ handbook by Ruurd Portman from PIT.
It’s full of fill-in-the-blank exercises that turn ideas into action.

Commitment is Key

So the question isn’t: What tech stack do we need to digitize?

It’s: Do we want this? How urgent is it? Are we willing to commit people and budget? What problem does this solve—and what results will it bring?

Once that commitment is in place, it’s time to:

• Communicate (so the whole organization is on board)
• Act (so it doesn’t stay a beautiful plan... on paper)

Get moving. Start small, deliver fast.

Success breeds success. And nothing motivates a team more than visible results.

In the next edition, we’ll dive into your digital dream team.
Who do you need? What roles should you assign? Bring in external experts? Hire? Train?
Stay tuned.

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