All business leaders in the Gulf region are aware that the cost of operations keeps increasing. You might have found yourself looking at quarterly reports and noticing software subscriptions multiplying, having your team manage tasks manually that should have been automated, and realizing you no longer need the off-the-shelf solution you purchased last year.
What is surprising, though, is that Gulf businesses that migrate to custom software are saving up to 35 percent of operational expenses- literally realized savings that are bottom-line.
The Invisible Price of the One-Size-Fits-All Solutions.
A lot of the UAE, Saudi, and GCC businesses start with pre-made software. It appears rational, fast to implement, less costly in the short run, and everybody is using it.
There are issues six months after. One platform is used by the sales team, another one is the inventory, and then there are the accounts. You either get someone to do the manual transferring of data, or you spend the money on integration tools, which do not go well. One of the Dubai logistics firms paid subscriptions on seven accounts, hired two full-time employees to handle data transfers, and still incurred expensive mistakes. Having transitioned into an individualized solution that would combine all their requirements, they managed to reduce their operational costs by 31 percent in the initial year.
Related article: The Average Gulf Enterprise Uses 12 Plus Tools. Custom Software Cuts That in Half
How the Real Savings Are to be Found.
Personalized software is not only about the refined appearance or a branded interface. It is all about getting rid of the unnecessary things like redundant systems, manual workarounds, and wasted staff time.
Question: How many times do you repeat data on various systems because of your team? How much time goes to waste in month-end reconciliations that can be automated? How do you spend a lot of money on software features that you do not use and miss the features that you really require?
One of the Saudi manufacturing firms incurred significant expenses on the top-notch enterprise software with the features of the Western market. They purchased compliance modules they did not require, integration solutions that did not integrate with local suppliers, and off-hours services. Their in-house solution incurred a lower construction cost than two years of the subscriptions and reduced its administration overhead by 28 percent.
The Gulf Region Advantage
The needs of our region are special; multi-language requirements, local regulatory framework, local payment systems, and local business practices are often not taken into account with generic software. Operating a business in Qatar or Bahrain requires software that is aware of Hijri calendars, supports Arabic and English, and has to be integrated with local banks, and should meet GCC requirements. These are considered as addons by off-the-shelf products and are part of custom software since the beginning.
An international retail chain based in the GCC was unable to manage Ramadan pricing in their international POS, found it unable to integrate with their local gateways, and found it difficult to format their receipts in Arabic. Workarounds are damaging revenue and customer satisfaction. These were fixed in their proprietary solution, which reduced the cost of processing transactions by 22%.
Also read: Buying Salesforce in the Middle East Is Easy. Making It Work Isn’t.
Beyond the Obvious Savings
The 35 percent decrease is not only in reducing subscriptions. It has a ripple effect in your organization. Faster resolution of issues by a customer-service workforce and a workflow-specific system produces happier customers and a resultant small support team. A computerized procurement system that implies your unique relations with the suppliers saves time and avoids expensive mistakes.
An Abu Dhabi construction company developed its own project-management system that incorporated its special bidding process, subcontractor management, and material tracking. Not only did it save money on software, but the project managers also worked 40 percent more productively, the material waste was reduced by 18 percent, and the company managed to do more projects at the same time without recruiting additional managers.
Bespoke software costs money at the start, yet the majority of businesses in the Gulf will recover in 18 to 24 months. More than that, the savings are made pure and continuous. This is in contrast to the cycle of yearly subscription increases, upgrades imposed, and what they are not telling you about the cost of making generic software fit your specifications. Custom software purchases entail purchasing efficiency, scalability, and avoiding vendor lock-in.
Making It Work in Your Business.
Think of custom software as a strategic positioning. Beginning with the largest pain points. Determine where you spend money on manual services and which parts of the organization take the longest time on services that are better automated. Name your top three costliest subscriptions and evaluate them based on whether they are really worth the money or not.
Willing to Reduce Your Operational Cost?
Blesssphere has assisted the Gulf-based businesses in developing tailored solutions that bring quantifiable savings. We should speak about your issues and see how custom software will be able to change the work of your company.
Book a meeting now and find out the amount of money you would save. Contact Blesssphere today and begin working toward leaner and more efficient operations.
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