Is Your Business Built for Efficiency – by Design?

Unlock performance through intentional design

June 25, 2025

Dear reader 

How much time does your team spend chasing information, correcting errors, or doing work that could be automated? Now ask yourself this: What percentage of your overheads could you save by putting efficient workflows into your organisation?

It’s a powerful question – and one many SMEs in South Africa haven’t fully explored. In a fast-paced, cost-sensitive business environment, workflow is no longer just about “how things get done.” It’s about how well they get done – and at what cost.

Why Workflow Matters More Than Ever

Every business runs on processes: onboarding a new employee, following up on a sales lead, invoicing a customer, handling a service ticket. These processes are often built over time and may work well enough on the surface – but if they’re not designed for efficiency, they can quietly drain your resources.

Design business efficiency into all processes

Take this example: A growing accounting practice was using email and spreadsheets to manage client onboarding and document collection. Every new engagement required back-and-forth emails, manual tracking of missing documents, and regular follow-ups – often by senior staff. By introducing a digital workflow that automated client communication, document requests, and reminders, they reduced admin time by 60% and freed up senior staff to focus on billable work.

 

Look at Aramex, the store-to-door parcel delivery company. They’ve enabled customers to capture the delivery details for their own parcel directly online via the Aramex Store-To-Door - Home Page, directly linked to their logistics platform.  That’s efficiency by design.

 

Think about simple things like stationery orders – do you have a workflow that takes the order in a system where it can be tracked for authorisation to placement to payment against a purchase order? Or are you still operating on email and manual reconciliation?

 

What Inefficiency Costs You

Inefficient workflows can hurt your business in several ways:

* Wasted time: Staff spend hours on tasks that could be done in minutes with the right systems in place.

* Human error: Manual processes increase the likelihood of mistakes – which take even more time to find and then to fix.

* Lost opportunities: Sluggish processes delay response times, meaning lost sales and unhappy customers.

* Higher overheads: You’re effectively paying more to achieve less.

And in today’s competitive environment, that’s a cost no SME can afford to ignore.

The Solution Isn’t Always a Big System Overhaul

Contrary to what some believe, improving workflow efficiency doesn't mean starting from scratch. Often, it's about analysing the processes you already have, identifying the bottlenecks, and applying smart, targeted technology solutions.

At Du Pont Solutions, we work with businesses across sectors – from accounting firms to retail operations – to align their technology with their operational needs. Whether it's streamlining customer communications, automating approvals, or integrating disparate systems, we help our clients design efficiency into their business DNA.

 

Ask Yourself…

* Where are your teams duplicating effort?

* Are you using tools that talk to each other – or are you manually transferring data?

* How quickly can your business respond to a new opportunity or customer issue?

More importantly: what percentage of your overheads could you save by putting efficient, integrated workflows in place?

Final Thought

If you’d like to explore how your business can work smarter - not just harder - we’d be glad to chat. Contact Du Pont Solutions for a practical assessment of your workflows and IT systems.

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