Develop Solutions or Use Off The Shelf Tools? This SlideShare and linked webinar recording is a guide to get you started. Want to know more? Then listen to the webinar!!

1. Speaker - Paul Rhodes
Company - Green Gorilla Apps Ltd
Develop Solutions or Use Off The Shelf Tools? this
webinar is a guide to get you started.
Want to know more? Then listen to the webinar!!
There is a link at the end of this deck to the
associated blog and webinar recording.

2. Improving Efficiency
In Your Business
Develop your own or use an existing system
A guide to getting started
Paul Rhodes, Green Gorilla Software
@ggsoftwareuk

3. ○ Software development company based in
Worcester City Centre
○ Team of 6
○ Started in May 2012
○ Run my own companies for 7 years
○ Started developing in ‘98 and mobile in ‘02
○ Huge advocates of Remote Working, Agile and
Lean Startup
Who we are

4. ○ “Do I build my own solution to solve my
internal process issues or use an off the shelf
system like…?”
Or in other words...
○ “How do I streamline a process cost
effectively?”
Key Question

5. A few principles….

6. Pareto’s Law

7. The Lean Startup
“lean means creating more value for customers with
fewer resources. A lean organization understands
customer value and focuses its key processes to
continuously increase it. The ultimate goal is to
provide perfect value to the customer through a
perfect value creation process that has zero waste.”
- Eric Ries

8. Off The Shelf
Pros Cons
● An existing product
● SAAS
● Community
● Feature Rich
● Low Cost
● Speed
● Stable
● Help & Support
● Documented
● Potentially Instant ROI
● You don’t own the data
● Complicated to adopt
● Expensive at scale
● Limited customisation
● Multiple systems
● No central / core system
● Lack of management data
● Easily adopted by
Competitors
● Cost on the P&L

9. Bespoke Software
Pros Cons
● Maximum flexibility &
customisation
● Designed to meet goals
● Critical KPI Reporting Data
● Ownership of Data
● Design most efficient
processes
● Competitive advantage
● Intellectual Property
● R&D / Grants
● Adds value to business
● Time to develop
● Initial Development Cost
● Complexity
● Requires Software
developer
● Cost to iterate
● ROI after longer period of
time
● Ongoing costs

10. Get Started
● Identify a core process
● Think Big, Start Small
● Can it be solved with an off the shelf product?
● Is there anything unique about your process?
● How will you measure it?
● What does success look like?

11. Pain By Numbers
1. Identify core metric
2. Identify cost in time and money
3. Identify potential savings
Lost leads due to manual nature of handling referrals
● Average # leads / year = 500
● % lost due to process = 10%
● # leads to increase to convert = 50
● Average value of a lead = £1000
● Target ROI = £50,000 by improving process

12. Let’s look at a couple of
examples...

13. Case Study - Acme Classic Events
● Identify a core process
○ Registering attendees and exhibitors for the upcoming events, submitted via post and
paid by cheque
● Think Big, Start Small
○ Automate the entire registration process, reducing administration and increasing
number of events per year
○ Focus on registering exhibitors only for next event in 6 months time
● Can it be solved with an off the shelf product?
○ Heavy use of spreadsheets
○ Process can be managed by existing website and CRM integration
○ Keen to still provide a manual option during rollout
● Is there anything unique about your process?
○ Yep, custom badges and registration certificates are sent to each exhibitor upon
payment
● How will you measure it?
○ # registrations via post (manual system)
○ # registrations via web (new process)
○ debtors days per channel
● What does success look like?
○ Increased registrations, reduced workload and reduced debtor days

14. Case Study - Acme Medical Services
● Identify a core process
○ Booking appointments for clients
● Think Big, Start Small
○ Adopt a complete system to automate the process of delivering client services
○ As part of delivery, 3 different providers are contacted across 5 phases of ‘setting an
appt’
● Can it be solved with an off the shelf product?
○ Heavy use of spreadsheets
○ No single solution that could deliver on existing client needs
○ All systems reviewed to date don’t allow for unique booking process that wins the
business new customers through solid SLAs
● Is there anything unique about your process?
○ Yep, devised by the owners, the process from start to finish is unique
● How will you measure it?
○ Real time dashboard reporting on SLA metrics and delivery targets
● What does success look like?
○ Single solution that allows multiple roles to access their core KPIs & drive efficiency

15. Tools

16. Next Steps
● Identify your core process
● Speak to your team
● Brainstorm
● Research options

17. Questions?
If you have any questions, please get in touch:
Paul Rhodes
Green Gorilla Apps Ltd
paul@ggapps.co.uk
@paulrhodesuk

18. BizSmart aims to help business owners of small and medium sized businesses to create value and
scale their businesses through sound practical business support by providing insight, Clarity combined
with a real determination to help you succeed.
You can access webinars and presentations like this and more besides through our SmartRoom
service here
You can read the associated blog and listen to a live recording of this presentation by clicking here
You can read Paul’s profile here

19. •Need a sounding board for your ideas?
•Need to know what to prioritise?
•Want someone to challenge your assumptions?

20. BizSmart –
Where Smart people go to surround themselves with other
Smart people, to gain business success.www.biz-smart.co.uk