What does the future hold for your business? And what can you do to ensure a leading position in the market 10 years from now?

I was talking to a postal company the other day that didn’t have the answer to either question. Postal companies are seeing a three percent drop in volume every year, racking up huge losses. The postal company I met with was no exception. It was in urgent need of a major transformation; otherwise, it risked going out of business sooner rather than later.

I believe this is a business transformation that will prepare companies for the future.

Not just in the postal industry, but across many different industries. Manufacturing, retail, oil & gas, aviation services – you name it, it’s likely to be applicable. It’s about taking a step back to see how your business performance can be improved. Today. Not next year, and certainly not five years down the road. Because what was optimal by industry standards a year ago, probably isn’t today.

Why now?

We’re all familiar with what happened to Blackberry, Eastman Kodak Company, and Barnes & Noble. All these businesses suffered due to disruptive change.

But have you heard of Our Price? It was a record store chain in the UK, which closed down in 2004 in the wake of digital music consumption. Or what about Digital Equipment Corp (DEC), an American computer manufacturer that failed to seize opportunities more than once and was ultimately left behind while Apple and IBM charged ahead? The fact is, there were many companies – market leaders included – that lost their edge and disappeared as quickly as they had risen to the top.

So where do you start?

You need to evaluate your business strategy, to see where you are and where you’d like to be. You may be surprised by how much more your operations are capable of carrying out, with the support of the right technology. The right technology for you should provide insights that will improve your business planning and guide your decisions towards profitable results every time.

In the case of postal companies, they’re able to leverage their huge networks. This advantage puts them in a unique position to offer a service that can beat the competition and turn them into a high-relevance, high-value service provider in logistics. Through optimized network and distribution planning, postal companies can make same-day delivery possible for e-commerce companies.

You have a competitor out there that’s already re-examining their strategy. They’re planning their move to capture the market. You need to take action, fast. Are you ready to rethink your optimum and go beyond your current business performance?