BUSINESSES in Malaysia face an uphill battle to stay relevant and competitive.
Amidst evolving consumer preferences and the relentless pace of digitalisation, companies are forced to adapt or risk becoming irrelevant.
One key determining factor of a company's sustained success is business agility, according to Workday's vice president of adaptive planning (Asia), Vince Randall.
"Malaysian companies face intense competition not only domestically, but also from international players. To remain competitive, businesses must be able to adapt swiftly to changing market conditions, emerging trends and evolving consumer preferences.
"This adaptability allows them to seize opportunities, mitigate risks and stay ahead of the curve in an increasingly interconnected world," said Randall.
Agile businesses can harness the power of digital technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) to streamline operations, enhance customer experience and drive efficiency gains.
However, achieving agility poses challenges. Complex organisational structures and outdated legacy systems can become hurdles that obstruct the integration of modern technologies.
ADAPT OR RISK FALLING BEHIND
The 2023 IMD World Digital Competitiveness Ranking ranked Malaysia at 33 out of 64 countries evaluated, taking into account each country's performance in crucial areas of knowledge, technology and future readiness.
This report revealed that Malaysia has a lot of ground to make up in the digital space, ranking only ninth in Asia Pacific, behind countries like Singapore, Korea and Australia.
"Companies dependent on legacy systems and manual processes risk falling behind," said the Workday vice president.
Workday Adaptive Planning offers a solution to these challenges by providing a flexible and scalable platform that seamlessly integrates with existing systems. Powered by AI, Workday is a cloud application for finance and human resources (HR).
In terms of workforce planning, Workday Adaptive Planning optimises resources by offering real-time insights into workforce capacity and demand. HR personnel can analyse historical data on employee turnover rates, growth projections and skill requirements for various departments.
Workday Adaptive Planning is also indispensable for finance planning. Its scenario modelling feature facilitates the exploration of financial scenarios, which aids finance leaders in risk assessment and contingency planning. The platform also offers robust financial reporting and analysis tools.
"Real-time insights provided by Workday Adaptive Planning allow leadership teams to monitor various performance metrics, fostering proactive decision-making. AI-driven abnormality detection assists in the early detection of potential issues and opportunities, empowering organisations to act swiftly," said Randall.
In Malaysia, Air Liquide, a global leader in gases, technologies and services leveraged Workday Adaptive Planning for workforce planning. As part of a global initiative, this gave Air Liquide access to real-time insights into workforce capacity and hiring demand, enabling the organisation to become more agile and adaptable to changing business needs.
"This collaboration became particularly crucial during the Covid-19 pandemic, which disrupted traditional work methods and altered workforce dynamics for organisations globally. Leveraging Adaptive Planning, Air Liquide proactively addressed and adapted to workforce trends, enabling the company to remain competitive and respond to evolving business demands," added Randall.
"Leveraging Adaptive Planning, Air Liquide proactively addressed and adapted to workforce trends, enabling the company to remain competitive and respond to evolving business demands," added Randall.
Find out more about Workday Adaptive Planning on this website.