One of the most important activities at the start of the year is a quick review of the processes that go into ensuring the smooth flow of business. Often overlooked is how sales team members gather the information needed to bring a job into production, whether it is a new job or one that has been in production for years. After all, the sales team deals with customers every day. They must know the process, right?

The challenge to that idea is that while there may be a written process, the daily activities, rush jobs, and changing customer needs may have pushed the process to the back of the desk, replacing it with “Can you do this for me this way?” Over time, each sales team member makes subtle adjustments in how they capture information and transmit it into the process, and those adjustments slowly work their way out of sync with the expected, approved process. Add implementation of new web-to-print systems, new business ERP systems, and other software intended to increase holistic views of the business, and information can begin to leak out of the process instead of enhancing it.

Take the time in 2020 to look at the variations in how work comes into the building, with an eye to standardizing as many aspects as possible to ensure smooth transitions from sale to production.