On the road, we blindly trust Waze, but at work we stick to a road map

On the road, we blindly trust Waze, but at work we stick to a road map

Don’t feel like sitting in traffic jams? Then just turn on Waze to calculate the fastest route. The app is almost impossible to beat and in the majority of situations, it will definitely save us time. Waze is an example of how data-based technology makes predictions that simplify our daily lives. But if Waze is our trusted co-pilot on the way to work, our attitude toward this type of technology changes once we arrive at the workplace. There, we prefer to reach for a classic road map.

It is almost impossible to find another sector or organization where technology has not taken hold in recent years. But while everyone has their mouths full of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other fancy terms, we see that some solutions are still finding little acceptance in the business world. All the while, they could really mean a world of difference.

For example, with the end-of-year period approaching, many organizations are currently stockpiling huge inventories again because they don’t know how much of a product they will sell. A forecasting tool can often predict such a thing. Among other things, the technology calculates the minimum inventory needed to continue delivering. This is based on historical data.

In essence, this is not much different from the way Waze maps out our ideal route. It picks up information and looks at past data to predict how traffic on our road will evolve. Based on that, sometimes the app will recommend avoiding a certain road, even though we are used to driving along it. Most of the time, we don’t think about it and decide to follow Waze blindly. So what stops us from doing the same in business operations with technology that automates processes or supports with forecasting?

What you don’t measure, you don’t know

One of the reasons we give Waze the benefit of the doubt may have to do with the fact that the app has helped us many times in the past. The tool clearly indicates the time we will arrive, and in most situations it is correct. In the corporate world, this kind of transparency is usually absent. For individual cases it is often possible to sense that a tool has been useful, but on a large scale the impact is rather unclear.

This is because companies still do not measure enough. They sense that something is not going perfectly, but in practice they don’t know what is going badly and how to improve it. Companies that work systematically with forecasting to measure their inventories do find that such tools – like Waze on the road – lead to better results in most situations. Those results stimulate the production of endorphins in our brains, which makes us feel pleasant and automatically increases confidence in the technology.

Of course, you can only calculate the effect of a forecast or the impact of technology in the long term. Companies must first dare to support their business operations with innovative tools. And perhaps that is where the shoe pinches. Especially if technology requires an investment and they have the impression that the business is running well enough, they are not inclined to change anything quickly. After all, we didn’t used to have Waze either and thought it was normal to spend hours in traffic jams every day. After all, we didn’t know that things could be different.

Fear of the impact of technology

There may be another reason why we are less likely to allow smart technology in the workplace than in our private lives. What if such a tool does a good job? Shouldn’t we then fear for our jobs? In many organizations there is still a belief that their own experts know better than technology. In some cases, this is true. Those who have to manage an inventory of a dozen or so items may be able to calculate much more accurately how supply and demand are evolving. But it’s a different story when you have to do the same for tens of thousands of items.

For a short route over familiar terrain, we may already be overriding Waze, too. After all, the app will often send us along less common shortcuts that we know we’re better off ignoring. But to match Waze’s efficiency, we would have to check every possible traffic source before every trip – from traffic info on the radio to websites that display traffic jams and roadworks. Then use a classic road map to calculate the optimal route – provided the map is still up-to-date.

More time for strategic work

A smart tool like forecasting can greatly simplify our lives. Fearing for our job is not necessary anywhere. Just like using Waze, we remain at the wheel in the workplace. Technology will, however, increase our efficiency and productivity and ensure that we arrive at our destination faster and less stressed. Suppose we automate 90% of our decisions, we will have more time to use our expertise for the remaining 10%. Or to focus on things we just don’t get around to today.

Especially for companies in a growth story, automation is a must. But in today’s world, every organization benefits from smart technology. As every piece of our lives digitize, it seems incomprehensible that complex challenges rely mostly on outdated methodologies. An idea to think about when you soon turn on Waze to drive home – or when you don’t and find yourself in a traffic jam …


This is a submitted contribution from Olivier Corluy, Managing Director at Optimact. For more information on their solutions, please visit here.