Book – Plugging The Holes In Your Business
Plugging The Operational “Holes” In Your Business
Find and fix the gaps where your business quietly loses value — between your systems, your teams and your customers.
A practical, systematic approach to digitising operations: start from the customer's perspective, work with what you already have, and apply the right technology to the right pain points at the right time.
“An interesting, easy and informative read. Best of all, the information sinks in quickly.” — Laura Hamilton, Corporate & Change Communications Expert, Academic
Your competitors seem to have cracked digital. Why does it feel so hard for you?
Customers now expect a seamless experience every time they deal with you. Behind the scenes, many businesses are still held together by phone calls, emails and spreadsheets.
Every disconnected system and manual workaround is a hole where time, margin and goodwill leak away — at the point where your physical and digital processes meet. Operationally, you know you could run more efficiently. The hard part is seeing where to start.
This book shows business leaders how to find those holes, decide which ones matter most, and plug them in a way that sets the business up for whatever changes next.
Where value usually leaks out
- The same customer recorded differently in several systems
- Each department running its own spreadsheet of the truth
- Confirming a delivery date takes three phone calls and an email
- Billing errors that surface only when the customer complains
- Sales can't see stock or capacity, so they can't commit with confidence
- Complementary products and services that never get offered together
What you'll learn
Practical takeaways you can act on, without committing to a costly, all-at-once digital overhaul.
Where your biggest inefficiencies hide
The points in your operations where value is most likely draining away, and how to find them.
How a 360° view of the customer lifts the bottom line
Why recognising customers across every channel changes both service and sales.
How to spot issues and opportunities in real time
Turning operational and customer data into decisions you can act on in the moment.
How to digitise work and workflow
Building a seamless experience for customers and employees alike, not just new software.
Which point solutions to integrate
Where isolated tools must give way to something connected and enterprise-ready.
How digitising creates new value
Monetisation opportunities and intangible value from digitising products, services and processes.
Why it matters even more in the age of AI: AI is only as useful as the data and workflows it can reach. Businesses with joined-up operations and clean customer data are the ones ready to put AI to work — plugging the holes is the groundwork.
Practical, readable and grounded in real business problems
“An easy read, yet full of practical tips and advice.”
Kamal has accurately pointed out common issues that many businesses still face today, especially when the business is not fully leveraging technology, or still reliant on paper-based, manual processes. How often do we hear issues such as duplication of customer data, multiple systems and spreadsheets maintained by different departments, and inaccurate billings, all contributing to hindering the ability of a business to effectively deliver products and services to their customers.
The book explains the benefits of leveraging technology and data to improve business, and offers practical key takeaways for businesses to follow. As a small business operator, this book is and will be a constant reminder for me to continually optimise my business processes.
“I was sent a copy to review and have to say it's a gem.”
Digitisation is a bête noire for many small and medium business owners, who toss it into the ‘too hard’ basket and consequently lag further and further behind. The operational holes get bigger, and plugging them gets harder and more expensive.
Kamal's book starts off with a look at things from a customer perspective and then ticks off the digitisation pain points one by one. Rather than evangelise a comprehensive digital overhaul, it recommends a tailored, systematic approach of working with what you have, making changes where they're needed and applying the right technology solutions to the right pain points at the right time. It's an interesting, easy and informative read. Best of all, the information sinks in quickly.
“If you are an SME, how do you learn from the mistakes of others? This book is a good place to start.”
Working from both home and the office over the past few years has increased reliance on technology, and in most cases we have adapted well and improved our skills and software. So why are we still frustrated with the service we receive?
From my perspective this is a design and compatibility issue, in that no one system suits all requirements, so we bolt different products together hoping they will play nice. This is not always so, and even big players get it wrong.
This book is easy and quick to read, and lays out both the issues and the solutions with some great examples. I have known Kamal for many years and can attest to his skills and professionalism. He is someone you can trust to support you in the digital journey.
Hear the ideas behind the book
Kamal talks through why operational holes appear, what they cost, and how business leaders can start plugging them.
Kamal Salwan
Digital business strategy advisor and founder of Digital Enact, Melbourne.
Kamal has spent years working with organisations across a wide range of industries, and has seen first-hand that digitising a business is never a simple, lateral move. He works closely with leadership teams to understand their operations end to end — from upstream suppliers to downstream customers — to pinpoint where value is draining away and where it can be created.
The book distils that approach for business leaders: a systematic, customised path to digitisation that builds on what you already have.
- Lead author & coordinatorSmart Sensing and Industry 4.0 Guidebook for SME Manufacturers, Connected Technology Alliance
- SpeakerBusiness audiences including SEMMA and the Australian Tamil Chamber of Commerce
- AdvisorDigital business strategy, AI integration, product and MVP delivery, and cyber security for Australian SMEs
- FounderDigital Enact — strategy co-created with clients and delivered with a trusted partner network
Want help plugging the holes in your business?
If you recognised your business in these pages, a conversation with the author is the fastest way to find your first, highest-value fix.
Kamal applies the same method from the book to your operation, so your next digital investment starts with a clear business outcome rather than a vendor pitch.
More from the author
What we'll work through together
- 01How your customers experience doing business with you today, end to end
- 02The operational holes costing you most in time, margin and goodwill
- 03What your existing systems and data can already do for you
- 04One priority fix worth tackling first, and how you'll measure it
- 05A sensible next step, whether that's process, integration, data or AI
Stop the leaks. Start with the holes that matter most.
A$19.99 plus delivery, shipped within Australia. Buy direct from the author or order through Amazon.