Digital consumer engagement, real-time data visibility, effective supply chain approaches and flexible working conditions are expected to be important permanent practices for companies amid a shift in their business mindsets in the digital era, says consultancy Deloitte.
"In Thailand's digital transformation survey, we found 41% of the companies said perceived digital transformation had a moderate impact on business," said Narain Chutijirawong, executive director for clients and industries at Deloitte Thailand.
The digital transformation adopted during the pandemic was both a survival mechanism in response to the situation and a tool for future differentiation, he said.
"Critical changes regarding digital transformation are needed for the digital mindset, not simply doing digital things and launching new projects," said Mr Narain.
He said the higher digital transformation rate coupled with an immense and unforeseeable impact from the pandemic across all businesses was evident.
Businesses should be more vigilant about digital transformation and the digital environment in the market, especially during this transitional period, said Mr Narain.
Deloitte predicts successful companies will permanently shift their working mindsets to digital consumer engagement and intelligence-based real-time data visibility to support financial and operational handling, he said.
Businesses will reconfigure supply chain approaches to cope with global logistics disruptions in the future, and place more emphasis on remote work with flexible working conditions, said the consultancy.
"Business departments that can work productively at home may choose to work at the office one day per week," Mr Narain said.
"Other departments may consider working two days from home."
According to Deloitte Thailand's "Digital Transformation Survey" from 2020 to 2022, rapid digital adoption took place during the early part of the pandemic, with 20% of the companies surveyed entering the "Becoming Digital" phase.
In 2022, 43% of the companies surveyed shifted back to the "Doing Digital" phase as they realised not all technologies are applicable to their situation, becoming more selective in the implementation process across digital for customers, internal assets, and back-end processes.
Cybersecurity and customer-centricity are the two aspects most companies considered important and prioritised, Deloitte indicated.
Some 30% of the companies have a mature digital plan, with investments and innovation in place and integration of customer-centricity into the company DNA, according to Deloitte.
A full 43% of companies surveyed integrated cybersecurity into the company DNA.
Cloud, web technology and mobile applications were the most popular tech tools used by companies of all sizes before the pandemic, while data analytics is now gaining in popularity.
"Digital transformation is the key to protect your enterprise and there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all journey to future readiness," said Viney Hora, executive director of Deloitte Consulting.
"Executives should carefully choose the one that fits their company best."