Inefficient processes are all around us! These are pain points that appear as cumbersome inefficiencies we have to live with, they are also potential opportunities for optimization for entrepreneurs. It is these pain points that provide us the inspiration to ask how things can be made more efficient. When we look around today, we see that technology enables us to do some pretty incredible things. Simple tasks such as hailing and calling cabs is now simplified to clicking a button or two on your mobile phone through Taxi Magic. Complex processes such as delivery tracking and warehousing have been streamlined down to a tee with RFID. Looking at your our own business or the industry we operate in, provides us with many such inefficiencies that are jarringly obvious but, are still tolerated. It is also true that not every inefficiency is worked around due to economics, and lack of holistic tangible benefits that can be derived.

A simple check list that I like to go through when I am thinking about an inefficiency is:

1. How many people or organizations are affected by this inefficiency?

2. Would solving this inefficiency drastically increase the overall experience of the target segment? Is it nice to have or is it critical?

3. What would be the capital outlay required to tackle the process?

4. What core competencies will be required to come up with efficient and effective work around it?

5. Would the target segment be ready to pay for this work ?

For example, setting up a business in some countries is a cumbersome process, one that actually discourages individuals from taking that leap of faith and setting up something on their own. Countries with foresight saw this as an avenue that would drastically increase SME activity, as also that the spill over effects would far outweigh the costs of developing systems to simplify this process. Singapore is one of those countries that has made incorporating a company something that you can do within an hour of thinking of the next big idea. Using simple online interfaces enables you to quickly go through the requirements, and the actual process of incorporation takes a fraction of of the time it takes in a country such as Pakistan. However, if you require the same efficiency in Pakistan, there will be many other capital outlay costs that are prohibitively expensive. With the prevalent lack of internal infrastructures in this country, work around current situations may not be a feasible proposition at the moment and they are hence not worked on by entrepreneurs or the government.

Understanding the intricacies of a broken process is vital to subsequently address it correctly. Like all businesses, one needs to take into account the bigger picture, and how all the pieces fit together. Just take a look around you and see what is already broken. It may not be the most original idea, but it may just put you on the road to reaching there a lot faster!