A practical guide to going digital, without a big IT project

“Going digital” can sound irrelevant in a trade built on relationships, phone calls and trust. But it isn't about replacing anyone's judgement. It is about the people who make decisions having the right figures in front of them.

Start by finding where the day goes. In most coal businesses the biggest time sinks are the same: reconciling stock across yards, chasing who has paid, re-typing dispatch details into invoices, and pulling figures together for GST and month-end. If someone spends more than an hour a day on any of these, that is your starting point.

Don't try to change everything at once — it overwhelms people and usually fails. Pick one part. For most coal businesses, stock or outstanding is the best place to begin, because the difference is visible within weeks.

Adoption decides everything. If the new way is harder than the Excel sheet it replaces, people will quietly go back to Excel. Choose something that follows the way your team already works, and let each person learn only their own part.

After a month, compare honestly: how long does stock reconciliation take now? How many dispatch mistakes? How quickly can you answer who owes what? Those answers tell you whether to take the next step.

Going digital isn't a one-time project. It is a series of small changes, each one making the next easier.