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New and evolving technologies are making it easier than ever for veterinary practices to enhance their operations and deliver exceptional care to our clients’ beloved animal companions. As seasoned professionals with a passion for AI and innovation, MSS Business Transformation Advisory (MSSBTA) is excited to share with you how harnessing the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Business Process Business Process Automation in veterinary practice can propel you towards unparalleled success. Let’s explore the myriad ways in which AI and BPA can revolutionize your practice, from enhancing client experiences to optimizing operational efficiency and driving sustainable growth. Elevating Client Experiences through Personalized Engagement Today’s clients expect personalized experiences for themselves and their pets that cater to their unique needs and preferences. AI-powered technologies offer a wealth of opportunities to deliver tailored experiences that not only meet but exceed these expectations. From the moment a client interacts with your practice, whether it's through your website, social media, or in-person visits, AI can play a pivotal role in shaping their journey using voice, video, and text. One powerful application of AI in client engagement is the deployment of chatbots on websites and phone systems. These intelligent systems engage with clients in real-time, answering common questions, scheduling appointments, and even providing basic health advice. By leveraging natural language processing and machine learning algorithms, chatbots comprehend client inquiries and provide relevant and accurate responses, enhancing the overall client experience that integrates with existing software. Additionally, AI can empower your practice to execute targeted marketing campaigns that resonate with your audience on a deeper level. Whether it's sending personalized email newsletters, targeted social media ads, or special offers based on past purchase history, AI-driven marketing strategies can drive engagement and loyalty among your client base. Optimizing Operational Efficiency with Business Process Automation in Veterinary Practices Beyond enhancing client experiences, AI and BPA streamline your practice's operations, enabling you to work smarter in less time. From administrative tasks to clinical workflows to pharmacy to legal documentation, automation can free up valuable time and resources that can be reinvested into strategic initiatives that drive practice growth. One area where BPA yields significant benefits is appointment scheduling and management. AI-powered scheduling algorithms optimize appointment slots based on factors such as practitioner availability, treatment duration, and client preferences, ensuring maximum efficiency and productivity. Inventory and replenishment is another time-consuming process ripe for improvement through automation. By integrating AI algorithms with your inventory management system, you can forecast demand, optimize stock levels, and minimize waste, ultimately reducing costs and improving profitability. Driving Practice Growth through Data-Driven Insights An interesting aspect of AI and BPA is their ability to generate actionable insights from vast amounts of data. By capturing and analyzing data from various sources such as practice management software, client interactions, clinical records, and financial transactions, your practice gains valuable insights into client preferences, treatment outcomes, and operational performance. For example, AI-powered analytics can uncover trends and patterns in client behavior, allowing you to identify opportunities for upselling and cross-selling additional products and services. By aligning offerings with clients' needs and preferences, you drive revenue growth, explore new revenue opportunities, and increase client satisfaction. The integration of AI and BPA in veterinary medicine offers opportunities to enhance client experiences, optimize operational efficiency, and drive practice growth. By embracing these technologies and leveraging data-driven insights, your practice can stay ahead of the curve and position itself for long-term success in an increasingly competitive landscape.

In veterinary practice management, every decision and action contributes to the health and well-being of our animal companions. As seasoned consultants dedicated to helping veterinary practices thrive, MSS Business Transformation Advisory (MSSBTA) understands the importance of measuring success not only in terms of patient care but also in the efficiency and effectiveness of practice processes while also combining the importance of employee engagement and community support.  Through a multi-year program with PetSmart Charities, and dozens of clinics across Canada and the United States, we have learned firsthand the metrics and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) essential for driving growth, efficiency, employee engagement, and community support, ultimately fostering practice success and sustainability. Patient Care Metrics: Prioritizing Pets and Community Support At the heart of every veterinary practice lies a commitment to providing exceptional care for our animals and our community. Therefore, it's imperative to measure the quality of care delivered to our patients through various metrics that reflect their health outcomes and well-being. Examining the appointment-making process to reduce barriers like language issues and credit card deposits, as well as streamlining procedures, is essential. Similarly, if there is a long wait time for a certain service, it may be time to revisit the service mix for the practice and staff accordingly. Another vital metric is the net promoter score, as it is directly linked to the perceived quality of care for pets.  Surveys, feedback forms, and online reviews are valuable tools for capturing client feedback, gauging their satisfaction levels, and assessing their likelihood to recommend the practice. By regularly monitoring client satisfaction scores and addressing any concerns or issues raised, veterinary practices can foster stronger client relationships and loyalty, ultimately driving practice growth and success.  We will work with you to deliver industry specific employee engagement surveys and community support surveys that drive net promoter score and greater loyalty for referrals. Operational Efficiency Metrics: Streamlining Financials and Processes for Success In addition to delivering exceptional patient care, veterinary practices must also prioritize operational efficiency to ensure smooth and seamless practice operations. Tracking key operational metrics offers insight into the effectiveness of practice processes and workflows. Various metrics, from revenue to expenses to service mix and no-show rates, are crucial.  We help practices implement strategies for goal setting and minimize areas such as no-shows and cancellations to improve overall operational efficiency. Staff productivity is another critical metric, as it measures the efficiency and effectiveness of staff members in performing their duties and responsibilities. This metric can be tracked through various indicators, such as patient throughput, average consultation time, and number of procedures performed per day. It is important to be mindful about how to staff Techs and Assistants in a way that supports Vets and allows productivity at all positions.  By setting performance targets and regularly monitoring staff productivity metrics, veterinary practices can identify opportunities for training, workflow optimization, and resource allocation, ultimately improving overall practice performance. Employee Engagement: Driving Practice Sustainability Finally, team member metrics play a pivotal role in measuring the long-term sustainability and success of veterinary practices. One of the most important metrics is tracking the average number of years each person and each position has been with the practice. In our research, we have found a direct correlation between employee longevity and profit margins.  By focusing on employee surveys, communication and longevity, veterinary practices can boost overall practice revenue and profitability. Another crucial employee metric is paying for continuing education.  Allowing paid time off and sponsoring continuing education has a direct impact on satisfaction at work, cost management, revenue optimization, and operational efficiency. By analyzing employee engagement and identifying areas for improvement, veterinary practices can maximize profitability and ensure long-term financial sustainability.  We have found that practices providing sponsored continuing education not only have longer tenure but those practices with an average non-vet tenure of over 2 years and an average vet tenure of over 5 years have experienced a 20% greater profit than those with unsponsored education and less tenure. At MSSBTA, we believe there is a better approach. Measuring practice success through a combination of patient community care, financial and operational efficiency, and employee metrics is essential for driving practice growth, sustainability, and success. By leveraging these metrics and KPIs to track performance, identifying areas for improvement, and making informed decisions, veterinary practices can achieve their goals of delivering exceptional patient care while operating efficiently and profitably. Contact us for a complete list of metrics we have found to drive sustainability.

What is Business-IT Alignment? As you can imagine, there is no universal blueprint for businesses that successfully fulfill their purpose and achieve their mission. However, most leaders agree that Strategic Alignment is one of the critical contributing factors. When all elements of a business, much like rowers on a boat working in unison, and are in sync the result is Strategic Alignment. They work together with the sole purpose of fulfilling the business objectives. While the concept sounds simple, achieving alignment can be a complicated and evolutionary process. A company’s purpose generally does not change, but department level strategies and organizational structures do, which can make chasing alignment feel like rowing in circles! With a robust framework and governance structure in place this process can be simplified, and its results sustained. Faced with limited resources, business leaders should prioritize business components with higher potential for transformation, such as Information Technology (IT). Nobody can challenge the power that IT has to transform businesses and indeed entire industries. To do so, however, IT must evolve beyond its traditional role of a cost center that supports the business and become an innovator that provides competitive advantage for the business. Good IT Strategy One critical enabler of effective and long-lasting Business-IT Alignment is a well-crafted and continuously fine-tuned IT Strategy along with the IT operational capabilities needed to achieve the IT Strategy. Business stakeholders usually lack the technology perspective and knowledge to translate business objectives into IT initiatives that can help achieve them. IT leaders need to work together with the business to define the IT Strategy. A good IT Strategy: Clearly links IT initiatives to business goals and objectives, Optimizes IT capabilities to realize them, and Adds additional IT capabilities to leverage new or previously unused technologies in support of achieving business goals and objectives Do you think your organization has an IT Strategy that is designed to support the goals and objectives of your business? Does your IT organization have the capabilities needed to support your IT Strategy? Are your Business and IT well aligned? Business-IT Alignment Assessment Take a short 15-question survey that can provide a good indication of your organization’s current alignment. At the end of the assessment, you will receive a score and a brief commentary. If your assessment returns a near perfect score, congratulations! your organization is aligned in most of the assessed areas. For most of us though, the reality is that IT works mostly independent of the business, and a list of IT projects is sometimes all that constitutes an IT Strategy. Why Business-IT Alignment Matters The velocity and magnitude of technology changes today have increased dramatically compared to anything we have seen before. If we are to realize the business value through the adoption of emerging technologies, CIOs and CEOs must address significant challenges. It is time for IT to evolve into a trusted partner, empowering business through innovation and efficiency. The time to act is now! Share This Article:

October 14, 2020 / MSS Business Transformation Day Roundtable featuring award finalists Tim Roemer, Arizona State CISO, Dr. Elizabeth Cantwell, SVP of Research and Innovation at UA, and Joann MacMaster, CEO of Desert Angels. Also joining the conversation are 2019 winner Paul Green from Angel MedFlight, and Mark Dallmeier of MSSBTA.

Dr. Elizabeth Cantwell, 2020 MSS Business Transformation Leader award winner October 14, 2020 / Dr. Elizabeth Cantwell, Senior Vice President of Research and Innovation at the University of Arizona shares her insights into how the University is leading innovation through partnerships with businesses throughout the state of Arizona.

Joan MacMaster, CEO of Desert Angels and finalist of the 2020 Business Transformation Leader award October 14, 2020 / Hear from Joann MacMaster how Desert Angels investors helped local start-ups generate $37,000,000 in revenue, build $24,000,000 in equity, and represented 4,800 jobs in 2019. 97% of these investments stayed in Arizona.

Tim Roemer, Arizona State CISO and finalist of the 2020 Business Transformation Leader award October 14, 2020 / Leadership and innovation don’t have to be extremes. Tim Roemer, Arizona State CIO shares how going back to the basics can be just as transformational, if not more, than a big, complex initiative.

A Guide to Overcome Learning Challenges and Enable Seamless Day-to-Day Activities for Teams Implementing an ERP system like IFS Cloud can be a transformative journey, but it also brings challenges, particularly for teams adapting to new processes in their day-to-day activities. To ensure a successful implementation, addressing the learning curve and supporting teams effectively is crucial. In this comprehensive guide, we will provide practical strategies to navigate the implementation of ERP IFS Cloud while helping teams overcome difficulties and ensuring their day-to-day operations continue smoothly. Step 1: Prepare for Change Communicate the benefits, purpose, and detailed change impacts of implementing IFS Cloud to the teams, addressing any concerns or resistance. Engage teams early in the process, involving them in decision-making and gathering their input to build a sense of ownership. Provide an overview of the new processes, functionalities, and change impacts, emphasizing how they will enhance efficiency and simplify tasks. Before training and knowledge sessions begin, prioritize understanding and cover detailed change impacts with internal and external users. Ensure functional and development teams consider usability and change impacts while configuring systems, considering users' needs and requirements. Conduct thorough impact assessments to identify potential challenges, dependencies, and risks associated with implementing IFS Cloud. You need to meet with internal and external stakeholders to gather feedback and insights on the anticipated change impacts, ensuring a comprehensive understanding of the potential effects on different user groups. Customize training and knowledge sessions to address specific change impacts and usability concerns, tailoring the content to address the needs of different user roles and functions. Create communication channels and platforms for users to express their questions, concerns, and suggestions regarding change impacts and usability considerations. Establish a change management team or designated individuals responsible for addressing change impacts and usability concerns, ensuring dedicated support throughout the implementation process. Regularly communicate updates and progress regarding change impacts and usability improvements, keeping the teams informed and engaged throughout the transition to IFS Cloud. By incorporating these additional steps, you can promote a more comprehensive understanding of change impacts and usability considerations, enabling a smoother transition and better user adoption of IFS Cloud. Personal Experience executing this step: Company X Y Z recognized the importance of preparing their teams for change when implementing IFS Cloud. They held a company-wide meeting where the benefits, purpose, and detailed change impacts were communicated, addressing concerns and resistance. By involving teams in decision-making and gathering their input, the company built a sense of ownership and created a collaborative atmosphere that set the stage for a successful implementation. Step 2: Comprehensive Training Develop a comprehensive training plan that caters to different learning styles and includes hands-on exercises and simulations. Conduct initial training sessions to familiarize teams with the ERP system's features, navigation, and their specific roles within it. Offer continuous learning opportunities through regular workshops, refresher courses, and access to online training resources. Personal Experience executing this step: Company X Y Z understood that comprehensive training was vital to empowering their teams to adapt to IFS Cloud. They developed a training plan that included hands-on exercises and simulations. Through these training sessions, employees gained confidence in navigating the system and understood their specific roles within it, ensuring a smooth transition to the new ERP system. Step 3: Hands-On Support Assign dedicated support resources, such as superusers or power users, who can provide on-the-job assistance to teams during the transition period. Establish a help desk or support channel where teams can seek immediate guidance and troubleshoot any challenges. Conduct regular check-ins with teams to address their concerns, answer questions, and offer additional training or support as needed. Personal Experience executing this step: While implementing IFS Cloud, Company X Y Z assigned dedicated support resources to provide hands-on assistance to teams. Superusers were available to guide employees and address their questions and concerns. This personalized support helped alleviate any initial challenges and ensured employees felt supported and confident in utilizing the new system. Step 4: Phased Implementation to IFS Cloud Implement IFS Cloud in phases rather than a full-scale deployment to minimize disruption and facilitate a smoother learning curve. Start with less complex modules or processes, allowing teams to gradually adapt and build confidence before moving to more advanced functionalities. Celebrate small wins along the way to boost morale and demonstrate the positive impact of the new system on their day-to-day activities. Personal Experience executing this step: Company X Y Z chose to implement IFS Cloud in phases to minimize disruption. They started with less complex modules and gradually expanded to more advanced functionalities. By taking this approach, teams had the opportunity to adapt at a comfortable pace, resulting in a smoother learning curve and increased adoption of the new system. Step 5: Continuous Improvement and Feedback Establish feedback mechanisms, such as surveys or feedback sessions, to gather insights from teams regarding the challenges they face and suggestions for improvement. Regularly review and refine training materials and processes based on the feedback received, ensuring continuous enhancement of the learning experience. Leadership has to encourage a culture of knowledge sharing and learning among teams to foster collaboration and support each other during the transition. Personal Experience executing this step: Company X Y Z valued feedback from their teams and implemented mechanisms to gather insights throughout the implementation process. Regular surveys and feedback sessions allowed employees to express their challenges and provide suggestions for improvement. Based on this feedback, the company actively reviewed and refined its training materials and processes, ensuring continuous enhancement and a positive learning experience for its teams. Successfully implementing ERP IFS Cloud requires addressing the learning curve and supporting teams as they adapt to new processes. By following this guide and implementing strategies to overcome challenges, provide comprehensive training, offer hands-on support, and enable continuous improvement, you can ensure a smoother transition for teams. Embrace the opportunity to enhance day-to-day operations, empower your teams, and unlock the full potential of ERP IFS Cloud for your organization's success. FREE checklist: How to Successfully Implement ERP IFS Cloud

It is hard to finish a day without some talk or article about artificial intelligence (AI). Schools are having to respond to students using ChatGPT's to complete assignments. Police departments are having to distinguish truth from “deep fake” photos, videos, and even voice recordings. There is a growing fear surrounding AI. One area of concern is the job market. How many jobs will be replaced by AI? This may seem like a new question, but over the past hundred years or so, technology has reshaped the job market multiple times. The Agricultural Revolution In 1900, just under 40 percent of the total US population lived on farms. Today, less than two percent of the US population lives on farms. What started this drop in the number of farmers? New technology. In this case, the tractor. The tractor reduced the need for manual labor on farms. More tractors and other machines were invented and became readily available to farmers. These machines took over the plowing, seeding, and harvesting, and other agricultural work. This led to increased productivity and yields with a smaller workforce. If you were an agricultural worker at the time, you might not have been a fan of this modern technology. It was a threat to your job safety. However, the new agricultural technology and machinery created new jobs and required the workforce to transform. This would not be the only time innovative technology transformed the job market. The Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was another time where technology transformed the job market. Reconfiguring manufacturing processes to assembly lines and using automated machinery allowed for mass production. This led to increased efficiency and productivity and reduced labor requirements. Many traditional manual tasks were replaced by machines, which transformed the job market. Once again, technology has disrupted employment patterns. Many people were no longer needed to perform their jobs. However, new jobs were needed to manage and maintain the new processes and machinery. The Digital Revolution The digital revolution was the cause of the next major job market transformation. Computerization streamlined processes in many industries, replacing repetitive and mundane tasks. Tasks that took a person hours to complete could now be done in minutes with a computer. Automation further reduced the need for a large workforce in many industries. With this transformation came an explosion of new jobs and new industries. New degrees were developed at universities and colleges to help an entire new workforce become ready to be employed in the digital workplace. The Information Revolution The Information Revolution was another transformation of the employment landscape. The internet and social media have had a profound impact on job markets worldwide. E-commerce platforms, for instance, have disrupted traditional brick-and-mortar retail, leading to the closure of many physical stores and subsequent job losses. Traditional roles in the publishing and music industries have also faced significant disruption due to digitization and the rise of online content platforms. The Next Revolution Are we at the beginning of the next revolution? Time will tell, but it looks like it. Some doomsayers may say that this will be the last for humanity. I do not think so. This is not something new. History shows how technology brought about major transformations to economies and job markets. Are you and your business prepared for the next transformation? Will you transform with it, or become obsolete? In part two, we will explore the implications and challenges of AI as well as the opportunities it presents.

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Client Detail: The client is a higher education institution. For more than seven years MSS Business Transformation Advisory (MSSBTA) has worked with their Information Technology department to support their systems and infrastructure. The Challenge: The client owns and maintains a complex network of systems that integrate into a core Microsoft Identity Management System (MIM). Back office systems such as ERP applications, student application system, Gmail, domain servers, and in-house proprietary applications operate interdependently, and most of these systems operate on servers and infrastructure that are outdated, creating significant amount of technical debt that the client needed to remove. Without these critical identity services, the organization would fail to operate. A three-phase plan was created to address the project work streams: Phase 1: Target systems that were unstable Phase 2: Identify servers at end of life and upgrade or replace Phase 3: Optimize current assets in future transformative phase The client’s challenge was to identify which servers to upgrade, which servers to replace, how to upgrade or replace the servers without causing service disruption to any interconnected systems, and accomplish these tasks leveraging an already resource-constrained Information Technology (IT) team. Our Solution: MSSBTA worked with the IT team and leadership to identify and prioritize which systems fell within each phase, and the solution and upgrade plans for each phase. As the project lead, MSSBTA provided Leadership, Governance, and Accountability for all project phases and work teams, including vendor partners and subcontractors engaged to support very specific activities and tasks in each phase. In the last phase, work was segmented and organized into separate work streams with assigned team leads to help accelerate the completion of the project. In addition to detailed project plans, MSSBTA consultants created and maintained an executive-level roadmap throughout all project phases, providing leadership visibility into the status of all active, in-flight work. Their Results: The client leveraged MSSBTA’s leadership and guidance on this project to reduce their technical debt, install new systems that were robust, stable, and integrated with modern systems throughout the organization. This project deployed a modern, optimized technology infrastructure that enables the client to focus on optimization efforts instead of firefighting and recovering from unexpected downtime. It also allowed the IT team to pivot their focus and attention to address unexpected COVID-19 demands on the organization and quickly deploy the associated process changes. Deliverables: Project Management, Prioritization, and Plans Executive-level Road Map Leadership, Governance, and Accountability

Client Detail: The client is a finance team responsible for safeguarding the financial assets of the organization. They manage the licensing, supervision, and regulation of financial institutions and enterprise operations. The Challenge: After an initial project assessment, the client was provided with a list of recommendations and corrective actions to remedy an ailing workflow system implementation. They wanted to fully understand the transition of technology to a future state. The client was managing business operations with a portfolio of dated computer applications and required the definition and documentation of business requirements to detail the desired technology future state. As part of the recommendations and to complete the future state model, the client needed an assessment of the current technical infrastructure to ensure the right environment was planned to support a best-in-class, future technology state. Our Solution: The MSSBTA team reviewed the components of the Information Technology (IT) ecosystem and developed a detailed plan to review and document the IT current state, manage tasks the client chose, and provide advice and counsel for the duration of the effort and next steps. Business Applications: Stakeholders from each functional area supplied information on current use of business applications and requirements for the future state Using those requirements, a brief list of capable solution providers was identified. Each potential provider was vetted to ensure they proved the necessary capabilities and were a minimal risk if selected Potential providers were compared to 9 key attributes required for the future state vision Our team reviewed and documented shared services provided by the home office organization to understand how those services may be incorporated into the future state IT Operations: MSSBTA conducted a full assessment of the current IT technical infrastructure Our team provided the client with a guide for a complete vendor solution selection We analyzed the IT infrastructure and recommended a future state architecture to support a fully integrated, paperless solution MSSBTA created a roadmap of recommendations for the continued use or retirement of equipment to transform the legacy infrastructure to the future state model Data Management: MSSBTA recommended an approach for data integration, clean-up and management in preparation for the new solution implementation Other Key Client Requests: MSSBTA conducted an assessment and named risks of not properly disposing of legacy systems and data Our team reviewed and recommended a new operating model for the client IT department We supplied budgetary numbers for ultimate future state solution for the client’s planning processes Their Results: MSSBTA and the client expectations were clear and agreed upon before work began. Client expectations throughout the duration of the project through frequent informal and formal communication and short, daily team meetings. The client was delighted with the MSSBTA effort. They appreciated the assessments of each area, the thoroughness of the analysis and the quality of the deliverables. The final report and budgeting information presented was described as “awesome” and provided the precise information required for the client to seek approval for future project phases. The client chose to select the replacement vendor solution with their internal Procurement department, but they engaged MSSBTA to provide project oversight to ensure accountability and a successful implementation. Deliverables: Comprehensive list of requirements needed for the desired technology future state Overall IT solution roadmap and 2-3 providers able to deliver future state requirements Implementation strategy Decommissioning strategy for all legacy systems New IT operating model using available shared service Detailed project findings Final Project Recommendations