The Mid-Market Growth Playbook: 6 Operational Systems You Need to Overhaul Now

When small companies grow to medium-sized companies, processes must change as employee numbers increase and markets change. During the startup phase, a company may develop silos that are detrimental to workflows and communication later. Everything from customer support to employee onboarding to cybersecurity can suffer.

Scaling from a small model to a mid-market one requires compatible systems. The best way to spot issues is to look at the top areas that might suffer most from growing pains. The best options for medium companies were evaluated according to pricing, what customers say about each program and the provider’s experience with average-sized companies.

1. Mailroom Operations

Although corporations have gone digital in many ways, they must still contend with physical mail. How staff handle crucial documents for brands receiving contracts, payments and product returns can impact everything from meeting regulatory hurdles to keeping customers satisfied. Manual sorting is time-consuming.

As you grow, you will process more incoming and outgoing envelopes and packages. Adding mail sorters is the fastest way to automate the process without hiring more people for your mail room.

What Are the Top Mail Sorters for Midsized Firms?

For efficient physical mail handling, Tritek offers automated systems geared toward midsize businesses. When your volume surges, you will find that these sorters improve processing speed, getting items to the correct person in your company with high accuracy.

2. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Tools

In the early days of building your firm, you likely relied on spreadsheets or paper logs. As you grow, having things in a centralized database keeps you on top of customer connections and avoids lost sales. A robust CRM system tracks interactions between staff and customers and empowers sales teams and leadership.

Which Customer Relationship Management Tools Work Best?

One of the top solutions for excellent CRM software is HubSpot, which ensures midsize firms can scale up without losing customer service quality. Due to its intuitive interface, HubSpot is known for a low learning curve. From the dashboard, you can tap in to marketing, sales and service models. You can also generate reports from analytics and improve your workflows.

3. Cybersecurity

As you grow, you will need better ways to protect data from hackers. Larger companies with higher revenue are more visible and may fall under ransomware attacks or be the target of cybercriminals. Bad players know you have more data and resources than a startup, but are not yet large enough to pay for the strongest security measures. The result can be costly breaches that damage your reputation and lose client trust.

What Cybersecurity Overhauls Do You Need as You Grow?

For midsize companies, WatchGuard is the best option. Management can use one security platform to keep results simple and connected. You can combine endpoint protection, phishing defense and patch management to help your IT team respond rapidly to threats. WatchGuard stands out because of its cost-effectiveness and customer comments about high threat detection quality.

4. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Software

An ERP system allows you to combine core functions into a centralized repository. For example, you might mix finance, supply chain, human resources and accounting. In the beginning days of your company, you may have inadvertently created data silos containing separate processes and bits of information. With an ERP system, you can ensure consistency across departments and improve decision-making.

Which ERP Software Do You Need?

Over 45,000 small and midsize businesses already use Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. It offers flexible deployment on-site or via the cloud. If you already use Microsoft’s productivity suite, you will appreciate the seamless integration with familiar software like Excel and Outlook. AI-driven analysis helps forecast product demand and optimize buying power.

5. Logistics

As your client base grows, so does logistics complexity. More customers mean more products moving through additional shipping zones. You may also find you need multiple suppliers to keep up with demand. Without the right logistics system, you may deliver late, have higher costs and gain a reputation for not following through. Optimizing shipping and delivery ensures you can scale up indefinitely and maintain your reputation.

How Can Midsize Businesses Overhaul Their Logistics?

Oracle is a top solution for mid-market growth for all your logistics processes. Its full suite of tools lets you see shipment tracking in real time, automate freight movement and predict outcomes so you can fix bottlenecks before they occur. You will be able to build stronger relationships with suppliers without spending a fortune.

6. Talent Management

A bigger company typically means you will have to hire more employees to cover the bases. The cost and time in recruiting, training and retaining top workers in your industry is a challenge for any size company, but especially ones on an upward trajectory. If you lack talent management, you risk losing your best performers and creating a poorly trained workforce.

What Are the Best Tools to Improve Talent Management?

The top choice for many medium-sized business owners is ADP Workforce Now, which has a complete HR platform. The one software handles payroll, benefits management, compliance tracking and performance reviews. Employees can access the information via a self-service portal.

How Technology Processes Will Change in the Future

Operational systems keep evolving in new and better ways. Organizations must keep up with AI and machine learning or risk competitors outperforming them. AI can close the gap between what large-scale operations are capable of and what the average brand can accomplish. New technologies can increase efficiency and improve customer experiences.

Quantum computing methods are still in development, but promise to improve logistics modeling and data processing. If you prepare for the changes now and keep a finger on the pulse of technology, you will be ready for continued rapid growth.

The Best Tools for Your Firm and Budget

Knowing what the top mail sorters for midsized businesses are or which CRM platform drives results is only the beginning.  As you grow, building an operational foundation that stands the test of rapid growth spurts throughout your company’s life is crucial. The systems you embrace will determine how well you weather industry storms.

By using proven tools for midsize businesses, you will future-proof your progress. Audit your current systems and compare them against the tools recommended here to identify areas for improvement.

Devin Partida writes about investor technologies, big data and apps. She is also the Editor-in-Chief of ReHack.com.