Minimum Viable Digitisation

In MSMEs, digitisation fails when it asks for faith. Start where it offers relief.

This is the point where many leaders make the costliest mistake: They treat digitisation like a “big bang”. ERP rollout. Full automation. Everything at once. And then they act surprised when the company rejects it. Let me say it plainly: Most MSMEs don’t fail at digitization because of technology. They fail because of adoption.

Which Seat?

Inherited seat: you’re under pressure to “make it modern” fast. That pressure pushes you into big moves.

Hired seat: you want to justify your hiring with visible transformation. That pushes you into big moves.

Promoted seat: you want to prove you can lead beyond operations. That pushes you into big moves.

Different seats. Same trap: overreach.

UPI vs core banking

Think about how India adopted UPI. Most people didn’t wake up one day and say, “I want to digitize my financial life”. They adopted UPI because it was easier than what they were doing. It reduced pain: no change needed, no long forms, no bank visits, no waiting, instant confirmation.

If you compare that to “core banking software”, you’ll see the difference. Core banking is heavy. UPI is light. Core banking asks for trust and patience. UPI offers relief on day one.

That’s your lesson for MSMEs: Digitisation should feel like relief, not religion.

Right Target

Incoming leaders often say: “We need data.” “We need transparency.” “We need ERP.” All of that may be true. But it’s not the starting point. The starting point is: interfaces. Interfaces are the places where work crosses a boundary and things get messy.

In MSMEs, disputes usually begin at interfaces:

purchase request → approval → PO

production completion → dispatch → delivery

invoice → follow-up → collection

customer promise → production plan → commitment

These are the places where: money moves, blame travels, delays hide, exceptions grow

WhatsApp becomes the system. So don’t digitise “everything.” Digitise one interface where money moves and disputes begin.

Why Interface-First

Two well-known ideas explain adoption clearly. Everett Rogers wrote about how innovations spread: people adopt when they see advantage, low risk, and others like them succeeding. They don’t adopt because you announced it.

The Technology Acceptance Model (Davis) is even simpler: adoption happens when people feel the tool is useful and easy.

In MSME terms:

“Will this make my life easier?”

“Will this create trouble for me?”

“Will I get blamed if it fails?”

“Will it slow me down?”

If you can answer these questions well, adoption happens. If you can’t, people will smile and bypass.

Viable digitisation

Minimum viable digitisation means: small scope, clear benefit, low risk, quick proof, easy rollback.

It’s not “small thinking”. It’s smart sequencing. The goal of the first digitization is not perfection. The goal is trust. Once the system sees that digitization reduces pain without creating danger, the next step becomes easier.

What to digitise

If you want a safe starting point, pick one of these interfaces: PO approvals

Why it works: delays, confusion, and “who approved what” disputes are common.

A simple approval queue reduces follow-ups fast.

Dispatch confirmation

Why it works: dispatch is where customers start shouting.

A simple dispatch status board reduces panic.

Collections follow-up

Why it works: cash flow stress is universal.

A simple overdue list with follow-up notes reduces chaos.

Notice these are not “ERP modules”. They are pain points that people already feel.

The one thing you must add: rollback safety

This is important: in MSMEs, people avoid new systems because they fear getting trapped.

So your pilot must include a rollback rule.

Not as a threat. As reassurance.

Example:

“We will run this for 2 weeks. If it increases cycle time, we will roll back.”

“We will keep a backup format for emergencies only.”

“We will not punish anyone for mistakes during the pilot.”

This reduces fear and increases honest participation.

(The author is Co-founder at PPS Consulting and a business operations advisor. She helps businesses across sectors and geographies improve execution through global best practices. She could be reached at rashmi@ppsconsulting.biz)