For an organization to thrive, it demands strategic business operation and recognition of the significance of strong, dependable processes. Process automation allows us to achieve exactly that. In the following, you will learn what business process automation is and which benefits it might offer for your organization.
What is business process automation?
Business process automation is the technologically driven automation of complex business processes and an integral part of the digital transformation in companies. It is adopted by organizations to establish continuous expansion and massive sales to keep the business thriving.
It is usually utilized to save money, boost efficiency, and simplify day-2-day- operational procedures in a business. Process automation allows organizations to have consistently successful progress and stay competitive in the always moving digital world. It also allows business to stay flexible and adapt quickly to changes in their market.
Process Automation in Europe – The demand is increasing
The process automation market in Europe is expected to grow at a 6.18 percent CAGR between 2021 and 2026. Since COVID-19 slowed economic growth in early 2020, it now serves as a catalyst for the medium- to the long-term development of industrial autonomy. The survey was conducted with over 500 process industry decision-makers between June and July 2020. Furthermore, 33 percent of respondents cited COVID-19 as having a direct impact on a slight increase in investment in autonomous operations over the next three years. One of the most important development steps is the establishment of competence centers in which companies pool the resources of their automation programs across departments. Centralization gives rise to new options for rolling out intelligent automation solutions along the entire value chain in a planned manner. Software companies and IT service providers support this development with platform offerings on which various automation technologies can be linked in a process-oriented manner.
What are the benefits of business process automation?
- A stepping stone in the direction of digital transformation: To companies that still lack it, digital transformation as an overall concept can appear to be a lofty, intimidating ambition. Business process automation can serve as a stepping stone toward a continuous transformation culture. You can begin with a few processes that are obviously in need of improvement and work your way up.
- Obtain greater clarity: At the design stage, automation necessitates a certain level of process clarity. You can’t design and automate a workflow successfully unless you know the tasks involved and who is accountable for operating it. Process mapping can also function as a training resource and provide clarity to all personnel. Furthermore, it provides the perfect opportunity to optimize and eliminate redundant processes. The information you obtain from studying an automated process can clearly show you the difference between your current process and what it should be.
- Streamline your procedures: Streamlined processes are one of the most beneficial effects of a process automation system. Clear responsibility, customizable notifications, actionable insights, and faster return times make it easier to cut out inefficient tasks and focus on improving the ones that provide value.
- Customer satisfaction will rise: In any sector, customer happiness is a vital factor . You may easily exceed customer expectations by focusing on process and operational excellence. Customers are more likely to develop brand loyalty for your company if you consistently satisfy promised criteria, again giving you a competitive advantage.
- Avoiding data silos: Data silos are information chunks or collections only accessible to a single group or organization. When this happens inside the same organization, the results can be disastrous, ranging from decreasing productivity to growing employee dissatisfaction owing to a lack of oversight and accountability.
Which end-two-end processes can be automated?
Generally, all companies, with a few exceptions, share the same end-2-end processes in their day-to-day business, regardless of size and sector. In the beginning, these can be easily managed manually, but as the size and complexity of a company increases, they take up more and more of the employees’ time, which is then ultimately lost to the core business. The automation of these processes reduces this additional effort:
- Billing: Invoice-to-Reconciliation-to-Posted
- Expenditure: Money-spent-to-Receipt-to-Reinbursement-to-Posted
- Purchasing: Need-to-Approval-to-RFP-to-Purchase-to-Payment-to-Posting
- Sales: Lead-to-Opportunity-to-Quotation-to-Order-to-Invoice
- Hiring: Need-to-Publish-to-Apply-to-Evaluate-to-Contract-to-Onboard
- BI: daily KPI update, e.g. for cash flow management
- Ongoing contracts: subscription billing, retention & renewalsWhen is the best time for an e-commerce business to implement an ERP?
How do you maximize business process automation solutions?
Organizations use business process automation for a variety of business activities. Most of these technologies are efficient and cost-effective, and they eliminate the need for manual data entry that is prone to errors. But how do they ensure the company’s long-term viability?
There are some major aspects to examine when considering business process automation (BPA):
- Examine your company’s specific requirements and projections. What works for one marketing department may not work for another, and a strategy that works for a small business may not work for a multinational firm. Examine expected growth, departmental goals, your must-haves and and your nice-to-haves to ensure your demands are addressed. Once you’ve compiled a list, look for the BPA platform that best supports it.
- Look for existing platform integrations. Uniformity might be difficult to achieve when there are hundreds of system entries and intended process automation technologies on the market. Integration, on the other hand, remains a critical component of getting the most out of your process automation solutions, since these tools may assist staff to avoid repetitive activities, improve customer service, and ultimately aid in a company’s digital transformation. Even if purchasing an app will not give your company structure, stability, or centralized control, it can be the first step toward a change.
No matter how adamant your business might be to change, a business process automation trial will yield your growing business to become better in all aspects such as organizational improvement, modernizing processes, and ensuring the satisfaction of your customers. Using the right business process automation solution can help you get rid of tedious manual tasks, dangerous human errors, and many other difficulties that keep you from succeeding in your field.
How to get started with process automation:
Ideally with an experienced project partner. Process automation is a lengthy endeavor. Such a project takes place in different phases such as process potential analysis, business process reengineering, the introduction of new automated processes, and automation of existing processes, which require thorough planning and preparation.