In this content, we will examine “Importance of Automation in Business Processes” under 4 headings.
- What is Business Process Automation?
- Types of Business Process Automation
- Benefits of Process Automation
- Things That You Should Know Before Automating Business Processes
- Examples of Business Process Automation
What is Business Process Automation?
Business Process Automation (BPA) is a form of technology that streamlines and automates the execution of business processes, thus reducing the need for manual labor to achieve organizational objectives.
Besides automating the manual work, another aim of business process automation is to improve and simplify the workflow steps that generate the process. Time-consuming steps in workflows, such as email chains and document transfers, can easily be excluded with the help of business process automation.
Types of Business Process Automation?
There are many different types of business process automation, each with their own benefits. The most common types of business process automation are as follows:
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Robotic process automation (RPA)
Robotic Process Automation (RPA) uses software robots to automate repetitive and employee-performing tasks. It can be used to automate rule-based, simple but time-consuming business processes.
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Business process management (BPM)
BPM is a much more comprehensive type of business process automation that encompasses the entire business process from design to execution. It allows to automate complex tasks involving multiple departments or systems.
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Artificial intelligence (AI)
AI is used to automate business processes that require human intelligence, such as customer service, risk assessment, and fraud detection. AI has powerful features to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of business process automation.
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Workflow Automation
Workflow automation is the automatic implementation of a business process. It includes the use of software tools to design, manage, run and optimize automated processes.
Benefits of Process Automation
- Standardization of Workflows
Workflows that have been standardized generate higher quality results, are easier to control creating the opportunity for leaders to have a clear idea of the progress of the activities.
- Increased Security
Processing information in emails, spreadsheets or paper creates a danger for the integrity and security of processes. In other words, automation increases the efficiency of workflows and decreases the possibility of problems.
- Reduced Costs
Business process automation makes processes need the fewer amount of financial sources. As stated before, it decreases the mistakes and consequently creates cheaper and more profitable processes for companies.
- More Control
Generally, processes are spread across multiple tools. In this context, processes are slower and harder to control. With the help of automation, they can be centralized on a single platform, providing management more control and real-time monitoring.
- Clarity
Automation prevents the manipulation of results and prevents them from causing any harm to the company. When process control is required, transparency helps to clarify the facts and BPA can provide transparency for your company.
Things That You Should Know Before Automating Business Processes
Before using business process automation, it is crucial to understand why you need automation, how existing workflow works, how you will do the changes. Here are some necessary steps:
- Clarify the Need for Automation
BPA changes the way work is done, therefore requires the involvement of key stakeholders. The extent of automation will determine the level of managerial commitment to run a business process automation. Employees who fear automation will replace their jobs need to be kept in the loop, so they should not lose their jobs. Affected employees need to be trained in the new workflow and have a good understanding of the process even your BPA project is as simple as a transformative automation effort designed to support a new business model.
- Identify Which Steps of the Process Can Be Eliminated or Improved
Before automating a process, you should be aware of information such as where it can be improved or how it needs to change. Without considering this step, you can increase existing flaws and even accelerate them. BPA experts contemplate that a process should not be automated without the knowledge of how it can be more effective.
- Analyze Process Contributing to Automation
It’s hard to get where you want to be if you don’t know where you started. Before deploying an automation tool, it is essential to know what the current process includes. However, understanding existing business processes and the business rules that govern them will not be easy for many companies.
Examples of Business Process Automation
Generally, repetitive, time-sensitive, multi-person, high-volume tasks can be automated successfully. These workflows can be in various areas of business such as management, supply chain, human resources, information technology. Here are some examples of BPA.
Marketing Automation
Marketing automation software provides opportunities for companies to target customers in several different ways. These are automated marketing messages, email, websites, social media generating sales leads. Technology is part of customer relationship management and is often used by marketing departments as a way to remove repetitive tasks from staff workflows and increase overall marketing efficiency
Hiring New Employees
Hiring a new employee brings some rigorous tasks to be done such as filling out employee forms, filing tax documents to creating a pass. By automating these processes, you can decrease the needed paperwork and eventually complete all of the steps faster. Also, BPA automatically notifies relevant managers and employees.
