BPA is essential to all businesses as it can help save time and money. This article focuses on business process automation and how it can benefit organizations.
What is business process automation (BPA)?
Business process automation is the technology, people and processes working together to improve systems and keep businesses on the right track. Efficiency is more than automating some processes. It also provides functions like reducing manual input or centralizing information.
This is the system that your company uses for managing, refining, and eventually optimizing the processes that drive everything, from production to procurement. Used effectively, it can help you trim waste, streamline workflows, and get the biggest return on investment (ROI) possible for every spends.
BPA’s main steps that introduced.
- Process modelling
- Process automation
- Process analysis using key performance indicators (KPIs)
- Process optimization
Our survey showed that the expected effort and expense involved in implementation, as well as having to deal with it at all, play a decisive role. Around 27% of those involved saw this as the biggest obstacle.
It also became clear how important the right tool is for this project. Here, even more than 27% of the respondents stated that this simply had not yet been found.
An Example of not using BPA -
Let’s consider a case where sales reps manually prepare the final agreement once it’s time to close a new account. This multi-step process involves logging in to their CRM, copying client information, and then pasting it into a document. Usually, the following actions take place:
- Sales reps contact the accounting department to discuss the terms of the contract. Another person then enters the relevant data in a few fields.
- Sales reps send the contract to their manager for approval before circling back to the accounting department, where they create the accounts needed to process customer payments.
- Finally, the sales team shuttles the information to the customer service team. Now, in a scenario where, unfortunately, someone mistyped the account number, the support team spends considerable time and effort locating their account when they call with a question.
Automating the process can resolve:
- Manual hand-off of information
- Extensive data entry
- Manoeuvring between multiple apps
- Re-emailing managers to check in on approvals
Benefits of BPA
Business process automation works like flossing. Although there is ample data to support it, many reluctant and late adopters aren't ready to commit to the new practice. However, everyday people resist the automation of processes is a day of lost efficiency.
Formstack's The State Of Workflow Automation 2018 report revealed that managers spend, on average, 8 hours per week working with unstructured data. These manual tasks were completed by 25 per cent of the respondents to the same survey.
A global McKinsey survey conducted in 2018 revealed that 57% of respondents had initiated business process automation within their organizations, and they plan to continue scaling this effort. The survey results also showed that 40% of larger companies are more successful in implementing business process automation than 25% of smaller businesses.
Are you one of the few believers of the 'old school' in your industry? Do you still not believe that business process automation can transform the way your business works?
Consider the advantages your company will enjoy when you automate business processes.
Improved efficiency and productivity.
According to the research, over half of the companies believe that process automation can reduce human error, and 45% claim it can improve process outputs.
Your business will be more efficient and less likely to make mistakes by adding business process automation solutions. You can eliminate the tedious and time-consuming manual tasks your team performs every day and speed up business processes.
Reduced time and costs.
Automation can help your business cut costs and increase profits, particularly for teams who still use paper processes to complete their tasks. Automating your processes speeds up internal operations. This allows you to save both time and money on the costs of completing those processes.
Simple data and document management.
Employees can lose track of written communications and spreadsheets when using manual processes. Additionally, moving information from one data source or calculating it from another can lead to human errors and take more time. Business process automation tools allow you to store your documents and data in one location. This streamlines document management and makes it easy to retrieve them.
Visibility and transparency.
BPA solutions will ensure that your team follows best practices and that governance is in place. Data dashboards can be viewed that allow you to see the current status of everyone's work and enable you to make more informed decisions.
Process standardization and compliance.
Although automation processes have clear guidelines about who can make changes to documents or update them, your team might not follow these guidelines. BPA is built into the system, so you don't need to worry about missing steps. It is possible to create a digital workflow that automates information routing so the correct information is sent to the right person at the right time. Businesses can also easily log names, dates, and assignment details, allowing them to track who is using what data. This information can be documented to help you establish audit trails and show compliance.
Improved employee and customer satisfaction.
Automating your business processes will make employees more productive and happier. Employees can thrive in an environment that is free from friction. Automation allows employees to focus on important projects that motivate and inspire business decisions. Customers will be happier as a bonus. Your customers will be happier with the final product or results because they receive more consistent and accurate data.
Conclusion:
It is impossible to overstate the importance of business processes.
Automating your business processes can reduce mistakes and delays, improve cost-effectiveness, productivity and supplier relationships, and improve customer satisfaction.
Implementing solid business process automation solutions is the best way to streamline your business processes.
Advaiya is the ideal partner for process automation in your business. Advaiya can assist you in automating your business processes with customized business process automation services.
Our custom business process automation tools provide robust reporting and analytics that will help you improve your processes. Our BPA solutions can be easily integrated with any other software in your company. It's easy to scale so that you can concentrate on your business growth.
Get in touch with our BPA experts now!
Ankit Panchal
Ankit Panchal is a Consultant in the Biz App Development team at Advaiya. He is an expert on business process automation. He is Microsoft Certified professional keen on building solutions using Power platform, Office 365 and SharePoint and has over 5 years of experience in IT and various Microsoft technologies.
