The need for business process automation has become crucial for businesses of all sizes. This is because well-functioned and automated business operations help increase efficiency, reduce mundane tasks, and significantly improve productivity. Gartner identifies this as a critical factor in maintaining a competitive advantage in 2022.
As a business owner, you are always keen to identify business strengths and weaknesses. Once identified where the weaknesses lie, you can then devise strategies to mitigate risks and convert them into competitive advantages. Similarly, a systematic approach is used to implement business process automation. A detailed analysis of current procedures identifies their optimal uses and offers a starting point for redesigning workflows.
The next step is to implement this automation in business processes to achieve the targeted results and improve productivity. Here are some ways businesses can use business process automation to their advantage:
- Use intelligent solutions to make informed decisions
Decision making is one of the core processes for any business. The choice to concur or dissent may alter or have an impact on the strategic and financial position of the company. This is why it’s crucial to use intelligent solutions to support the decision-making process.
Automating the decision-making process is possible with intelligent solutions. Large volumes of data can be retrieved, extracted, and stored using these solutions. Computer software then applies predetermined rules to this data. These rules are based on business needs and you can use artificial intelligence to assist managers in making informed decisions.
Decision-making process automation is helpful for day-to-day operational decisions. Automated decision-making helps in providing real-time and saves time for managers to do repetitive tasks that are not only time-consuming but are also prone to human errors. The solution can also be customized to business needs to make better decisions.
- Improve customer relationships using automated communication
In a digitally connected world, customers can interact, inquire, and request information 24/7 anytime and from anywhere. They also anticipate being responded timely which has led to the automation of communication channels to facilitate quick and easy interaction
Using conversational chatbots, advanced self-service tools and automated behavior-driven emails can be used as effective communication channels with the customers. Conversational chatbots are available 24/7 and are designed to understand human information and answer accordingly. Advanced self-service tools include easy-to-follow FAQs, blogs, and tutorials to address customer questions without having to wait for a human to respond.
Similarly, behavior-driven emails directly respond to customers’ specific actions. Customers who make online purchases, for instance, may get thank-you or first-time buyer discount emails. If the customer doesn’t purchase in the next few weeks, then an automated email for ongoing promotional offers can be sent to entice a purchase.
Automated communication channels respond interactively, resolve queries timely, and reduce human interaction to save time, improve customer relationships, and boost profits in the longer run.
- Workflow automation to improve productivity
A strategy to streamline the movement of tasks, documents, and information among work-related activities is called workflow automation. Automation should be a straightforward process that is executed as a regular cycle to improve everyday productivity.
Workflow automation systems can be used by all departments, including finance, human resources, marketing, operations, and sales. It is typically applied to automate processes that are repetitive and don’t demand a lot of intellectual effort. Workflow automation is used, for instance, by healthcare providers to create staff timetables and on-call rotations. Healthcare personnel may concentrate on more critical activities, such as patient care, and automate other repetitive tasks.
Pega is one of the business process automation tools that help to automate operations, reduce costs and improve business agility.
- Business process automation via SaaS
Workflow automation can also be achieved using Software as a Service (SaaS). This is a cloud-based platform that you access via the internet without the need to install and run the software on your system.
By automating operational processes with SaaS, businesses may focus on achieving more strategic objectives while using the software to carry out repetitive and mundane duties. For example, HubSpot is a SaaS product, used for fulfilling marketing requirements like social media post scheduling and ad performance tracking,
Similarly, businesses with thousands of assets can track these assets using equipment tracking software. These are SaaS-based software that helps to automate asset tracking from acquisition to disposal, provide real-time data access to prevent equipment downtime, and manage inventory efficiently.
Overall, business process automation can help organizations in saving overhead costs and increase productivity. This can make businesses more competitive and more likely to be profitable in the long run.
Author Bio:
Nisma Shakil is currently a Content Marketer at EZOfficeInventory, the leading asset tracking software company, where she particularly enjoys writing about technological advancements, and trends and actively contributes to similar guest posting opportunities. She also enjoys capturing scenic beauty, sunset at beaches, and movie times with family.
