Development of the contemporary world is strongly connected with implementation of new technologies and IT solutions. It is perfectly visible in the case of enterprises and organisations that use modern solutions facilitating and optimising their everyday work more and more willingly. One of them being the business process automation which is applied both, in the case of small companies and large enterprises with developed organisational structure.
What is business process automation?
Business process automation comprises activities aimed at replacing, improving or accelerating work hitherto performed by a human. It is possible due to the use of modern technologies. Work in companies is very often based on the performance of routine, monotonous and repeatable activities that take quite a lot of employees’ time and distract them from other activities which are more profitable from the point of view of the enterprise. Business process automation is aimed at delegating these activities to IT systems which take some of the duties from employees and allow them to devote their time primarily to tasks requiring independent, creative thinking.
Business process automation allows accelerating work at the company and faster performance of many activities, such as, among others: accounting invoices, entering data into the system, sending emails with the same contents etc. Automation can be also used in many departments starting from accountancy and administration, through logistics and sales, to customer service. Due to the implementation thereof it is possible to improve the company’s productivity and minimise the risk of errors which very often occur when monotonous and routine activities are performed only by people.
One of the most important components necessary to achieve success in the implementation of automation is the selection of the relevant technology to introduce improvements. It is especially worth taking into consideration more and more popular low-code platforms, which provide enormous possibilities and speed in creating “custom-made”, fully functional solutions and additionally, they do not make companies dependent on using services provided by specific developer teams.
Benefits for companies related to business process automation
Every intensively developing company reaches a point, when it is necessary to automate certain in-house processes. Business process automation can be successfully used by both, small and large companies, as it offers numerous benefits for the former and the latter. In the case of small companies, business process automation allows solving the problem of staff shortages, since many tasks can be performed automatically by software without the need to employ other employees. Moreover, automation allows implementing more projects with limited staff resources, which until now has virtually been non-feasible.
Whereas, in the case of large companies, business process automation allows saving time and directing engagement of qualified employees to tasks which are the most important from the point of view of the enterprise’s development. In fact, automation works best in a situation, when it does not replace a human factor, but allows people to deal with more important tasks than the typically office-related issues, which can be successfully performed by software to the benefit of the company.
Furthermore, implementation of automation has a positive impact on employees’ morals and increases their engagement in work. Removing arduous and time-consuming activities from the timetable allows using their creative potential for other, more interesting and more engaging activities, results of which will be more appreciated by the employer. Finally, the business process automation allows eliminating the risk of errors which can affect the whole activity and image of the company. In fact, errors most often occur in the case of mechanical performance of tasks and in the case of activities requiring processing large amounts of data, with which people deal significantly worse than programmes.
Benefits for customers related to business process automation
Business process automation offers numerous benefits not only for the company itself and its employees, but also its customers. Implementation thereof allows, in fact, conducting a comprehensive analysis of information on customers, their preferences and hitherto relations with the company, which allows presenting them with more personalised offers and advertisements. It has a positive impact on the satisfaction of recipients and allows effectively increasing sales results, since a satisfied customer is more prone to make a purchase and use the company’s offer again, if it treats them in an individual manner.
Therefore, business process automation offers a lot of measurable benefits to contemporary companies. Enterprises that wish to be modern and remain competitive in comparison with other companies should consider implementation thereof in their operations. However, the process of automation’s implementation requires developing a relevant strategy, selecting proper solutions and training a team of employees. Nevertheless, every company can be certain that all this input will be more than compensated in the form of better organised work, saving time and money, higher sales and larger number of satisfied customers.
