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Business Process Automation-Tangible Business Advantages
- June 24, 2020
- Posted by: Admin
- Category: Blogs, Business Process Management
Technology is an enabler for Business Process Automation (BPA) and it can automate processes or workflows to a point where human interventions are no longer required. BPA helps companies streamline processes and it’s not just about replacing paper with PDFs – it aims to make processes more cost-efficient, error-proof, and transparent.
Not every business is a good fit for automation, so it’s important for companies to determine what can be automated and what needs to be manual. Companies start by looking at their strategic and operating drivers for process improvement within their organizations and industries. For instance, today almost all companies feel pressured to get goods to market quickly and to be the first to market whenever possible. In a highly competitive environment, companies must also economize their operations to improve their margins, since it’s not ideal to raise prices frequently.
Thus, companies look to automate business processes that are time and resource intensive, subject to human error, and that can be accelerated with automated process improvements achievable through machines and technology.
The major advantages of BPA can be improvement in revenue capture, reduced operating expenses, improved margins, and much more.
“The first rule of any technology used in a business is that automation applied to an efficient operation will magnify the efficiency.
The second is that automation applied to an inefficient operation will magnify the inefficiency.” – Bill Gates
Critical Elements of BPA
Business rules, logic, and data (structured and unstructured) are the critical drivers of BPA. Business rules and logic include reasons, data, and documents that support the business parameters. Structured data is the information referenced when making process updates, while unstructured data is more subjective and usually text heavy. The sources for this may vary from company to company.
Businesses rely on a few basic practices that are most likely to succeed in their BPA efforts as they automate their workflows. These are generic practices and almost always apply.
1: Planning
Clear understanding of the tasks involved along with who is responsible and when each task needs to be executed.
2: Defining goals
Clearly define the business and operational goals to be achieved by automating the process.
3: Measure results per phase
Introducing or implementing automation in phases and setting targets to help the enterprise analyze the results in phases and to make decisions that are timely and impactful
4: Employee Training
Training is an important aspect of automation. Automation benefits the company but at the same time benefits the employees. Unless the employees can use the new process efficiently the company will not realize the full benefit of BPA.
5: Human Failover Provision
A human failover option is always recommended so that the company can continue to function even when automation is disrupted.
Following these basic best-practices will help ensure that your enterprise realizes the full potential offered by Business Process Automation.
Client Says
We are implementing Plasma Ag Solutions across our network of locations. Plasma Ag provides several capabilities that stand out for our users such as Programs, Rebate management, and Inventory tracking. It is quite difficult to track margin information on crop protection products in our industry so our Owner Operators love the transparency the system provides. We utilize the system to professionalize our support to the network and it has become a bit success with all of them.
Several hundreds of our retail locations and joint ventures use Plasma Ag solutions as a part of their core operations. Plasma solutions provide very useful tools and deep insights to users – including tracking customer transactions and financial information. Their applications are tightly integrated with CRM, ERP, Accounting, and our other mission critical IT infrastructure and third-party systems. The dashboards provide rich analysis and insights that helps us adjust to the changing markets.
Plasma Ag solutions have been a tremendous asset to our operations. They offer powerful capabilities such as managing Retail programs, Products, Programs, local discounts, and wraps. Ability to track inventory at physical locations, calculating true and average costs, rebates and accruals on user-friendly and simple interfaces has helped us and our retail customers adopt Plasma Ag solutions quickly.
Our software, system and processes used to be an old struggling engine. Plasma team solved all that. With exceptional training and planning, their consultative executive team down to their support team executed the deployment with first-class speed and professionalism. Their platform not only removed all the pain points in my division, but also created a ripple effect benefiting my entire company.
It has been my experience that Plasma has the technical expertise, commitment, and work-ethic to deliver best-in-class solutions that allow business owners to fully realize business strategies and objectives. They work in a highly professional manner to ensure that the clients’ requirements and recommendations are fully realized. I would highly recommend Plasma for any web enablement initiative that you may be considering.
Plasma has been a smart choice for us as our online business partner. I don’t even consider our work with them outsourcing because Plasma management takes the time to truly understand our business and is able to direct its technology resources for the most efficient and quality output possible. I don’t think you can say that about many companies in their space.
Plasma has been a smart choice for us with our online requirements. I would recommend them to any company looking to better manage their online presence.
It has been my pleasure to work with the Plasma Team since August 2008. We have completed three major builds and multiple smaller projects in this time. I heartily recommend Plasma Comp to anyone needing a workable, practical and effective system solution. Plasma’s Q&A process was extremely thorough. They quickly understood what was needed and then worked the process with pointed and penetrating questions to ensure they had the entire picture of the finished product.
I think Plasma has come a long way in embracing our philosophy of becoming more agile, both leading and following in this area when necessary. The teams have been very open to change and have a great attitude. I have no complaints!
Plasma is a great vendor to work with. They took us from an email-based process to a fully designed, web-based workflow. They have dramatically changed how our devices are certified to be used on our network and they will save you time as well! One of the many processes in our current environment has saved us so much time; from four months down to a few days!
