Top 5 benefits of process automation

If you're a business owner considering digitizing a process or workflow, you've probably reached the point where the current inefficiency is no longer workable. Errors in a registration, communication or control process, for example, lead to all kinds of problems. It may take a lot of time to fix the errors, colleagues get stuck with incorrect data, or customers even become dissatisfied. Automating repetitive or time-consuming processes can help. Below, we discuss 5 benefits of automating processes.

Automating with applications

A workflow application is a software application that automates a particular process. These processes, also known as workflows, are usually business-related, but in fact they can be any process for which a series of steps can be automated through software. Every department has different needs, but everyone can benefit from a workflow application. Sales departments could automate sales contracts, HR could automate the employee onboarding process, and in Production, the various inspection forms of a production line could be managed through a single application. Organizations that have made their processes more efficient with an application experience several business benefits. We've highlighted a few of them below:

✓ Time & cost reduction

It's fairly obvious, but too important not to mention. As we know, performing tasks manually takes an unnecessary amount of time. Think of retyping a paper form, for example. These tasks are often carried out linearly by people, which makes them prone to errors. Digitizing such a process lets you reduce or even eliminate the time spent on repetitive actions. This means day-to-day work gets done faster and employees can spend more time on other tasks.

✓ Create insight

If data isn't collected correctly or consistently, that information is neither reliable nor available. This makes it much harder to find information and to set up processes more efficiently. By collecting data automatically, you make it possible to base decisions on correct data. For in-depth analysis, you can use a business intelligence tool such as Qlik.

✓ One version of the truth

Automating business processes provides one version of the truth. Everyone knows who is responsible and what the next steps are. Perhaps even more importantly, nobody has to remember to tell someone else that it's their turn to complete a task. In an automated workflow, follow-up tasks are triggered automatically, and the person responsible for a task is informed about the action expected of them. This makes it impossible to miss a step in a workflow application. For every action or task, you can trace who completed which task and when.

✓ Less risk & fewer administrative errors

Automated processes result in fewer administrative errors because manual data processing is (partly) eliminated. The chance of human error during data entry in the various steps is minimized. In addition, you can create integrations with your existing systems, so you can be sure you're working with the right data.

✓ User access

With a workflow application, access to specific features, pages or management information, for example, can easily be restricted per user. An employee might only get access to a specific part of the overall process. This safeguards the process and ensures everyone sees only the information that is relevant to them. This is also very useful when an employee is involved in multiple workflows. She can then provide input to several workflows within a single application, without it turning into a maze of irrelevant information.

Example of process automation

The image above shows a simple example of workflow automation. In manufacturing companies, it still regularly happens that structural checks have to be filled in on various forms. At the end of each shift, the completed forms are taken to the supervisor, who then files them in folders or retypes them manually into one of the systems. This situation is workable until the production line gets bigger. When it grows and at least 30 employees are working on the production line around the clock, this repetitive and time-consuming work becomes too much. With an average of 3 shifts a day and 2 forms filled in per employee, it adds up quickly. The organization can save by digitizing this manual process, as shown in the situation below.

Want to get started with automating processes yourself?

Which processes can be automated, and which benefits such an application would deliver, differs per organization. Curious about the effects a workflow application could have for your organization? Fill in your details below and we will get in touch to look at which benefits (and ROI!) automating processes could bring to your organization.