The Rise of Business Process Automation

In the production of goods and services, businesses are often presented with multiple levels of inefficiencies in the form of menial and repetitive work. Labour-intensive jobs are increasingly costing companies more to manage due to the rising cost of labour in a rapidly globalised world. Modern technologies today have provided companies with new and innovative ways to deal with this age-old operational challenge. Business process automation has emerged as the solution to continuing operational challenges.

Efficiency

Operational management and execution form the bulk of activities conducted by businesses every day. As an integral part of any organisation, operations management determines the amount of value a company can produce in any given period. Companies with higher operational efficiency are able to create more value and therefore generate higher levels of profit in the long run.

Automation defines the way work is performed with minimal or zero human intervention. The term business process automation is derived from the application of automation principles in a business context. Business process automation enables a company to streamline its operational processes with simplified workflows, and reduces its reliance on manpower in achieving business outcomes.

Success

As modern societies evolve towards service and experiential-based economies, demand for future business has shifted towards knowledge-based services instead of manufacturing output. Organisations are making automation a strategic priority in their core operations. According to a McKinsey report, 75% of surveyed companies have already begun or are planning to automate business processes.

Tools

Automation technologies exist for companies dealing with various types of operational challenges. Excel macros offer managers a graphical user interface for automating routine calculations. Robotic Process Automation (RPA) takes the lead for automating operations across a general spectrum of tasks, employing software robots to perform high-volume repeatable tasks from within a workstation.

Most reputable robotic process automation software today are able to take control of a computer’s screen, navigate across web pages, fill in forms, generate documents, send emails, and even communicate with other workstations. With robotic process automation, managers can simply instruct the software robot to follow a pre-defined sequence of steps when encountering repetitive work.

Final Words

Modern robotic process automation tools enhanced with cognitive capabilities allow automation software robots to mimic human actions to a larger degree. These cognitive-enabled robots are able to process information with in-depth analysis, learn from heuristics, and make business decisions. Business process automation will continue to be an essential enabler of business success in the days to come.