From a recent McKinsey study[1] shows that activities that currently consume 60 to 70 percent of employees’ working time can already be automated. There is only one conclusion to be drawn from this: automation is going to drastically change the way companies work. This potential makes it a top priority in many companies. But what exactly is business process automation and which processes are best suited for it? You can read more about that in this new blog.

What is business process automation?

Automating business processes simply means having tasks and processes in your company performed by computers and software instead of employees. Repetitive and time-consuming work is often done faster and more efficiently as a result, and employees have more time for other important tasks. More and more companies are using process automation to replace manual tasks with automated solutions. As a result, they reduce their costs and increase their productivity.

What business processes can be automated?

There are several business processes at almost every company that can be optimized with automation. A good example is the billing process. The software automatically prepares and sends invoices and tracks payments. As a result, fewer errors are made and employees spend less time on administration.

Take construction company Mourik Industrie, for example. Bizzomate built an ‘Order to Cash’ application for them based on Mendix low-code. This application digitizes the entire process from order to invoicing and is linked to the ERP system so there is now greater visibility into orders issued, hours, materials needed, work in progress and outstanding amounts.

Another great example of optimizing business processes with automation is inventory management. By using systems that automatically monitor inventory levels, place orders with suppliers as needed and generate notifications when products need to be restocked, companies can largely automate their inventory management.

What considerations should companies make when automating their business processes?

When automating business processes, companies must make three crucial trade-offs. First, they must identify what they want to achieve with process automation. Cost savings, efficiency improvements or improving customer satisfaction may be reasons for choosing to automate business processes.

A second important consideration is what technology, if any, you want to use for this. Consider the scalability, security and integration capabilities of the technology. Bart Poelmans, IT architect at Bizzomate: “The Mendix platform is ideally suited to automate the specific processes of organizations. After all, it offers far-reaching support to combine different sources. These can be your own business rules, but also AI functionalities from cloud suppliers. With this, the platform offers support for almost any situation, regardless of how niche or unique it is.”

Evaluating the impact on employees, including any retraining required, is also crucial to ensure a smooth transition. Making these strategic considerations in advance is indispensable for successfully automating your processes.

What are the biggest benefits of optimizing business processes with automation?

Automating business processes has many advantages. Here are the four most important ones:

• Efficiency Improvement

By automating business processes, you spend less time on manual and repetitive tasks, making processes faster and more accurate. This results in time savings and lower operational costs.

• Cost savings

Automating business processes improves efficiency and prevents human error. This allows companies to reduce costs such as labor, material waste and error handling, thereby increasing profitability.

• Better decision-making

Automated systems generate valuable data and analysis in real time, allowing companies to make faster, informed decisions. This leads to a competitive advantage and improved customer satisfaction. All in all, automation allows companies to operate more effectively and competitively in an increasingly digital business environment.

• Saving time and more enjoyable work

Bart: “With process automation, you can save a lot of time spent on common and recurring processes. Those savings can make you more efficient as an organization, or give you more time to focus on initiatives that really add value to your organization and make work more enjoyable for colleagues.”

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[1] Source: The economic potential of generative AI