Lost documents, inefficient interaction with customers, mistakes in the performance of routine tasks are problems that hinder the development of many companies. In addition, such failures and stops will have to be paid not only in money, but also in time and reputation. Automation of business processes will help to avoid these problems and optimize the company’s work. In the article, we will talk about optimization systems and how to use them for the benefit of your business.
What are business process automation systems?
Automation of business processes turns manual labor into automatic, and as a result, accelerates the achievement of business goals, helps increase profits and optimize the operation of the enterprise.
With the help of such systems, you will be able to:
- delegate routine operations, which reduces the number of human errors and minimizes losses;
- maintain a structured database;
- prepare effective planning of enterprise resources;
- improve business management;
- allocate more time for creative, creative tasks;
- manage all stages from the application for goods/services to delivery to the customer;
- control the activities of employees;
- optimize operational and financial parts, adjust their reporting;
- reduce costs and increase the efficiency of the enterprise.
Business optimization is useful for accounting, sales, purchasing, production, document management, relations with personnel, consumers and partners, HR, marketing. Automation affects the continuous improvement of the company and increases the return on investment.
Types of services for automation and optimization of the company’s business processes
Before implementing business management systems, it is necessary to analyze the company, identify processes that need changes or where errors occur, and develop a program for specific tasks.
There are ready-made and individual services for automation and optimization of the company’s business processes. Template solutions include:
- Zapier – automation of routine tasks, allows you to integrate different applications to form automated workflows.
- Salesforce – is a CRM system with customer and sales management functions, and analytics.
- Trello – you can manage projects, create boards, distribute them among specialists and check the stage of implementation.
- Google Analytics is a free web analytics service that allows you to study user behavior on your site and analyze the results of marketing campaigns.
However, ready-made services are not always suitable. They have limited functionality, you may need several programs for different processes at once, or even worse – you will «break» the established work logic in order to apply a ready-made algorithm. As a result, you will have extra costs of time and money.
If you understand that your business is specific, needs unique solutions and you do not want to change the built-in logic, then the most optimal option is to create an individual program. It will solve problems and automate processes that your business needs.
For example, our team has been automating business processes at the enterprise for BlueTrack since 2012. This is an American company engaged in the production of souvenir, advertising, consumable products for various fields of activity. Golden Team has developed a system that helps to effectively manage the full business cycle: from the application to the receipt of the product by the client. As a result, BlueTrack received a program that improves business processes at all levels.
Namely:
- automates production,
- facilitates communication with customers and within the team;
- helps to store and transfer information about products, manufacturing stages, order status, etc.;
- optimizes reporting and the financial part;
- organizes workers’ control.
Thanks to the implementation of unique digital technologies in business, the company has the following results.
- Customers place orders easily and quickly, specify all their wishes for the product in a special form, which are immediately transferred to the manager.
- Full automation of production and a convenient system of its control. In our program, a specialist forms an order for production.
- Workers easily exchange information and conveniently adjust the production stages.
- The system helped to identify inefficient managers, and as a result, to remove the costs of paying for their work.
- The owners scaled the existing project and opened another parallel business.
In addition to automating workflows for BlueTrack, we also developed a back-end system for internal use and a website for clients. Over the entire period of work, we helped them develop two more business lines, we continue system support and integration of modern updates.
Advantages and disadvantages of automatic business management
Currently, all companies are starting to go digital. According to the Global Human Capital Trends survey in 2019, 41% are actively implementing automation and artificial intelligence in their own projects. Of the people surveyed, 62% said that they use low code systems to reduce transactional work and replace routine tasks, 47% supplement familiar work tools with new ones to increase productivity, and 36% «rethink work». It seems that there are only advantages to automation, but let’s take a closer look at this issue.
Advantages
Increasing productivity and efficiency of business operations are undoubted advantages of using ready-made or individual solutions. However, there are others:
- better product quality/service provision;
- transparency and speed of management;
- accurate data analysis;
- increasing the company’s profit;
- protection against cyber attacks or illegal access;
- cost reduction;
- higher competitiveness.
By implementing individual systems, you also get personal benefits that will be important for your business, for example, monitoring the work of the team and receiving reports on the effectiveness of each manager, as was the case with BlueTrack.
Disadvantages
As for the benefits, everything is clear, but everything can’t be perfect. Some entrepreneurs may consider the following points as disadvantages, so you should immediately say about them:
- costs for special software and hardware, but these are often one-time investments that then work for you;
- the need for highly qualified specialists, for your peace of mind we can provide our own developer to accompany or train your team member;
- lack of human factor and flexibility: it is important to adapt in time to market changes, client requirements and solve unforeseen problems.
These points are not 100% negative, because they can be quickly resolved if you have such a request. Therefore, before starting, we meet with clients online, communicate, discuss all options for cooperation and find the best solution.
Development of business software
Every company is unique, during its development, innovative solutions appear in production, service provision, communication with the team and the consumer. When scaling it, automation is a necessity. Ready-made systems are not always adapted to the company’s processes. The best solution is the development of individual software. You will be sure that the program works for your goals, optimizes specific processes and contributes to the growth of efficiency.
Software development is carried out in several stages:
- company analysis and identification of business processes that need to be automated;
- requirements analysis: what functions should be added, what technologies should be used, what tasks should be solved;
- software development;
- testing: whether the program meets the requirements and whether it works correctly;
- commissioning;
- support work and add updates.
In order to maintain a competitive position on the market, business must constantly improve and «keep up» with the development of technology. You should start automating your business now. Golden Team specialists will analyze the company’s work, tell you what processes need to be improved and develop an automation system for your business. Leave a request for a free consultation. We will contact you and offer an effective solution for developing an automation system for your business.