Business Process Automation (BPA) is the application of technology to streamline and improve tasks within an organization. By automating repetitive and time-consuming processes, businesses can save precious time that can be used elsewhere, and increase their customer base and revenue streams. Let’s learn about some business processes automation examples in the real world and how your organization can also use BPA. 

Key Benefits of Business Process Automation

There are numerous reasons why businesses would go for process automation, but here are the most vital ones. 

• Increased efficiency: Automating frees up employees to focus on the more intricate tasks.

• Reduced errors: Automation minimizes human error, ensuring accuracy and consistency.

• Improved customer satisfaction: Faster response times and better service lead to happier customers.

• Cost savings: Reduced manual labor and operational expenses contribute to financial benefits.

With an understanding of the power of what process automation can do for you, let’s take a look at the various use-cases in which automation can help, and how. 

Task Management Automation

Task management automation helps simplify many of the time-consuming administrative tasks. Through intelligent algorithms, it can automatically assign tasks to the best-suited individuals based on their skills and availability, ensuring efficient resource utilization. 

With automation, you also have the ability to create real-time progress tracking that provides a dynamic dashboard, allowing managers to monitor project status, identify potential roadblock and address them before they actually happen. Automated reminders can serve as a reliable safeguard against missed deadlines, ensuring that tasks are completed on time and projects stay on track. By automating all aspects of organizational task management, each department can focus on their task at hand, leading to increased successful project outcomes.

To recap, task automation lets you do: 

• Automated task assignments: Distribute tasks based on employee skills and availability.

• Real-time progress tracking: Monitor task status and identify potential bottlenecks.

• Automated reminders: Send timely notifications to ensure deadlines are met.

Sales Order Process Automation Examples

Sales order process automation improves the order fulfillment process by automating tasks in the sales pipeline and customer journey. Companies can capture customer information and order details, ensuring that there are fewer errors in orders. By integrating with inventory management systems, companies can also automatically update stock levels, preventing overselling and ensuring timely order fulfillment. Tasks like automated shipping label generation also simplify the shipping process and enable real-time package tracking, providing customers with visibility into their orders. 

To recap, 

• Automated order entry: Capture customer information and order details efficiently.

• Inventory management integration: Automatically update inventory levels based on orders.

• Automated shipping label generation: Create shipping labels and track packages in real time.

Approval Workflow Automation

Sending work orders and approval orders can often lead to confusion and delays, especially in larger organizations. Approval workflow automation helps with the document approval process, eliminating manual steps and reducing delays. It automatically routes documents to the appropriate approvers based on predefined rules, ensuring that each document is reviewed by the correct individuals. 

Automated notifications can keep stakeholders informed about the approval status and next steps, minimizing confusion and ensuring timely decision-making. Tasks like automated escalation mechanisms help expedite the approval process when necessary, preventing bottlenecks and delays.

To recap: 

• Automated document routing: Send documents to the appropriate approvers based on predefined rules.

• Automated notifications: Notify stakeholders of approval status and next steps.

• Automated escalation: Escalate approvals to higher-level managers if necessary.

Customer Support Automation

Handling customers is one of the most crucial aspects of any business. Customer service can be enhanced through several techniques. For instance, chatbot integration can offer instant responses to common customer inquiries, reducing wait times and improving satisfaction. An instant self-service knowledge base population and updates ensure that customers have access to accurate information. Ticket routing can also be automated to ensure that support tickets go to specific agents depending on their expertise and time available, ensuring that customers receive expert assistance.

• Chatbot integration: Provide instant responses to common customer inquiries.

• Knowledge base automation: Automatically populate and update a searchable knowledge base.

• Automated ticket routing: Assign support tickets to the most qualified agents.

Invoice Processing Automation

Invoice processing automation helps improve the accounts receivable process by getting rid of as much paperwork and redundancy as possible. Using automation here, finance teams or others can automatically generate invoices based on sales orders and customer information, reducing manual errors. Automated data extraction extracts relevant data from invoices, simplifying the reporting process. Automated payment reminders can also help ensure timely payments, reducing the need for manual follow-ups.

In summary, invoice processing can be automated through: 

• Automated invoice generation: Create invoices based on sales orders and customer information.

• Automated data extraction: Extract relevant data from invoices for accounting and reporting.

• Automated payment reminders: Send friendly reminders to customers with overdue invoices.

Data Entry Automation

Data Entry Automation reduces the time and effort required for data input in several ways. Optical character recognition (OCR) automatically extracts data from scanned documents, eliminating the need for manual typing. Form automation pre-fills forms with existing data, reducing manual input. Automated data validation also ensures that data is accurate and consistent, preventing errors and improving data quality.

To recap, you can automate data entry through: 

• Optical character recognition (OCR): Automatically extract data from scanned documents.

• Form automation: Pre-fill forms with existing data to reduce manual input.

• Data validation: Ensure data accuracy and consistency through automated checks.

Human Resources Automation

HR automation can help streamline administrative processes, and help in reducing resource burden. Automated onboarding, for instance, simplifies the new hire process by automating paperwork and orientation, providing a positive first impression. Automated time and attendance tracking accurately records employee hours, ensuring accurate payroll calculations. Automated performance reviews can help streamline the review process, ensuring timely feedback and performance management. 

• Automated onboarding: Streamline the new hire process with automated paperwork and orientation.

• Automated time and attendance tracking: Accurately record employee hours and calculate payroll.

• Automated performance reviews: Schedule and manage performance reviews efficiently.

Marketing Automation

Marketing automation can help with an organization’s marketing efforts by leaving the repetitive tasks to technology, and helping enable data-based personalized communication so that customers feel more welcome. Email marketing campaigns can allow for targeted and personalized outreach to specific audiences, increasing conversion rates. Automated social media management can improve content scheduling and tracking, allowing marketers to focus on creating engaging content. And for marketing data, lead nurturing automates the process of nurturing leads through personalized content, improving lead conversion rates.

In summary, marketing helps with: 

• Email marketing campaigns: Send personalized emails to targeted audiences.

• Social media management: Schedule posts and track engagement metrics.

• Lead nurturing: Automatically nurture leads through personalized content.

Supply Chain Automation

Supply Chain Automation improves the flow of goods and information, improving delivery times and reducing overheads. For instance, purchase order automation simplifies the procurement process by automating the creation and management of purchase orders, reducing errors and improving accuracy. Inventory management optimizes inventory levels, preventing stockouts and reducing holding costs. Transportation management enhances visibility into shipments and optimizes routes, reducing transportation costs and improving delivery times.

• Purchase order automation: Create and manage purchase orders efficiently.

• Inventory management: Optimize inventory levels and reduce stockouts.

• Transportation management: Track shipments and optimize routes for cost savings.

Financial Automation

Companies can now improve most of their financial processes with process automation. Accounts payable automation improves the processing of invoices and payments, reducing manual errors and improving cash flow management. Companies can also simplify the invoicing and payment tracking process, improving cash collection and reducing late payments. Automation can also help generate accurate financial reports by automatically collecting and analyzing data, providing valuable insights for decision-making.

• Accounts payable automation: Process invoices and payments automatically.

• Accounts receivable automation: Send invoices and track payments.

• Financial reporting: Generate accurate financial reports with automated data collection.

Business Automation For You

By implementing some of the above business process automation examples, it becomes much easier for organizations of all sectors to improve their business goals. With the help of technology such as Omind’s advanced suite of automation tools, businesses can reduce manual tasks and also the number of errors in each team. It's essential to carefully evaluate automation opportunities and select solutions that align with specific business needs and objectives, which is why Omind lets you schedule a demo with any of our automation tools. Click here to take that demo now.