A digital transformation is no more an option, it’s a necessity. Digital transformation has already crossed the trillion-dollar mark worldwide in 2019. Keeping that in our mind we are going to see how you can automate business processes with the help of digital transformation.
TABLE OF CONTENT
Summary
Digital transformation is a necessity for those organizations that have failed to evolve naturally over time. Application-wise digital transformation could be divided into 2 parts – vertical transformation which is more favorable for the small organizations, and the horizontal transformation which is mainly used by the medium and large businesses. Many different types of business processes (such as HR, accounts, and field services) perform much more efficiently with the help of proper automation tools.
Why is it needed?
Since its birth, instruments like Robotic Process Automation have kept on advancing, becoming more and more powerful. That being said, there are some limits that you need to be aware of. Most of the modern tools including RPA is majorly fueled by marketing and publicity. Contrary to what most of the marketing gurus would tell you, the tools are still at their infancy and need to go a long way before they would be accepted by the corporate community.
It’s pretty clear that it needs to be utilized wisely. So how do you put them into effect then? First of all, one needs to understand that the problem is not at all as simple as finding the right automation software. There is no one-size-fits-all solution to this problem. Furthermore, consider automation as a strategic tool. Setting your expectations and final goal carefully is also very important.
The goal of any organization ultimately is to leverage the power of automation to re-engineer and streamline the operational workflow. Various studies show that intelligent automation can boost savings on onshore and offshore operations significantly.
Things to consider
There is always this steep learning curve ahead of you while starting the digital transformation journey. Some of the concerns related to digital automation are as follows.
- Evolving continuously is the name of the game – at least that’s what most of the progressive enterprises are aiming for. While there still exist some processes requiring manual labor, every 4 out of 5 IT business head agrees that going for automation is the right thing to do. Believe it or not, taking the first step right is the hardest task.
- The flexibility of the platform is many a time the deciding factor. The key to success in digital transformation is that it has to be equally acceptable in all the departments, be it sales, accounts, or HR.
- In the early stage of automation, the main concern is to decide which use cases to be implemented first.
- The concerns in the mid-stage are mostly benefiting analysis, gap assessment, and scaling possibilities.
- Now that the platform is up and running, the final stage of the automation integration involves portfolio management and modernization.
Types of transformation
There is a very common misconception that digital transformation is a complete technological overhaul of your business; well, nothing could be further from the truth. As it’s said, digital transformation is an evolution, not a revolution. You need to change only those which needs to be changed. That being said, the digital transformation driven automation can be broadly classified in 2 classes.
- Vertical automation: Ideal for the newly formed enterprises or start-ups, vertical automation aims to improve the operational efficiency and boost the metrics by starting right from scratch. The human resources go through training in order to get acquainted with the new ERP software and so on. In most of the cases, the legacy machinery is not utilized anymore and therefore scrapped. As mentioned at the beginning, this get-rid-of-the-old-completely maneuver only works in practice for small-scale businesses with a handful of employees. High system acquisition cost and inherent risk makes it infeasible for relatively larger bodies.
- Horizontal automation: Contrary to vertical automation, horizontal automation takes a much more conservative integrative approach to transformation. It aims to reuse the existing machinery along with the new technology and upgrades the current processes gradually making it suitable for even bigger enterprises. The challenge, though, lies in finding out the application and platform-agnostic tools that won’t need an extensive overhaul. Low acquisition cost and risk makes it a better choice for medium and large-scale businesses compared to vertical automation.
Workflows
An enterprise consists of numerous processes. Not all the processes, though, are good candidates for automation. The aim of the automation is pretty simple – digitally transform the individual processes from being repetitive and inefficient to be resourceful, efficient and collaborative. The following are some of the traditional business processes that look to be a good candidate for digital automation.
- Accounts: Departments such as accounts that deal with a large amount of paperwork are almost always a good choice for automation. Being the backbone of any financial organization, it’s responsible for diligent and rigorous document checking; they tackle invoice tracking to payment clearance, everything. This makes the accounts payable and accounts receivable two of the most common sections of an organization to be inefficient without the help of proper automation tools. Studies show that an astonishing 85% reduction in the processing time is achievable with the help of the right automation tools.
- HR: Human resource department, just like the accounts, is another good candidate for automation. At the core of any modern successful organization lies a highly streamlined and functional HR department. Due to the nature of their task, HR needs to be in close association with multiple departments, in many cases almost every other department. Moreover, the HR department occasionally deals with huge databases of human resources needing meticulous checking and verification. With the help of functional personnel management automation tools, the task can be made both more efficient and less time-consuming.
- Field services: Dropshipping is a booming sector these days. Numerous organizations depend on field groups and staff to carry out their door-to-door service. The specific product is not very important where – it can be anything ranging from electronics to foods. With the help of proper automation tools and operations management tools, sectors involved with field services can improve a lot. A handy personnel management application would be of immense help that would be responsible for tracking and managing inventory, available staff, order completion information and so on.
