Very few things left in this world haven’t been transformed by software and automation. From healthcare to art, there is software behind everything.
Businesses too have been transformed with Business Process Automation (BPA), also known as digital transformation. It involves using software to automate manual business processes.
But how do software and automation help businesses?
Table of Contents
What is a Business Process?
A business process is any activity that leads an organization toward achieving its goals.
If the goal of a business is profit, then any profit-making activity would be a business process. Other business processes include hiring new employees, data entry, financial services, configuring security credentials, and more.
Automate Your Finances with RazorpayX
Most of these business processes are mundane, and repetitive, and were previously done manually. But since humans make mistakes, businesses had to endure losses from organizational inefficiency, including missed deadlines and communication breakdowns that were a result of these errors.
But all this changed with automation!
How Does Business Process Automation Help a Business?
With Business Process Automation (BPA), businesses no longer have to worry about the wrong data being entered, or spending money and effort on non-core activities.
They are now able to focus on the core business activities that drive growth.
By integrating a robust business automation strategy, firms can now enable employees to emphasize work rather than involving themselves in repetitive and arduous tasks.
Business processes are integral to the proper functioning of an organization; hence deploying the electronic process will help to coherence in the process and keep businesses a step ahead in this competitive market.
Where Can Business Process Automation Be Incorporated?
Business Process Automation (BPA) must be deployed in areas that regulate high-volume organisational tasks, need compliance, and require a lot of time and audit trails.
Unlike other automation processes, Business Process Automation (BPA) is interlinked with many enterprise IT systems and is personalised as per an organisation’s requirements.
Here are the prime areas where business bodies can deploy Business Process Automation (BPA):
Inventory tracking
- BPA in inventory tracking helps streamline the process of tracking and managing inventory across the entire supply chain.
- Automation helps reduce costs associated with manual data entry and data validation while providing more accurate and timely information.
- Automation also reduces time spent on tracking inventory and makes it easier to reconcile inventory levels with sales and purchasing activity.
- Automated systems allow for better visibility into inventory levels, enabling well-informed decisions about production and inventory management.
- Automated inventory tracking systems also provide improved visibility into inventory levels across multiple locations and warehouses, helping to facilitate better demand forecasting and replenishment planning.
Finance
- Business process automation in finance is the use of technology to automate the manual tasks associated with financial transactions and operations.
- This includes everything from processing payments and invoices, to managing accounts receivable, to generating financial reports.
- Automating these processes can improve the efficiency and accuracy of financial operations, and reduce the amount of manual labor required.
- Automation can also reduce errors and improve compliance with regulatory requirements. Examples of common processes that can be automated include:
✅ Accounts payable automation
✅ Accounts receivable automation
✅ Payment processing automation
✅ Invoice processing automation
✅ Financial reporting automation
✅ Tax filing automation
Sales
- Business process automation (BPA) in sales is the use of technology to automate manual processes within the sales function.
- BPA can help streamline operations and make sales teams more efficient.
- Examples of BPA in sales include automation of lead management, order processing, customer service, and sales reporting.
- BPA can help sales teams save time and resources, reduce errors, and provide better customer experiences.
Marketing Automation
- Business Process Automation in marketing is a powerful tool that can help marketing departments streamline operations and become more efficient.
- It can help increase productivity, reduce costs, and improve customer satisfaction by automating marketing tasks such as email campaigns, customer segmentation, data analysis, and lead management.
- Automation can also help free up resources so marketers can focus more on creative and strategic initiatives.
HR and Onboarding
- Business Process Automation (BPA) in HR and onboarding involves the use of technology to streamline and automate the HR onboarding process from start to finish.
- This includes everything from collecting employee information before the onboarding process begins to automate the onboarding process itself, to automating post-onboarding tasks such as updating employee records.
- By automating HR and onboarding processes, organizations can more quickly and effectively bring on new employees, improving the overall employee experience and reducing the time and effort needed to onboard new hires.
Logistics and Delivery
Process automation in logistics and delivery can help streamline operations, reduce costs, and improve customer experience.
Automation tools can be used to automate manual processes such as order tracking, inventory management, delivery route optimization, and payment processing.
By utilizing process automation, companies can improve their operational efficiency and provide a better customer experience.
- Automated Order Management
- Automated Inventory Management
- Automated Shipping and Delivery
- Automated Route Planning
- Automated Tracking and Reporting
Additionally, automating payments is another effective way to avoid discrepancies related to late fees and enables firms to process on-time payments.
Adhering to an error-free pay payroll process helps organizations attain financial stability, and it also reflects in organizational morale. In this regard, organizations can rely on RazorpayX Payroll services.
This helps companies disburse salaries directly into the mandated account of employees and set compliances like PT, TDS, PF, etc., on auto-pilot, thereby automating the entire process for seamless management.
How Is Business Process Automation Related to Business Process Management?
| Business Process Management | Business Process Automation |
| Business Process Management is the practice of designing, monitoring, and improving end-to-end business processes to achieve organizational goals. | Business process automation is the use of technology to automate manual tasks, reducing time, cost and potential errors. |
| BPM includes the use of tools to automate and monitor processes, as well as the development of strategies to ensure processes are carried out efficiently and effectively. | Technology and automation is used to reduce the time and effort required to complete a task and to reduce errors and costs. |
| Business Process Management takes into consideration the overview of the organization’s work | Business Process Automation focuses only on a specific purpose |
Business Process Automation is a holistic method that focuses on meeting business goals, serving customers and generating revenues. The business body collaborates with the IT teams to gain perspective regarding the business model, analyse the working procedure and meet the strategic goal.
The primary connection between Business Process Management and Business Process Automation is that both enhance business standards and improve repetitive and predictable business processes.
In addition, both processes focus on reducing costs, curbing discrepancies, and ensuring delivering top-notch services and products to customers.
Though BPM and BPA work to enhance business pursuits, they work in different ways.
The robust combination of BPA and BPM drives the company’s success, and these two can act as standalone initiatives as well.
Benefits of Business Process Automation
Business Process Automation aims to make the business process cost-effective, error-free and transparent. Here are the ways in which BPA helps a business develop and sustain.
- Accelerates business process
- Cut back on labour costs and save time
- Enable mobility and business scalability
- Enhances process visibility
- Increases profits and higher productivity
- Minimum error and higher business efficiency
- Better standardization and enhanced compliance
How Does RazorpayX Help in Business Automation?
RazorpayX helps companies solve all their banking needs and helps save time by integrating automated systems.
- Companies can open a current account, compute payroll, schedule payments and instant tax payments etc.
- With the RazorpayX payroll services, businesses can even customise offer letters and take no burden for compliance. In addition, the service helps businesses decode payroll processing.
- Even companies can transform their business with a host of smart apps that are extended with their account.
- With RazorpayX UPI autopay, business bodies can opt for recurring payments directly from UPI app without relying on in-person transaction.
In conclusion, Business Process Automation expedites the overall workflow of an organisation and helps firms ease repeatable and time-consuming tasks. Moreover, it helps businesses bring all the business processes in alignment.
FAQs
What is the difference between BPA and RPA?
Business Process Automation or BPA involves using technology to automate business processes from start to finish. On the other hand, Robotic Process Automation or RPA refers to handing over manual tasks to software robots to ensure faster, more accurate results.
Is there any disadvantage of Business Process Automation?
No, there is no such significant disadvantage of Business Process Automation, only that the businesses have to invest high capital in integrating automation in their business process. Also, automation is not a one-and-done initiative, it must be periodically reviewed.
How to automate business process?
Firstly, organisations must scrutinise the need for Business Process Automation and be aware of existing business processes. Then firms must scope their projects as per automation maturity and gain insights from stakeholders regarding the process of delegating, optimizing and automating.
What are some of the Business Process Automation tools and software?
Business Process Automation includes certain workflow tools like intelligent automation, Digital Process Automation (DPA) etc.
How is BPA related to business process analysis?
Business process analysis is a subset of Business Process Automation (BPA) that incorporates certain manual and automated method to map and comprehend the existing business process and note the way by which business executes their programs. Both processes are complementary technologies.
