In addition to simplifying activities and improving efficiency, business automation saves companies money. Not in just one way: the points on which cost saving derived by business automation include operational aspects, such as cost reductions achieved by speeding up paperwork, but also strategic areas such as the revenue prospects secured by proper data governance. Thisis why the topic of enterprise automation is increasingly at the center of the development strategies of enterprises: it is in fact a engine of efficiency and competitiveness from which it is difficult to disregard.
Business automation, awareness of benefits grows
Increased speed in handling paperwork, simplification of work with less effort by human operators and a consequent decrease in the risk of errors, scalability that results in proportionate expenditures and lowers the danger of squandering economic resources. The benefits of enterprise automation permeate every aspect of operations in the company, enabling improvements in performance and, above all, less waste from an expense perspective. Businesses are increasingly realizing this.
In fact, the awareness of the importance of enterprise automation to give one's company a significant boost is becoming even more widespread, as revealed by the 2020-2021 research by the B2B Observatory of the Milan Polytechnic School of Management.. According to the study, since the introduction of mandatory e-invoicing in B2B in 2019, many companies have begun to turn their interest to technologies capable of bringing automation to their operational, production and administrative processes. In particular, the report shows that such innovations are considered by 16 percent of Italian companies to be a priority for investment by 2022.
The prospect of saving money certainly appeals. A study by the consulting firm Bain & Company in March 2021 notes how one of the main reasons for entrepreneurs to adopt business automation solutions is precisely to reduce costs. A priority that will remain so, according to the forecast, although the context of the health emergency caused by the coronavirus pandemic has also brought to light such needs as containing risks, strengthening the resilience of one's business and obtaining useful business insights.
How to save money with business automation
Considering the cost-saving aspect, the significant resource savings involved in business automation are specifically given by:
- Speeding up operations: redesigning operating models, business automation makes it possible to eliminate redundant or unnecessary steps in processes by reducing time and avoiding consequent costs due to delays and delays;
- Scalability: a quality given by the use of platforms for business automation in the cloud, which is the adaptation of a system to the workload, with the ability to adjust even to sudden changes. As a result, costs are proportionate to the actual load;
- Fewer human errors: automation supports human operators in performing tasks, ensuring that operations are monitored and tracked and reducing the risk of making mistakes. Consider, for example, the case of data entry activities, where an error in entering information could compromise the outcome;
- More efficient service delivery, resulting in positive feedback from stakeholders and customers: the experience for all involved leads decisively to the goals, without hiccups or unanticipated costs;
- More effective security management: the use of cloud-based platforms aimed at concretizing Business Process Automation models enables more secure operations by adopting appropriate data protection measures that the provider is required by law to implement. In addition, the digitization of processes such as, for example, document processes, increases the level of cyber security with reduction of risks that can have an economic and legal impact;
- Regulatory compliance: business automation of business makes it possible to carry out operations in compliance with the timeframes and parameters imposed by the regulations of one's sector (think of the rules of supervisory bodies in the case of banks and insurance companies, for example) and more general rules such as those on privacy or anti-money laundering. As a result, the risk of economic damage from penalties for noncompliance will be limited, as well as those derived from declines in brand reputation;
- Data-driven governance: the introduction of business automation technologies makes it possible to collect and analyze unstructured data, which is an important resource for strategically directing business decisions, including about budget and investment.
Therefore, one should not be afraid to plan investments to revolutionize the working methodology within one's reality, because against the natural initial expenses associated with obtaining the skills, services and technology to optimally apply a model of Business Process Management in the company, new fronts of savings, increased earnings and increased profitability in the market will be explored.
