What is BPA?

Business Process Automation is the use of technology to automate complex business processes. It typically has three functions: automating processes, centralizing information, and reducing the requirement for input from people.

It is designed to remove bottlenecks, reduce errors and loss of data, all while increasing transparency, communication across departments, and speed of processing.

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APPLICATION

Below are a few examples of industries that can benefit from automation. If your industry is not feature in this list, not to worry, let's have a chat about it.

RECRUITMENT

Process automation tools can help streamline various recruitment activities including the ability to upload résumés and references quickly and efficiently, and to rapidly process assessments, rejections, or follow-ups so you can find and scoop up the best talent.

WORKFORCE SCHEDULING

It is a struggle to manage employee scheduling – especially across multiple locations and departments. The ability to sync time off requests and business trips across departments means that absences get covered, and HR and payroll teams can better automate admin tasks.

PAYMENT/PAYROLL

The past few years have seen a big rise in the number of gig workers and remote employees working in multiple regions. Automated processes can help businesses streamline both regular payroll activities, as well as payment of contractors and external vendors.

CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

In a competitive climate, it’s easier than ever for your customers to bounce away if they experience hassles and delays. Process automation helps to create a more personalized customer experience and move customers quickly and accurately through process flows.

INVOICE GENERATION

While invoice generation should ideally be the remit of accounting departments, this is not always the case. Automated invoicing processes can help to alleviate errors, accounting mix-ups, and even legal risk.

COMPLIANCE & REGULATION

It is essential that a variety of business processes adhere to compliance and regulatory requirements. Process automation solutions log files and leave a visible data trail, making it easier to monitor and review these activities in real time.

An Example of Automation.

A service company provides a typical example of when process automation can be hugely beneficial. They can start by identifying current processes that have bottlenecks, are prone to errors, or have gaps in the system.

For example, a refrigeration service company may want to automate their service sheet process, which could involve the following steps:

Call comes in from the customer over the phone. Details are taken down and a job is manually created in a work system.
The job is taken up by an engineer returning to base and picking up a physical piece of paper with the details on it.
The engineer attends the job and writes on the job sheet the parts they used, the time taken, the distance travelled, and any other relevant information.
The engineer goes home for the day. The following day, they return to the office and drop off their paperwork.
The admin team manually processes the paperwork, updates the system, orders parts as required, and charges mileage and consumables.
If the job is finished, the instance is closed on the invoicing system and the invoice is sent out to the customer. If parts are on order or the job requires substantial labour, this cycle can continue indefinitely.

In this system, there are multiple places in the process where information can be lost, deadlines missed, paperwork left on site, or any number of other problems. Process automation takes away all of the opportunity for variance and problems.

The incorporation of hardware such as smartphones gives engineers the ability to enter and receive data electronically. Fleet monitoring systems can be used to take actual mileage from daily use and automatically apply it to the job. Software plays a huge role in this. For instance, the engineer entering what parts they used may trigger an automatic alert to order more sensors or a type of cable, or can even send an alert directly to the supplier. There is no need for manual approval of purchase orders, as the process is fully automated and generated by the system. Once the work is complete, the information is already in the system, saving data entry and errors in the office.

These process automations can happen in any industry, and in any task that has multiple steps. Consider processes within a business that are repetitive and prone to delays, such as loan processing and approvals, customer service, and approval management.

Process automation streamlines a system by removing human inputs, decreasing errors, increasing speed of delivery, boosting quality, minimizing costs, and simplifying the business process. It incorporates software tools, people, and processes to create a completely automated workflow.