What is Enterprise Process Automation?

• Integration: Connecting disparate systems and applications to enable seamless data flow and coordination.
• Workflow Automation: Automating repetitive tasks such as data entry, approvals and reporting.
• Monitoring and Analysis: Tracking performance and analysing data to identify areas for improvement.
• Collaboration Tools: Facilitating communication and collaboration among team members.
• Compliance and Security: Ensuring that automated processes adhere to regulations and safeguard sensitive information.

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Significance of enterprise process automation

Does process automation justify the investment and any potential disruption that may be caused by implementing it across an organisation?

Unsurprisingly, given that is what we specialise in, the answer is most emphatically yes.

As companies face increasing pressure to improve efficiency, reduce costs and respond quickly to market demands, automation has become a critical tool for achieving these objectives.

Automating repetitive tasks, complex workflows and data management processes, enables businesses to streamline operations, minimise errors and free up resources for strategic activities. Additionally, automation ensures consistency across processes, improving data accuracy and compliance.

In a competitive landscape, enterprise process automation is not just a tool for operational efficiency but a strategic asset that drives business agility, scalability and long-term success.

Efficiency and Productivity

• Streamlined Operations: Automating repetitive tasks enables employees to focus on more strategic activities, thereby enhancing overall productivity.
• Reduced Errors: Automation minimises human errors, leading to more accurate and reliable outcomes.
• Faster Processes: Tasks that once took hours or days can now be completed in seconds, speeding up decision-making and delivery times.

Cost Savings

• Labour Costs: Automation reduces the need for manual labour, allowing organisations to reallocate resources or reduce costs.
• Operational Costs: Optimising processes allows companies to decrease waste and inefficiency, leading to significant savings.

Improved Customer Experience

• Consistency: Automated processes ensure consistent service delivery, enhancing customer satisfaction.
• Faster Response Times: With streamlined processes, companies can respond to customer inquiries and issues more quickly.

Strategic Advantage

• Scalability: Process automation allows businesses to scale operations efficiently without a proportional increase in costs or complexity.
• Competitive Edge: Organisations that adopt automation can innovate faster and respond to market changes more effectively.

“Humans aren’t really involved anymore. All someone does is load an order onto the system to send stock down to the 3PL, and the rest is channelled from the website. No one touches anything. An order comes down from the website into SYSPRO, passes through the system, and then goes through BPA Platform to their system. When the order is dispatched, all of the data is returned and automatically posted into SYSPRO by BPA Platform and the SYSPRO connector. We’ve probably automated in the region of 80-90% of the system, from order entry through to the customer getting it.” Tim Petts, IT Manager, Sealskinz
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What are examples of automated processes?

Dedicated integration (iPaaS) and business process automation platforms enable businesses to connect disparate systems, applications and data sources, as well as automate various business processes.

Below are several examples of automated processes that can be executed using an integration platform.

Automated data synchronisation

Data synchronisation between different systems is a common requirement in many organisations. An integration platform can automate the synchronisation of data across various systems, such as customer relationship management (CRM) systems, enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, eCommerce platforms, and databases.

For instance, when a new customer record is created in a CRM, the integration platform can automatically update this information in the ERP system. This ensures that all departments have access to the same up-to-date customer information, reducing discrepancies and improving decision-making.

Order processing automation

In eCommerce and retail, order processing involves multiple steps that span across different systems, such as an eCommerce platform, payment gateway, inventory management system, and shipping services. An integration platform can automate the entire order processing workflow by connecting these systems.

When a customer places an order on an eCommerce site, the integration platform can automatically verify payment, update the inventory, notify the warehouse for fulfilment, and trigger a shipping label creation. This seamless process reduces manual intervention, minimises errors and accelerates order fulfilment.

Automated reporting and analytics

Businesses often require consolidated reports that pull data from various sources, such as sales, marketing, finance, and operations. An integration platform can automate the process of gathering data from different systems, transforming it into a consistent format, and generating reports on a regular schedule.

For example, sales data from a CRM, financial data from an ERP and web traffic data from an analytics tool can be automatically collected and compiled into a single dashboard, providing a comprehensive view of business performance. This automated reporting saves time and provides real-time insights for strategic decision-making.

Marketing automation

Marketing teams often use multiple tools for email marketing, social media, lead management, and customer segmentation. An integration platform can connect these tools to automate marketing workflows.

For example, when a new lead is captured through a web form, the platform can automatically add the lead to a CRM, segment the lead based on predefined criteria, and trigger a personalised email campaign. Additionally, the platform can sync data between social media management tools and CRM, allowing for targeted marketing campaigns based on customer interactions across different channels.

Supply chain management

Supply chain management involves complex interactions between suppliers, manufacturers and distributors. An integration platform can automate key processes such as order tracking, inventory management and supplier coordination.

For example, when inventory levels drop below a certain threshold, the platform can automatically place an order with the supplier, track the shipment, and update inventory records upon receipt. This automation reduces the risk of stockouts, optimises inventory levels and improves supply chain efficiency.

Customer support automation

Integration platforms can also automate customer support processes by connecting helpdesk software with CRM systems, communication tools and knowledge bases. When integrating CRM and a customer service solution, a customer submits a support ticket, the platform can automatically log the ticket in the CRM, assign it to the appropriate support agent, and retrieve relevant customer data and previous interactions. This helps in providing faster and more personalised support, enhancing customer satisfaction.

Employee onboarding automation

The employee onboarding process involves multiple tasks across various departments, such as HR, IT and payroll. An integration platform can streamline onboarding by automating the workflow.

When a new employee is added to the HR system, the platform can automatically create user accounts in IT systems, assign necessary access rights, enrol the employee in payroll, and schedule orientation sessions. This automation ensures that all necessary steps are completed promptly, reducing the administrative burden on HR and IT teams and providing a smooth onboarding experience for new hires.

Whether it’s data synchronisation, order processing, marketing automation, or customer support, iPaaS solutions empower organisations to enhance efficiency, improve accuracy, and reduce manual workloads, ultimately driving better business outcomes.

“We don’t have to think about the order processing at all. It comes in, from whichever channel it might be, and it’s processed through Sage 200 by BPA Platform. The pushing of all the data into our Sage 200 account system is hugely important. BPA Platform books it, banks it, invoices it – everything really. We don’t get involved at all. Although we have grown over the years and the IT bill is higher, it’s nothing like three or four salaries that we would require if we didn’t have BPA Platform in place.” Chris Booth, Managing Director, Graphics Direct
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What are the benefits of enterprise process automation?

Enterprise process automation is designed to increase efficiency and productivity within an organisation. Automating repetitive and time-consuming tasks provides businesses with the ability to significantly reduce the amount of time required to complete these tasks, allowing employees to concentrate on higher-value work. This leads to faster process execution and improved overall productivity.

Another important aspect of process automation is its ability to reduce errors and enhance accuracy. Human error is a common issue in manual processes, often leading to costly mistakes and inconsistencies. Automation minimises these errors by ensuring that tasks are performed with precision and consistency, thereby improving the quality of outputs and reducing the need for rework.

Task automation can help organisations reduce costs, as fewer employees are needed to perform manual work. Additionally, automation can lead to savings in operational costs by streamlining processes and reducing waste. The initial investment in automation technology often pays off through long-term cost savings and increased operational efficiency.

Automation also plays a crucial role in enhancing compliance and security. Automated processes can be designed to adhere to industry regulations and standards, ensuring that businesses remain compliant with legal requirements. Furthermore, automation reduces the risk of data breaches and security lapses by implementing consistent security protocols and minimising human intervention in sensitive operations.

Another key feature of enterprise process automation is its ability to provide real-time data and analytics. An integration platform can collect and analyse vast amounts of data, offering valuable insights into business performance and process efficiency. This data-driven approach enables organisations to make informed decisions, identify areas for improvement, and optimise their operations.

Process automation also improves customer experience by ensuring consistent service delivery and faster response times. Systems that have been enhanced by automation can handle routine customer inquiries, process transactions, and deliver services more quickly and accurately than manual methods. This leads to higher customer satisfaction and a stronger competitive edge in the market.

Another critical point of enterprise process automation is its scalability and flexibility. As businesses grow, their operational processes become more complex. However, if an organisation’s systems are fully integrated and process automation is employed, businesses can easily scale their operations efficiently without a proportional increase in costs or complexity. An integration platform can be simply adapted to accommodate changes in business needs, market conditions or regulatory requirements.

“BPA Platform has been a fantastic purchase for us. Some of our manual tasks have been streamlined to tens of hours in place of the hundreds of manual hours pre-BPA Platform. It has allowed the company to scale up its capacity as its business has grown. It is reasonably priced and has a clear price structure. We know that if we want to add something in the future, we know roughly what that’s going to cost us.” Jason Holmes, Operations Manager, Numed Healthcare
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How do I automate a process?

Successful process automation requires careful planning, the right tools, and a clear understanding of the processes you intend to automate.

This section will walk you through the essential steps to automate a business process effectively.

1. Identify the process to automate

The first step is to clearly identify the process that you want to automate. Look for tasks that are repetitive, time-consuming and prone to human error. These processes are often the best candidates for automation. Consider the following criteria:

• Frequency: How often does the task occur? Frequent tasks benefit more from automation.
• Complexity: Are there multiple steps or decision points? Simpler tasks are easier to automate, but complex processes can also be broken down into automatable parts.
• Volume: Does the task involve large volumes of data or operations? Automation can handle high volumes more efficiently.
• Error-proneness: Are there common mistakes that could be eliminated with automation?

Prioritise processes that, when automated, will have a significant impact on efficiency, cost reduction or customer satisfaction. Examples of tasks that might be automated include data entry, invoice processing, email marketing, and customer support inquiries.

2. Map out the current process

Before automating, it’s crucial to understand the existing process thoroughly. Create a process map that outlines each step, input and output. This can be done using flowcharts or diagrams that visualise the workflow. This will help you identify:

• Bottlenecks: Areas where the process slows down.
• Redundancies: Steps that can be eliminated or combined.
• Decision Points: Points where human intervention is necessary.

Understanding the process in detail will help you design an efficient automated solution.

3. Set clear goals and objectives

Define what you want to achieve with automation. Setting clear goals will guide the automation process and provide metrics to measure success. Consider objectives such as:

• Time Savings: How much time do you aim to save?
• Cost Reduction: What cost savings do you expect?
• Accuracy Improvement: How much should errors decrease?
• Efficiency Gains: How will efficiency improve?

4. Select the right automation tools

Choose the tools and technologies that best fit your process automation needs. There are various software solutions and platforms available, depending on the complexity and nature of the task:

• Integration Platform: For connecting different applications and facilitating data flow. Many integration platforms also include business process automation and management capabilities by default.
• Business Process Management (BPM) Software: For managing and optimising complex workflows.
• Robotic Process Automation (RPA): For automating repetitive tasks across applications.
• Custom Scripts and Micro Solutions: For simple, repetitive tasks that can be automated with code or a lightweight integration solution.
• AI and Machine Learning: For processes that require decision-making or data analysis.

Evaluate tools based on ease of use, scalability, integration capabilities, and cost.

5. Design the automated workflow

Once you have selected the tools, design the automated workflow. Define each step of the automation, including triggers, actions and decision points. Ensure the workflow aligns with your goals and objectives.

• Triggers: Events that initiate the automation, such as receiving an email or updating a database.
• Actions: Tasks that the automation performs, such as sending notifications or updating records.
• Decision Points: Conditional logic that directs the workflow based on specific criteria.

6. Test the automation

Before full implementation, test the automation in a controlled environment. This allows you to identify any issues, ensure accuracy, and make necessary adjustments. Consider the following during testing:

• Functionality: Does the automation perform all tasks as intended?
• Reliability: Does it handle errors or exceptions gracefully?
• Performance: Does it achieve the desired speed and efficiency?

7. Implement the automation

After successful testing, implement the automation across the organisation or applicable area. Provide training to employees if necessary, explaining how the automation works and how it will benefit their roles. Communicate changes effectively to ensure smooth adoption.

8. Monitor and optimise

Automation is not a set-and-forget solution. Continuous monitoring is essential to ensure it operates efficiently and meets the desired outcomes. Regularly review performance metrics and gather feedback from users to identify areas for improvement. Optimise the automation as needed to adapt to changing business requirements or technological advancements.

“BPA Platform is automatically pulling through all of the new direct consumer orders from the website into SYSPRO. From an admin perspective, that has removed a lot of the manual work that was occurring, especially as it is a two-way process in terms of the information we are managing. Previously we were just processing a couple of large orders a week. However, the new website is generating 200-250 orders a month on average. So you can imagine what that workload would be like if our admin staff were having to manually put those through every time. We would probably have had to hire more staff as well. Everything is just more cohesive and it takes away the opportunity for any potential error.” Fenella Brown, Marketing Manager, United Pacific Industries
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What are the key tools for enterprise process automation?

Process automation relies on various tools designed to streamline workflows, reduce manual effort, and enhance overall efficiency in business operations. These tools can be categorised based on their functionality and the specific needs they address. Here are the key tools of process automation:

Integration Platforms (iPaaS)
Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS) tools facilitate the integration of different applications and systems, allowing data to flow seamlessly between them. These platforms automate the exchange of information across disparate systems, such as CRMs, ERPs, and cloud services, ensuring that data is consistent and up-to-date. iPaaS tools are essential for businesses with complex IT environments, enabling them to automate processes that span multiple systems.

Business Process Management (BPM) Tools
Business Process Management (BPM) tools or Business Process Automation (BPA) tools provide a comprehensive approach to automating, managing and optimising complex business processes. These tools enable organisations to model, analyse and improve workflows to enhance efficiency and consistency. BPM tools often include features like process mapping, workflow automation and performance monitoring. These tools are ideal for automating end-to-end processes that involve multiple steps, departments and systems.

Workflow Automation Tools
Workflow automation tools focus on automating specific workflows by coordinating tasks, data and documents across different systems. These tools often provide a visual interface for designing workflows, making it easier to define triggers, conditions and actions. They are commonly used for automating approval processes, document management and communication workflows. Workflow automation tools are useful for businesses looking to automate specific processes without the need for extensive IT involvement.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) Tools
AI and ML tools bring intelligence to process automation by enabling systems to learn from data and make informed decisions. These tools are used for automating tasks that require decision-making, pattern recognition or predictive analysis. AI-driven chatbots, for example, can automate customer support by handling inquiries and providing relevant information without human intervention.

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Tools
Robotic Process Automation (RPA) tools are designed to automate repetitive, rule-based tasks that are typically carried out by humans. These tools can mimic human actions, such as data entry, file manipulation and transaction processing, across various applications without the need for complex coding. RPA is particularly valuable for automating routine tasks in finance, HR, customer service, and IT operations, significantly reducing the time and effort required.

Custom Automation Scripts
For specific automation needs, businesses may use custom scripts written in programming languages like Python, JavaScript or PowerShell. These scripts can be tailored to automate unique tasks that are not fully supported by standard automation tools. While this approach requires more technical expertise, it offers flexibility for highly specialised or complex automation requirements.

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Future trends in enterprise process automation

Automation-as-a-Service
With the rise of cloud computing, automation is increasingly being offered as a service. This allows organisations to access automation solutions on a subscription basis, reducing the need for large upfront investments.

Hyperautomation
Hyperautomation refers to the use of multiple automation technologies in combination to achieve end-to-end process automation. It involves the integration of RPA, AI, ML, and other tools to create a comprehensive automation strategy that spans the entire enterprise.

Intelligent Process Automation
Intelligent Process Automation (IPA) is an advanced form of automation that combines AI and RPA to create intelligent workflows. It enables systems to learn from data and make decisions, leading to more adaptive and responsive processes.

Edge Automation
Edge automation involves deploying automation solutions at the edge of a network, closer to where data is generated. This approach reduces latency and enables real-time processing, making it ideal for applications such as IoT and smart devices.

“All this data from the various systems, which previously would have to be manually transferred, is now being pulled automatically, on schedule or on demand, via BPA Platform. It’s allowing for a lot more efficiency and time saving because data is flowing backwards and forwards. It’s a massive time saver. I can sit back and relax and let BPA Platform get on with it.” Lee Hughes, Head of Business Systems, IQGeo
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Deploying enterprise process automation for the future

Enterprise process automation can completely transform the way organisations operate, offering significant benefits in terms of efficiency, cost savings and customer satisfaction.

Automating routine tasks and optimising complex workflows enables businesses to focus on innovation and strategic growth. However, successful implementation requires careful planning, integration and change management to overcome challenges and fully realise the potential of automation.

As technology continues to evolve, the future of enterprise process automation promises even more advanced solutions that will further revolutionise business processes across industries.

For more information on the benefits of data integration or enterprise process automation and how they can help your business, download the brochure below or call us on +44(0) 330 99 88 700.

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