Maximize Efficiencies and Business Value With Business Process Management And Workflow Automation

Author: Fujifilm Fbsg

As a business grows, it becomes impossible to manually monitor everything as you cannot constantly do fixes and put out fires now and then. You need to implement standardized processes across workflows, and it’s here that the role of business process management software becomes important. A business process includes activities and tasks done by people, equipment and machines which when completed achieve an organizational goal. It provides visibility into business processes, making it easier to spot errors, and enables processes to work at a consistently high level.

A business process management (BPM) solution accelerates processes and increases efficiency by automating repetitive tasks, handling process logic, and managing fundamental processing. It involves a cycle of modeling processes, breaking down them into sequential tasks, and evaluating and improving upon them to achieve a higher level of efficiency and productivity. BPM ensures that tasks are delivered to the right users at the right time, allowing staff to focus on higher value tasks and deal with exceptional cases that require human cognition.

Get a 360-degree view of your business processes

Business process management solution provides you with a 360-degree view of your business processes, and you can access all this information in real-time via an API dashboard. Collaboration tools in the BPM, such as messaging, notifications, and file sharing, make communication seamless across teams, and ensure that everyone is on the same page in real-time, so issues can be resolved quickly. The solution is also helpful in measuring the process performance when integrated with business process data storage systems. One can quickly identify endpoints that need improvement to maximize profits.

Key features of business process management software:

  • Form builder for collecting, displaying, and routing relevant data
  • Workflow automation to establish rules, assign tasks, and set deadlines
  • Electronic forks to improve information accuracy
  • Activity monitoring and dashboard
  • Process mining tools for representation and analysis of tasks
  • Customized drag-and-drop form designer
  • Role-based access control to protect information
  • Single sign-in for multiple business platforms
  • Customized notifications and alerts
  • Simulation and testing tools to observe the processes without the help of a programmer
  • Integration with existing software systems including webhooks and API support
  • Reports and analytics

Tracking success and failure of processes via metrics

Most modern business process management solutions are cloud-based, so they need not be installed on-site, and are available for instant use. Business process management software can create an immediate impact across various organizational functions related to accounting, enterprise integration, human resources, facilities management, process control, back office, and more. It can track both the success and failure of processes via metrics, allow for visualization, such as through Gantt charts, facilitate improvements and ensure compliance.

To get maximum value from business process automation, it needs to be integrated with workflows so that teams can contribute and potentially own processes. Using enterprise workflow automation software, companies can save time and reduce errors. Workflow automation refers to the design, execution and automation of processes based on workflow rules. Rule-based logic programs help in addressing workflow inefficiencies and providing easier collaboration.

There are two broad categories of workflow automation:

Business process workflows: This approach drives business process workflows towards increased efficiency of business goals. The software automates business process workflows to optimize tasks that have historically been performed manually. Examples include autofill and macro features of Excel.

Robotic process workflows: Also known as robotic process automation or RPA, it is designed to support administrative processes. Bots work alongside IT to mitigate help desk inquiries, login authentications, and intervene in the processing of errors.

Benefits of workflow automation:

  • Streamlines task management
  • Creates processes that reduce costs
  • Decreases manual errors
  • Automates document flows and approval
  • Use cases of workflow automation

Marketing operations processes (MOPS) use workflow automation for marketing campaigns, marketing analysis, and measuring metrics.

Manufacturing can automate workflows for purchase requests, cut down supply chain approval and cycle times, and automate contract management interactions.

It mitigates security threats with nimble responsiveness and monitoring cyber threats for increased security.

Automation software, such as Customer Relationship Management (CRM), is used by enterprises to automate customer communication, form completion, and departmental collaboration.

IT as a Service (ITaaS) enables managed cloud services for businesses by creating centralized controls for configuring, deploying and overseeing business networks.

Almost every department can benefit from workflow automation

Almost every department in an organization can benefit from workflow automation. Marketing teams can setup their entire social media calendar, and create workflows to nurture certain types of prospects. Sales team can take leads automatically through the pipeline, based on their actions. The automated sales workflow can enroll prospects in drip campaigns, and place leads at different stages of the pipeline, based on the action taken by them. Customer service can create new tickets in the system when someone reaches out through social media, and onboard customers with a series of helpful emails. Accounts can approve budget based on the predetermined set of parameters, and manage vendor and contract approvals.