As the global economy is recovering from unforeseen economic turmoil and devastation, business owners and entrepreneurs worldwide have learned an invaluable lesson—digitising business operations and services is no longer a luxury but a necessity to ride the waves of future economic uncertainty.
That said, more organisations are embracing disruptive technologies today. Among the branches of this technology, which has gained significant popularity in recent years, is intelligent automation for business operations.
To thrive in today’s ever-changing business landscape, enterprises need to remain agile and embrace digitalisation. Intelligent automation can help businesses cut down operational costs whilst maximising workforce productivity, which in turn allows employees to focus on innovation and eventually attain better ROI for the business.
This is backed by a global survey conducted by McKinsey & Company in 2022, which found that the number of businesses piloting automation technologies in one or more of their business units had increased to 70%, compared to 66% in a similar survey conducted in 2020, and up from 58% in 2018.
If you’re a key decision-maker in your organisation, there are many reasons you should consider investing in intelligent automation for business operations while keeping in mind the long-term prospect of minimising your operational costs and maximising returns. Below, we will explore 5 of these reasons.
1. Cost-efficient and time-saving
While the initial installation cost may require a relatively sizable capital expenditure, the long-term benefits you get in return far outweigh that.
Automating processes that usually require manual labour helps to reduce labour costs as well as eliminate errors caused by human input. There is also less expenditure put into paperwork while AI-powered chatbots interact with customers in the absence of manpower, helping to increase customer satisfaction.
As per a study by Accenture, automating processes with AI can show profit improvements across a wide range of industries by 2035.
2. Flexible and focuses on innovation
As mentioned previously, tasks that can be automated but are done manually can be burdening on human capital—it takes a considerable chunk of their time which should be spent productively. Hence, incorporating intelligent automation for business operations gives your workforce more flexibility and the opportunity to focus on innovation and do more productive, high-value work.
In return, you may capitalise your workforce to deliver sustainable and winning strategies for your clients and customers, which increases their trust in your brand and generates better ROI for your business.
According to a WorkMarket report, 53% of employees acknowledged that they could save up to 2 hours of work a day through the presence of automation tools. This figure was significantly higher for managers, with 78% of them citing that automation freed up 3 hours of their day. This works to about 6 weeks of saved time for employees, and 9 weeks of saved time for managers a year.
3. Future-proof business agility and operational resilience
If the economic turmoil has taught businesses anything, it’s to expect the unexpected. Change is constant and needed for businesses to thrive or survive, no matter how great the impact of a shift in the economic situation can bring.
One of the best ways for key decision-makers to future-proof their business would be to incorporate intelligent automation in their business processes.
Adding intelligence to these processes can increase business productivity and performance, while significantly reducing the time needed to respond to or execute business processes required through human input.
4. Error-free and high accuracy
Humans are fallible to work-related errors, and they are perhaps most significantly liable for making these mistakes when dealing with manual labour.
Despite allocating manual procedures for employees to follow, the probability of missing a step unknowingly or through neglect is possible through human input.
Automated workflows, however, have been carefully programmed to eliminate any errors and lead to greater accuracy of operations. For example, the workflows set by industrial automation for business operations comply with stringent industry standards and the consistency of operational procedure is assured.
5.Greater ROI
As mentioned above, the increase of intelligent automation in an organisation brings about increased workforce productivity, reduced labour costs, and enhanced innovation.
However, automation will continue to expand. As such, organisations will increasingly need to upskill their employees to be equipped with the knowledge and skill sets to participate in the decision-making process and learning and creativity aspects when using these intelligent automation tools to deliver outstanding results.
Through a more digitally savvy workforce who are well-versed in handling these intelligent automation tools, you can create sustainable growth for your organisation, with the prospect of generating greater ROI for years to come.
Make a strategic investment in intelligent automation for business operations
As a key decision-maker in a business, your end goal is to maximise profits whilst minimising costs. Intelligent automation helps you achieve this by simplifying business processes that produce more accurate results without requiring human input. This allows you to allocate your manpower to focus on innovating and expanding your business.
To find out more about how intelligent automation can leverage your organisation, you should schedule a consultation with a team of automation experts. They will be able to give you valuable insights into how you can make significant improvements to your day-to-day business operations without compromising the productivity of your workforce. Incorporating this technology into your business operations can help you stay ahead of the curve and stand out among your competitors.