Digitalisation and artificial intelligence offer mid sized companies ever more scope to automate processes and workflows. Automation is a central element in organising a company efficiently and therefore for the future.
Automation transfers tasks from people to machines or systems. These run processes automatically to reach the goal of the task without anyone having to intervene.
The advantages are obvious. Clear efficiency gains, largely error free work, compliance with regulatory requirements and the ability to scale are all sound answers to steadily rising competitive pressure and to the shortage of skilled people. Mid sized companies take automation steps in administration, in manufacturing and production and in logistics, because these areas offer many ways of reaching the goals they set.
Challenges in automation
Achieving the potential results brings a number of challenges in delivery. Optimal automation of processes requires every relevant processing step to be taken into account and therefore the full complexity to be included. Active management of business processes is therefore tied to automating them, so that they are designed intelligently. The range can be wide. Some processes can be automated without change, while others have to be developed for the first time and still others have to be redesigned.
Two core elements are anchored in the processes. The first holds the knowledge of the company and its people about how each work step has to be carried out. The second adds to that knowledge the regulatory requirements and the definition of compliance in the company. Taken together, the process description and the automation documentation are a central part of the company's knowledge management. Automation and digitalisation steps are ideally interlocked with a company's knowledge management.
The area of the business and the type and extent of automation also determine the methods, machines and systems. In some areas a software application can deliver an automated process, while in production extensive automation technology with hardware, software and machinery comes into play. The same applies to logistics.
To make individual automation steps or automation projects a success, a clear definition of goals is needed and has to be carried over into a project calculation. The costs of developing and implementing individual project steps vary widely. In the end the measures should bring a positive economic effect for the company, and that should be assessed case by case.
Examples of automation in mid sized companies
Automating the execution of processes has a broad field of application:
- Logistics: sorting, distributing and picking are at the centre here. Automated transport and storage systems make goods intake, storage and delivery efficient.
- Accounting: automated document recognition through OCR leads to automated document processing including allocation to transactions from upstream systems such as an ERP.
- Administration: a document management system digitalises the company's documents for subsequent processing, review and approval through workflow management. Outgoing documents are created in an upstream system, for example an ERP, then sent automatically to the recipient and archived in the document management system.
A practical approach
In our consulting practice the following points have proved themselves when delivering automation steps and automation projects:
- Answering the question of where manual work occurs in the company and how often is a good basis for judging which steps should be automated. Frequently repeated steps can usually be automated to good effect.
- An overview of the IT systems helps. What matters here is which information exists in each system and may be needed in downstream systems. Is it already provided digitally and automatically, or is manual intervention required? Data availability is the foundation of automation.
- Developing clear target pictures is the basis for successful automation. A target picture contains not only the goal of the automation measure but also the relevant factors and the environment in which the automation is to be embedded. It also identifies all the relevant stakeholders who should be involved in this step of change.
- Clarity in processes and workflows is the key factor above all others. Can an existing process be automated or does it have to be reworked? Only clear workflows allow the knowledge of employees to be built into the process and compliance with the rules to be assured.
- Active project management with defined resources secures the successful implementation of automation measures.
Automating business processes involves numerous aspects to consider and the odd challenge to master. THE MAK'ED TEAM develops individual solutions for its clients independently and with deep expertise, delivered pragmatically and aligned with the company's goals. Choosing the right technology, taking a strategic approach and integrating seamlessly into the existing process landscape secure successful results in process automation that meet the requirements and are ready for future developments too.
You can read more about process management and digitalisation here.
You can also listen to our podcast episode on process automation through digitalisation. Martin Auer, managing director at THE MAK'ED TEAM, and Eugen Feth, senior consultant for digitalisation and transformation, talk about automating processes through digitalisation and share their impressions.
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