Automating business processes, often associated with digital transformation, is an increasingly common part of modern commerce. The implementation of complex business processes via technology can have several benefits, including the streamlining of processes, improvements in service quality, and reductions in costs.
In accordance with this rise in automation, Research and Markets estimates that the global marketing automation industry will be worth nearly $8.5 billion annually within five years. And Workato research demonstrated that many organisations are intending to embrace automation, with 57% of enterprises planning to adopt automation methods imminently, and 64% of corporate business experts hoping to boost employee experience via automation by 2024.
However, while the automation of business processes can undoubtedly be beneficial for a wide range of companies across multiple sectors, it’s not always the best approach. Not by a long chalk.
Automating processes, not people
It is common for companies to choose to automate because they invest more confidence in this process than in their people. And this can be a big mistake. If you have the right personnel in place, they can frequently completely outperform automated systems. There is very rarely any need to automate everything, and often little benefit in choosing this path.
However, organisations can be driven to automate when they experience labour market issues. Sometimes a shortage of skilled or appropriate personnel can result in automation being sought as a solution. This can be useful as long as the automated process is meeting the requirements.
But it’s also important to understand that automation has its limitations. The only compelling reasons to automate are simply if this process results in more reliable outcomes and/or faster processes than with human operators. And this definitely doesn’t apply in a lot of scenarios, as humans are still far smarter than computers, and considerably more flexible. So, immediately, if you’re dealing with anything that involves a lot of non-standard processes – forget about automating!
Losing Control
Automation is also often associated with control – it is assumed that more automation results in more control. But this is a myth and a misnomer.
As soon as you automate processes, you inevitably encounter exceptions that need to be accounted for, and these are usually addressed with coding. Coding is complex, highly-skilled, and logistically challenging; thus, this can then become hugely expensive.
And it’s also important to consider employees that utilise a particular system. Before you engage in automation, your colleagues may be very comfortable with processes and procedures within the system. And when things are automated, people will have to adjust to a new system, which will likely be less flexible. But the more that things are automated, the more likely people are to encounter problems.
Soon, rather than gaining control, you can completely lose control of processes that were functioning perfectly well. Far from improving your procedures, automation has effectively ruined them!
Simplicity is Best
As Solution Architects, we know from personal experience that the simpler that you can keep your operations, the better. At 4apps, we always try to keep as close as possible to the standard processes of ERP. These processes are proven, and therefore we know that they’re reliable. Customising any system involves risks, and we would certainly recommend avoiding these whenever possible.
By implementing this overarching principle of simplicity, you ensure that you are in control of your IT systems, rather than your IT taking over your organisation!
If you want to know more, please contact us.
