Key Points

• Automation is a means of delegating repetitive tedious tasks to technology.
• Proper implementation of automated workflows can see a rise in productivity.
• Additionally, an automated workflow can reduce operational costs and increase process efficiency.

Automation seems like all the rage these days. While it is certainly nothing new, especially for those well-versed in manufacturing, it is making a splash elsewhere. Automation is a useful tool, but it is only part of the proverbial equation regarding day-to-day operations. So, why not dive deeper into the subject and see how it works?

When you consider implementing any new technology into your workflow, it is important to be armed with a strong foundation of knowledge. With that in mind, today we’re taking a deeper look into how automation impacts businesses and industries worldwide.

What Is Automation?

So, what exactly is it? The best way to think of automation is to envision all the small menial tasks that make up a workflow. I don’t mean the hard work, like shaping automobile frames or developing a piece of software. Instead, the small little tasks that can bog down a project. Things like ordering materials, combing through emails for customer responses, and so forth.

In most workplaces, this is the sort of stuff that draws the ire of most employees. It’s busy work, plain and simple. It is necessary to work, but it can soak up time better spent elsewhere. In the tech space, it’s always a matter of getting the simple and tedious things to do themselves essentially.

Given the proliferation of technology in all industries, any business can benefit from automation essentially. It just comes down to where you think it is applicable. It excels in providing a cost-effective means of increasing productivity. Instead of getting valuable talent stuck on some menial task, they can focus on work that matters for the timely delivery of your end products.

What Industries Benefit from Automation?

It would honestly take less time to specify which industries don’t benefit from automation. In a nutshell, just about any industry can use automation. Your local mom-and-pop grocery store might not seem a likely candidate, but it could certainly help with their backend.

Automation is a fluid concept, adapting to whatever you might need it for. It isn’t a set notion, but rather a flexible set of tools that you can leverage from internal sources or engaging outside services. We’ve seen it put to great use in the manufacturing industry, especially where automotive and aerospace are concerned.

My own background in tech is steeped in automation. Think about it, installing a copy of Windows on one computer is time-consuming, now consider a whole department. It got to the point where instead of going through the manual process, I had an automated script that pushed installations through the network along with any pertinent updates so things kicked off in unison.

How Automation Promotes Efficiency

When you do away with the more menial aspects in the workplace, that’s a way to promote efficiency. Further, it isn’t just workplace efficiency, but also an efficiency of cost that you’ll need to consider. Automation saves time, ergo it saves money.

However, rather than continuing to extol the virtues of automation, let’s take a closer look at some tangible real-life use cases for the tools. These are purely hypothetical scenarios but are plausible enough to occur in businesses across the world today.

Hopefully, when we wrap things up, you’ll have a better understanding of the power driving these tools. Further, you might be inclined to start looking for ways to automate processes in your business to help keep the bottom line low and maintain your current steady pace.

Order Processing

Consider for a moment that you’re in a leadership position in a warehouse for a large automotive manufacturer. You spend hours daily looking over purchase orders of raw materials and other components before sending them over to their respective departments for processing. Lately, you’ve had an issue keeping up with the sheer volume of materials.

So, where does automation factor into this particular equation? An automated script or tool set could readily process the information it is fed for the various purchase orders for your materials. Not only that, but you’re keeping a constant rolling inventory of every piece and component that comes your way.

Not only are you saving time keeping track of everything, but you’re reducing the errors. Humans are certainly prone to mistakes, especially if you’re feeling your eyes blur when looking over an inventory database of all your materials. In this case, automation has made it so you have a bird’s eye view and can focus on the tasks at hand for getting materials where they need to go.

Customer Service

Maintaining customer trust and satisfaction is paramount to the success of any business. Consider for a moment that you’re the team lead for a laptop manufacturer’s customer service department. You receive hundreds of support tickets daily concerning issues customers are having with their purchases.

Your current method of remediating and addressing customer issues is slow, and inefficient at the best of times. You need quicker turnaround times and more lasting solutions for customers. An automated system could lead to faster overall processing of any support tickets, flagging issues depending on severity.

Further, you could set it so you have a tailored file for each customer. If you know a school district is having issues with its Chromebooks, you’d have historical data on file to help manage and review what has been done in the past. Your employees are spending less time hunting for needles in a haystack, and more time getting on with the work that needs to be done.

Sales

Any salesperson knows the importance of follow-through. The sale isn’t complete when money exchanges hands and the product is delivered, after all. That said, there is still some use for automation in sales. It won’t necessarily help for pitching or seeking out leads, but it does have its uses.

An automated sales workflow for a large semiconductor manufacturer likely helps to funnel customer information into an easily seen format. Further, it could help to automate things like follow-up emails, schedule reminders, and even collate information in case another salesperson has to work on a file.

By embracing automation, a sales team can more readily keep meeting quotas while maintaining a friendly relationship for all those involved. Further, it can also help determine where you’re losing money on sales, helping to quickly nip potential issues in the bud.

Data Analytics

Another key area where automation serves is in the gathering of data. Pulling huge sources of data from internal sources is time-consuming, and can lead to things like transposition errors. However, there is no shortage of automated tools to make the most of your time.

As such, you can readily pull from your internal data to make informed decisions and in-depth analysis. Data is one of the primary driving forces behind many decisions made in businesses today. While something like a neighborhood grocer might not benefit from such automation, you can make good use of it in a variety of different industries.

Further, you have your choice of automated tools to help organize and clean the data for easier processing. Data science has come a long way in the last thirty years, and the tools have more than kept up with the times.

The Core Benefits of Automation

So, we’ve discussed scenarios, let’s dive a little more into the concepts surrounding automation. There are a few different ways that automation benefits the workflow of any organization. We’ll take a closer look at a handful of the main benefits as to why you’ll want to implement it at your place of business.

Saving Time

A 2020 study from KRC Research cited that an estimated 240 to 360 working hours could be saved through the use of automation. That’s a ton of manhours, especially when considering the length of time needed to complete any modern project.

Any given project is going to have administrative and menial tasks that no one likes to do. Those add up over time, especially in a complex project with dozens of employees working on it. Taking some of that strain off frees up resources and personnel to focus on what matters.

Reduce Errors

People make mistakes, that’s just part of life. However, in the context of any business, those mistakes can add up to be a rather costly consideration. Rework is damaging for morale, customer trust, and a whole slew of other issues. If you’re automating some of these tasks, whether it’s repetitive tasks or the collection of data, you’re reducing the chance for mistakes to even occur.

Improve Efficiency

Tools for automation have existed in software development for decades. Now, I’ll pose a question to you: is doing the same repetitive task over and over to test a project worth more than completing the project? If you answered yes, then you might want to check your priorities.

Tools for automating workflows help to get your business back on track. We’re already seeing widespread adoption in areas like manufacturing, logistics, and other vital industries.

Productivity

If you’re an adherent to Lean Six Sigma, you know all about milestones and key performance indicators. At the end of the day, you’re looking to hit those with minimal snags. If you could take some of that repetitive workload off your back and focus on the real meat and potatoes of a project, it’d be great, right?

That’s what delegating tasks to automated tools essentially allows. You’re taking control of a project while allowing tools to handle the tasks that eat up valuable time, resources, and money. A snippet of code that analyzes purchase orders is going to be worth its weight in gold.

Other Useful Tools and Concepts

Hopefully, you’ve come away with a good grasp of the power of automated workflows. However, that isn’t the only thing you can leverage to supercharge your business. Understanding the differences between hybrid and remote workflows might be a boon, especially if you’re looking to minimize operational costs.

Further, understanding how design thinking works and benefits a product or service is a fantastic way of putting your customer first. Numerous businesses have leveraged this design methodology to great success, with some reaping profits of billions of dollars.

Conclusion

Automation isn’t going to replace people when it comes to some workflows, but it is a handy way of taking some of the pressure off. People work best in certain scenarios, and automation can help optimize the work they do.

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