Everyone is Investing in Business Automation: Learn the 3 Best Starting Points for Automation in Your Organisation

Business is often a game of fine margins. Even the slimmest of advantages in cost economy, efficiency, and speed of operations can make a huge difference in deciding the fate of entire organisations. This is why the experts consider business automation as the future of work. In this article, we will look at the latest trends in business automation, popular business automation tools, and the current state of automation in India.

What Is Business Automation?

Business automation, also known as business process automation, is all about leveraging the latest advances in technology to remove bottlenecks in key processes and workflows. Businesses that embrace automation enjoy a competitive edge in productivity, efficiency, and cost savings.

The adoption of robotic technology in manufacturing is one of the earliest examples of successful business process automation. But these days, technology has moved far beyond expensive factory robots.  

We now live in an era of ‘intelligent business automation’ where advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are accessible to business organisations of all sizes and sectors, not just major manufacturers.

Fortune Business Insights forecasts an expansion in the global industrial automation market from USD 205.86 billion in 2022 to USD 395.09 billion by 2029 at a rate of 9.8 percent (CAGR). UiPath’s survey reveals that 67 percent of organisations in Asia-Pacific and Japan have increased automation spending between 2020-21.

The top three business priorities for implementing business automation include improving operational efficiencies (63 percent), streamlining processes (56 percent), and digitising processes and workflows (48 percent). 

The State Of Business Automation In India

The 2022 State of Intelligent Automation report puts India at the forefront of business automation in the world. In an article published in Economic Times, Ankur Kothari, the co-founder and chief strategy officer of Automation Anywhere, ‘Automation deployments in India surpass the rest of the world, with 67 percent of companies already deploying over 300 bots across their enterprise’.

Further, an overwhelming 98 percent of Indian organisations consider automation essential to address common supply chain issues. Another 86 percent find it helpful in addressing staffing shortages.

Management in India seems to have placed business automation as their priority. PwC’s 25th annual ‘CEO Survey - India Perspective’ from 2022 suggests that 78 percent of CEOs have zeroed in on automation and digitisation goals as their companies’ long-term corporate strategy.

What Are The Popular Business Automation Tools?

In the past, industrial robotics was the most commonly utilised automation tool in business. These days, the focus has shifted to digital tools and software. Depending on their complexity, these tools use natural language processing, artificial intelligence or machine learning to analyse data, predict outcomes, or make decisions.

McKinsey estimates that about ‘half of all the activities people are paid to do in the world’s workforce could potentially be automated by adapting currently demonstrated technologies’. That equates to almost $15 trillion in employee salaries.

Which Among These Business Processes Are Convenient For Automation?

Business processes that are usually considered most convenient for automation are generally back-office processes in finance and administration, human resources, IT, procurement, and front-office processes such as customer service and support.

1. Finance and administration

The field of finance has been radically altered by intelligent automation, also called Robotic Process Automation or RPA. According to Gartner insights, a single bot software can do the full-time equivalent (FTE) of 30 skilled human operators and is capable of working 20 hours per day, seven days a week, for up to 52 weeks a year. Not surprisingly, over 94 percent of CFOs surveyed by Gartner were planning accelerated adoption of digital technologies in 2022.

Indian multinational JSW Group achieved a 300 percent reduction in processing time and realised four times more productivity through the adoption of cross-functional automation in payroll, payments and invoice management.

When implemented in collaboration with employees and other stakeholders, finance automation can eliminate or simplify mundane tasks and motivate workers to create value for the company, and even allow time for new skill sets to be applied for improved business operations.

2. Sales and marketing

McKinsey reports that more than one-third of sales tasks can be easily automated – making sales one of the most promising functions in automation potential. The report cites the experience of an advanced industrial company in streamlining their bid process – automation allowed them to reduce proposal time from three weeks to a mere two hours. 

The automation also resulted in higher customer satisfaction, a five percent uplift in revenue and a cost reduction of 10 to 15 percent.  

Despite these benefits of sales automation, only one in four companies automate at least one sales process. The report suggests it is so because many sales executives are not yet ‘aware of the breadth and depth of automation applications across the entire spectrum of sales subtasks, nor of the value, they can unlock’.

3. Talent management 

The story remains the same in HR, with the automation potential existing in more than 56 percent of typical ‘hire-to-retire’ tasks, according to a report titled 'HR in the age of Automation', co-authored by Neel Gandhi, a partner at McKinsey.

Mr Gandhi, a talent management specialist, does not see a future for HR without digital technologies that improve process delivery and talent recruitment experiences. 

Unilever’s use of AI for recruitment lends credence to this bold prediction. The Guardian reported that Unilever saved 100,000 hours of human recruitment time and $1 million in costs by deploying AI software to analyse video interviews of applicants from around the globe. 

For Optimal Results, Managers Need To Balance Risk vs Potential Profits

Robot Process Automation comes with a steep learning curve that can come at the cost of significant financial resources. This may put automation out of the reach of smaller HR organisations.

Wipro estimates that there are other risk contributors in robotic process automation. These include implementation in infrastructure (64 percent), followed by assessment (19 percent), governance (12 percent) and resources (five percent).  

In a report on automation, McKinsey highlights the financial risk logistical companies can get exposed to while investing in digital technologies. The use of AI in business also involves ethical pitfalls like the potential for privacy violations and the proliferation of bias.

Both the European Union and the US Federal Trade Commission have proposed measures to hold organisations accountable for such side effects. Business owners must use their discretion when balancing such risks of automation against its potential profits.

Along with appropriate investments in IT and infrastructure, organisations also need to allocate resources towards human resources. Existing employees may need retraining or upskilling, while certain positions will need to be filled with fresh talent.

Above all, the leadership at the C-suite level has to ensure that adequate governance measures are in place to minimise some of the risks inherent in technology. Such steps are essential to unlock the true potential of business automation in any organisation.