Automation is being actively implemented in all spheres of modern life. Business is no exception. More and more businessmen decide to automate the activities of their firms and companies. The process of automation has certain advantages and purposes. To achieve them, several steps are required.
Key Features
Business automation refers to the use of specialized programs, information systems that perform and control specific production operations and tasks.
The main goal of automating business activities is to solve the following tasks:
- Releasing resources.
- Timely response to changes in the market.
- Quick decision making that is important for business development and success.
- The ability to clearly plan further actions.
All this allows the company to successfully exist in a competitive environment, develop and work in multitasking mode.
Guaranteed Benefits
The benefits that business automation guarantees are expressed in the following:
- Operational efficiency is improving. Traditional barriers between information and communication are disappearing, the quality of customer service is growing, and profit generation is accelerating.
- The activity of the company becomes more coordinated and of high quality. The use of modern systems, programs, equipment ensures that all actions are carried out equally effectively. It becomes possible to serve customers at a lower cost. The influence of the human factor is minimized.
- Time is saved. One of the most important aspects of automation is time management and effective redistribution of duties. Simple, repetitive actions (sending out notifications, scheduling Internet publications, etc.) are performed by computers. Employees are involved in solving more important and complex tasks. As a result, labor productivity rises markedly.
- Processes become more transparent. Production, billing, maintenance and other important stages of business activity are optimized, it becomes easier to control their implementation using modern equipment and it becomes easier to identify an error.
Another important advantage of business automation is that it becomes possible to effectively customize the activities of a company, an enterprise for specific volumes.
Automated systems
The first step in automating any business is choosing a program that will be responsible for managing processes. Here are a few highly acclaimed options:
- StorVerrk CRM.
- Dynamics 365.
- Bitrix24.
- SalesForce.
The SAP CRM program has received the greatest popularity in various business areas. It is considered universal because it allows you to solve both short-term tasks and achieve long-term goals.
Also, you can order the development of your own system, which will take into account all the nuances of your business. To do this, you need to fill out a form.
Stages of automation
When a business automation program is selected, you should decide on the tasks that it should perform. The easiest way to do this is by answering two questions:
- What exactly do the employees of the company, the firm of the enterprise?
- What problems do they have while doing their usual activities?
Automation should begin with problem areas that slow down other stages of the overall workflow.
The next step is to display the data in tables. Key tables include:
- Orders.
- Customers.
- Employees.
- Accounts.
Each table should have detailed content with relevant information. You can add new tables if necessary. It is important to constantly monitor the content and update it regularly.
Next, you need to determine the circle of people who will be granted access to the system and the data contained in it. Be sure to think over the scheme for adding, changing, deleting certain data.
After that, you can proceed to create templates. They will save employees from the same type of work (for example, filling out documents, compiling invoices, creating applications). Templates should be as flexible as possible, consisting of a main and an appended part.
The next stage is the automation of business activities on the Internet to work with clients. It is implemented through distributions. In the process of their settings, the following points should be considered:
- Way of informing (SMS, e-mail).
- Frequency (monthly, quarterly, etc.).
The content of the newsletter is of particular importance. It should include only basic data without unnecessary pictures, additional files. Customers should be able to opt-out of such notifications themselves.
Newsletter should be carried out only on significant occasions. Otherwise it will be classified as spam. If you send letters in large quantities, this will lead to blocking.
The information base used in business activities is constantly being adjusted. The automation procedure implies the mandatory informing of specific employees about the changes that have occurred. To do this, reminders are used — short sms or emails containing only relevant information. For example, “You have a new task”, “Time to complete the order is running out”, etc.
If the company’s activities involve frequent calculations, they should also be automated. This requires two important points to be made:
- Which tables need calculated fields.
- What formulas are needed for calculations.
Information for automating computational processes can be contained in different tables. Therefore, links must be drawn between them.
The final stage of business automation involves the selection of reports that will be generated instantly. This step is necessary so that managers and authorized employees receive timely and truthful data on the implemented processes, and on their basis they analyze the general state of affairs.
Instant reports should not be overloaded with information. The best option for their design is graphs, charts, diagrams with a small text explanation.
We talked about basic business automation. One of the top priorities for any company is sales. In fact, we are developing for a specific business, taking into account all the nuances and the possibility of vertical and horizontal scaling. You can see our work in our portfolio.