Built for Scalability: How Automation Can Help Your Business Grow

In our fast-paced world, automation has become integral to the business landscape, disrupting major economic sectors by offering previously unavailable opportunities for scalability and efficiency. The ever-expanding list of industries affected by these changes includes manufacturing, healthcare, financial services, and transportation. From global corporations to local brick-and-mortar businesses, almost everyone is using some form of digital automation to streamline operations, enhance customer experiences, improve their logistics, and create new opportunities for sustainable growth. In this article, we will explore the power of automation and provide practical insights into how you can use it to optimize your business.

Gain Unparalleled Efficiency Using Technological Solutions

Automation is often used to eliminate manual tasks and optimize business operations, yielding improved efficiency and productivity. For example, robotic process automation (RPA) is widely used in the manufacturing industry. According to a study by McKinsey, automation can boost manufacturing productivity by 20-35%. Furthermore, the introduction of RPA in the early 2000s has helped companies reduce the average production time by up to 90%. These incredible results were achieved by outsourcing some of the tasks that used to require direct human intervention, such as data entry, inventory management, certain types of physical labor, communications, and much more.

Achieving Agility Using Smart Workflows

The modern-day business environment could be very unpredictable. With the ongoing introduction of new technology, we get new communication channels, new customer experiences, and new ways to process information. Aside from these fascinating opportunities, we also get a hyper-competitive market, where the customer expects much quicker order processing and impeccable service. According to a study by Salesforce, 64% of customers expect tailored and personalized experiences [1]. In this cutthroat environment, a business has 2 options: adapt to market demands or step aside and make room for the more adaptive players in the market. Flexibility is not just an option that you can choose to ignore, but rather a vital requirement for staying in business.

A survey conducted by PwC states that 90% of businesses consider agility as a critical necessity for success. You might be wondering, how exactly are you going to attain agility and scalability in your business? By using flexible workflows, you can optimize the information flow in your business, adapt to changing demands, and enhance the overall efficiency of every step involved in creating the final output of your business activities. Paired with detailed process analysis and a strong strategic approach, automation technologies will enable your business to scale seamlessly and reduce operational inefficiencies. For instance, a report by Deloitte highlights how companies with integrated automation solutions have improved their scalability and experienced a 30% reduction in process time.

The New Era in Customer Experience

The digital transformation has led people to embrace a new standard of customer service. Nearly every aspect of our lives has been affected by the transition. We now order food using an app on our phones. We book plane tickets online. When we have questions about a product, we go to the business’s website and message their support using a smart chatbot. We are so used to all of these seamless experiences and integrations, that a business that doesn’t have those in place falls below our expectations. By employing automation, businesses gain the ability to deliver personalized interactions and 24/7 customer support. This helps businesses enhance customer experience, resolve inquiries promptly and improve response times. A case study by IBM demonstrates how customer service automation led to a 20% reduction in resolution time.

Data-Driven Decision Making

Data is a valuable asset for businesses of any industry and scale. Most progressive companies now are harnessing the power of data to make calculated decisions and propel their business to a more advanced stage of growth. Smart workflows are a great tool to empower data-driven decision making. According to a report by Forrester, 74% of businesses describe data-driven decision making as a crucial factor in their growth. With proper digital infrastructure in place, you can collect and analyze real-time data, and form comprehensive insights for strategic decision making. A study conducted by MIT Sloan Management Review revealed that data-driven organizations are 5% more productive and 6% more profitable than their competitors.

Fostering Collaboration on a Large Scale

One of the undeniable benefits of implementing automation is an improved information pipeline, with reduced processing time and decreased likelihood of human error. With better access to crucial information, a team is more likely to operate at a higher level of efficiency, make fewer errors, and output better results. Harvard Business Review has conducted a study and found that companies with strong cross-departmental collaboration are twice as likely to become top performers in their respective fields. If anything else, these statistics are a vivid demonstration of the importance of technological agility to any modern business. By facilitating seamless collaboration and synergy in the work environment, businesses are twice as likely to dominate their market. Some of the common ways to do this include leveraging a CRM, streamlining marketing processes, automating data flow and analysis, and using the harnessed data to create personalized marketing campaigns [2].

Over the past decades, automation has become an essential aspect in driving business growth and scalability. By leveraging data, using it to make data-driven decisions, and deploying effective workflows to streamline operations, businesses can achieve remarkable results. As businesses strive for scalability in our quickly shifting reality, embracing automation could be the key differentiator between a thriving business and a company that doesn’t make it to the next decade.

References:

1. Salesforce, "State of the Connected Customer," https://www.salesforce.com/research/customer-expectations/

2. MarketingProfs, "The Benefits of Integrating CRM and Marketing Automation," https://www.marketingprofs.com/articles/2019/41625/the-benefits-of-integrating-crm-and-marketing-automation