Digital Transformation and Business Process Automation are buzzwords you probably hear quite a bit. Change management experts and ERP (enterprise resource planning) software vendors throw around these terms to dazzle you into thinking that you must have their products or services.
But what exactly are Digital Transformation and Business Process Automation? Are they as revolutionary as they sound? How can you make the most of it? Do you need it at all? We at Beehave want to make sure you understand these concepts and how your business can benefit. Then we can better explain how Beehave solutions can best help you!
What is Digital Transformation?
Fundamentally, digital transformation is when an organization adapts digital technologies across its entire structure. This is as broad ranging as it sounds. Digital transformation ideally would pervade through every level and function. Oftentimes, this requires a complete rethinking of how an organization works. Activities and processes as well as skills and competencies, as well as everything in between, would have to be accessed and analyzed to determine the best course of action.
This, however, does not mean that everything must change overnight. It does mean prioritizing what you should adapt first, identifying what areas would benefit most from these changes first. And how to line up which other parts of your organization require the same overhaul.
Digital Transformation is more than digitizing
When you read “adapts digital technologies”, you may think that this just involves subscribing to some software and getting everyone trained on how to use it. There is much more to it than that. In some cases, it is the exact opposite of that. Successful digital transformation requires a more holistic approach.
Rather than thinking that technology is the solution to everything, digital transformation asks where digital technology provides the most added value . This could include improving skills, streamlining operations, innovating user/customer experiences, and more. Nevertheless, this transformation could be intricate and complex or simple and straightforward when you partner with a provider who can help you understand customer behavior and what fundamental changes are required and who can help you achieve maximum efficiency with minimal stress and impact to your organization and your users.
Business Process Automation is an essential part of digital transformation. As the name suggests, this involves automating business processes. You may think you’ve done enough by using formulas in a spreadsheet program, but why stop there? Just as our discussion on digital transformation suggests, you want to use the best technology that best adapts to your needs and best address your specific issues for your business processes. So, when it comes to your finance and accounting departments, perhaps you should consider a full, enterprise suite that combines invoicing with bookkeeping with accounts payables, etc. Or maybe you might want to start to automatically produce and send invoices to customers first Finance and other administrative processes are just the start of what processes that you can transform digitally. Data entry tasks come first to mind, but with today’s technological advances, you may be surprised at how you can automate much more complex as well as proprietary business processes.
Business Process Automation frees businesses for business
Some may question whether they need to pursue digital transformation or business process automation, taking a “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” attitude. Others may hide behind HR considerations, saying that changing their corporate structure and processes may cause issues in staffing, either with those who may lose their positions or those who refuse to adapt to the new systems. This negative attitude will only work for so long as you watch your competitors outpace you and you fight to catch up.
Employee engagement is key to the success of any digitization or automation, and you may find buy-in increases once they understand how everyone benefits. Ultimately, the biggest beneficiary will be your overall business. By automating manual processes, you and your teams can focus on your fundamental business. With all the paperwork now electronic and flowing smoothly, you can train staff to take on more client-facing roles while upper management can spend more time strategizing or developing new business rather than getting bogged down with administrative duties.
Where do I start with Digital Transformation and Business Process Automation?
Every business would do well to embrace digital transformation and business process automation. But to what extent and using which solutions is a problem that companies, large and small, must consider. As we mentioned, you should spend time analyzing your current structures and operations to identify where you need change the most. Where are your stakeholders and collaborators having issues? What manual tasks are bottlenecking and delaying your operations? Why are your team spending so much time on administrative tasks instead of dealing with customers? Then from there, you can create an outline or plan that you can use to select the best solutions.
Beehave has the solutions for almost all your business process automation needs. And if we do not have them to hand, we can build it for you or help you build it yourself. We are founded on flexibility and adaptability and are dedicated to helping all our customers improve productivity for increased profits, whether just for one process or for your entire organization. Find out how Beehave can help you and contact us today.