When I think of automation, I recall a scene from the movie Terminator where Sarah Connor was fighting against the Terminator, where hordes of robots were being manufactured to enslave humanity forever. As gruesome as that scene is, it does bring about an important point: automation IS the future. Without robots building robots (robot-inception?), the process would take forever! Same can be said
What does automation mean?
Automation is defined as a set of instructions that are followed by a machine that was previously accomplished by humans for the production and delivery of various goods and services.
Over the number of years, we’ve seen a surge in the use of automation across a number of industries. It is even invading our home in the name of a smart house that can be controlled with your smartphone. As the years roll by, the impact of automation is increasing rapidly, especially in IT. It is already being used to improve productivity, save time and cut costs making the entire sector more competitive and giving a whole range of choices to customers. At the end of the day, however, it always comes down to costs.
With automation, we can go on to achieve some pretty awesome things. The screen you’re using to view this awesomely written blog on your device is probably manufactured by Samsung or LG. Do you think these corporate giants have assembly lines full of tiny elves assembling these tiny screens with their tiny hands? That would take forever and cost a truckload filled to the brim with cash. Also, elves are not real.
One of the great things about BPO (short for business process outsourcing) automation is that it isn’t strictly limited to manufacturing tangibles. Aspiring entrepreneurs have long understood the benefits of automation and its contributions in the realm of business processes as well.
Another great thing about BPO automation is that it isn’t strictly limited to big spenders like IT outsourcing companies. Recent advent in the progress technology means that automation and the benefits realized from business process automation can be enjoyed by startups as well.
Five Advantages of BPO Automation
Cost Reduction: One of the most important reasons why companies opt for BPO automation is a drastic reduction in expenditures for businesses to finish the usual business process activities.
Costs are cut as resources would not be preoccupied, thereby leaving manpower free to work on other things with their newfound increased working hours.
Quality & Consistency: Identical quality across the board is something that’s really hard to achieve, especially when you have lots of people focused on different things at the same time.
As your people are juggling different things, it is only understandable that quality would deviate over time. Where possible (such as billing, customer support, and surveys), you should adopt BPO automation for reliable results. Adopting it in cases of frequent repeatability of business process actions is highly advisable.
Better Collaboration: Better control of primary and secondary business activities make your organization more dynamic and flexible to market force changes.
In simple terms, today’s marketplace is forever changing, and all of this change can happen in the blink of an eye. You need to be very attuned to it and adapt accordingly. A unified system that ties in all your primary and secondary business-level activities via automation can mean that you can easily implement decisions due to changing market forces.
Metric Visibility: Better and consistent reporting system is another unrealized advantage of BPO automation. As each process is under the wings of automation (and IT), you get to understand how each step of the process functions and track each metric. As a result, you get a holistic view of the reports.
Reduced Human Errors: Perhaps the most significant advantage of automation is that it drastically reduces human errors. There’s an old saying that “The systems (computers) do not make mistakes; only humans do!”
Automation and you
We must understand a core concept of automation; that it is the result of humans instructing computers to do something in a highly repeatable action, and the computers would do as instructed. While you have access to a great resource library known as the internet, the writer has spent the remainder of his brain cells coming up with a list of “automation” that you can do for your business and immediately start to realize the benefits.
