Business process automation – what is it?
Business Process Automation (BPA) is the use of software to perform repetitive tasks and direct work between people, teams, and systems according to set rules. Instead of emailing documents and transcribing data between sheets, the company describes the process once, and the system makes sure that each case goes through the same stages.
Automation does not exclude people from the process. Decisions, assessment of the situation and contact with the customer remain on the side of the employees, and the system makes sure that the task goes to the right person, at the right time and with complete information.
How does business process automation work?
An automated process triggers an event, e.g. submitting an application, receiving an invoice or changing the status of an order. The further course is determined by business rules: a purchase request up to a certain amount can go to the supervisor, and a higher one can also go to the CFO. The system assigns tasks, sends notifications, reminds about deadlines and downloads data from other applications, such as ERP or CRM. At each stage, you can see where the case is and where the process stops.
Examples of business processes that are subject to automation
Repetitive processes, based on clear rules and involving several people or departments, are best suited. These are m.in:
- approving applications and expenses (holidays, business trips, shopping),
- workflow of documents such as invoices and contracts,
- handling internal and customer requests,
- HR processes, from recruitment to onboarding,
- data collection and budget approval.
Benefits of Business Process Automation
Automation reduces the time of case completion because tasks do not wait in email inboxes, and reminders reduce delays. It reduces the number of errors, because the data is not rewritten manually, and the rules work the same every time. It also gives transparency: it is known who is responsible for a given step, and the history of decisions is saved, which makes it easier to control and audit. Employees regain the time they previously spent on uploading files and asking for statuses.
Process automation and related concepts
- Workflow – a sequence of tasks carried out in a set order. It is the basic mechanism on which process automation is based.
- BPM – an approach to process management that includes modeling, analysis, and improvement. Automation is one of its stages.
- RPA – a technique in which a software robot mimics the user’s actions in applications. It is one of the automation tools, not a synonym for the whole concept.