Your complete guide to process automation

process automation
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Indian bank saw a 60% increase in productivity after redesigning its KYC process. The private bank used Robotic Process Automation (RPA) to make its workflow more efficient and accurate. RPA is one of the pieces of business process automation. Keep reading to learn what process automation is exactly, and the benefits it offers your company.

Trustpair is an example of an automation solution: we automate your fraud prevention processes, reducing the risk of vendor fraud and increasing efficiency for your teams.

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What is process automation?

Process automation is about automating part or all of your business processes. It’s also referred to as BPA – for business process automation – and is a subpart of business process management – known as BPM.

To automate business processes, you first need to divide your current processes into smaller pieces. Then, look at each element to see if it can be automated. It’s an essential part of the digital transformation process, moving organizations worldwide towards more efficiency. Today process automation is wildly used.

The vast majority of companies around the world use some sort of process automation to streamline their work.

Examples of business process automation BPA include using:

  • Process automation software to create smooth internal workflows,
  • Artificial Intelligence to streamline customer service,
  • APIs to connect software so data can be shared automatically.

 

Process automation vs robotic process automation

Robotic Process Automation — or RPA — is a part of the automation process. RPA focuses on smaller tasks by simulating human interaction on a user interface.

Simply put, RPA mimics the action an employee would take on software — they’re tools that operate 24/7, every day of the year. It helps cut down low-value processing tasks that are time-consuming and error-prone.

A UK bank used RPA to automate its daily ACH payments. The manual process took 10 minutes per request, RPA bots have come to do it in a few seconds. That’s an example of finance automation many organizations use nowadays.

But not every task can be automated as easily. Some business process automation (BPA) requires more intelligent automation than RPA possesses.  Process automation and robotic automation are complementary.

Other automation tools used alongside RPA are:

  • Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning,
  • API integration, so solutions can work together,
  • Intelligent Document Processing (IDP), which can read documents.

 

Why is process automation important for companies?

Processes are at the heart of every organization. Anyone who has ever worked in a company has read a few SOPs. Standards Operating Procedures (SOPs) are step-by-step guides on how to carry out a specific task.

Employees learn which tools, systems, and applications are used for each process. This ensures standards are met across the company.

To remain competitive, these processes need to be reviewed and updated regularly. That’s where process automation comes in. The technology used in automating processes helps organizations remain competitive.

Digital transformation impacts every aspect of a company, from sales to finances and customer service.

Benefits of process automation include companies being more:

  • Efficient. Productivity increases through process automation. Employees and managers can focus on higher-value tasks, also improving retention.
  • Compliant. It’s easier to keep track of decisions and documents with streamlined processes. With process automation, companies can more easily comply to regulations like Know Your Supplier (KYS).
  • Secure. Business processes automated tend to be harder to breach. It lessens the risk of internal fraud and social engineering attacks. In 2023, 96% of US companies have been targeted by at least one fraud attempt. Using software automation like Trustpair completely eradicates the risk of falling victim to third-party fraud.

 

What are the challenges of process automation?

While process automation undoubtedly gives advantages to companies, it also comes with a set of challenges.

Finding the right automation

Automating your processes requires knowing exactly how they’re designed, and what need they meet. This can be hard to do in the hustle and bustle of every day life. Plus, some teams have a non-official way of operating. Legacy systems aren’t always easy to use, and sometimes people need to act fast. That’s, of course, when the risks of fraud are at their highest.

The first challenge is therefore to understand the real processes your teams follow. This will ensure you build relevant process automation. But with technology moving so fast, and so many options available, it can be overwhelming to select the right process automation tools for your company. From AI to RPA and APIs, there are many software that can do part of what you’re looking for.

If you want everything to be covered, it’s going to take more time — or you’ll need to build it from scratch, which we don’t recommend:

  • It’s resource-consuming and diverts you and your employees from your core business operations.
  • It means taking on an extra set of responsibilities, from code debugging to data safeguarding.
  • It’s a process that never ends. By the time your enterprise solution is ready, your company’s needs and technologies will have evolved.

It’s best to find a software solution that already exists, whose job it is to continuously improve its application based on customers needs and technology advancement. Those digital, cloud-based solutions also provide help when you need it, ensuring you have the right tools to support your operations.

 

Make your processes secure

Our job at Trustpair is to make your company’s B2B payment processes as secure as can be. So we’re biased when we say that security is paramount. But with fraud on the rise, and the average fraud loss amounts to $100.000 we say: better safe than sorry. Especially in this climate. After all, we are talking about your company’s ability to thrive long-term.

When looking to automate business processes, you should always think about how safe it is. Now, most automated processes are safer than manual ones. Email for example reduced the risk of documents being lost and stolen. But it also came with its own dangers — Business Email Compromise (BEC) being one of them.

We hear about data breaches and cyber-attacks on companies of all sizes daily, which are real risks your business faces. Process automation is a must for businesses, but it shouldn’t come at the cost of your assets’ security. Make sure to work with companies that have impeccable safety measures, high-level certifications (like ISO27001 and SOC2), and contingency plans.

 

What are the best practices to implement process automation?

Involve all stakeholders

It’s essential to involve all relevant parties when implementing process automation. This guarantees your new processes will meet the final user’s needs and therefore be used.

For example:

  • If you’re automating your finance processes, include financial professionals but also employees from different departments that are involved with the tasks you aim to automate.
  • If you want to bring automated business processes to your customer service, make sure to involve them. You can ask a select group of clients to come in for a focus group, or at the very least ask them to try a Beta version before it goes live for everyone. That’s where data from the User Experience (UX) team can come in useful too.
  • If you’re automating business processes in your vendor management, ask your suppliers for their feedback on your onboarding, invoice, and payment process.

That should be done: before, during, and after the implementation process.

Good process management also means dedicating some resources to educating your teams internally and externally on:

  1. The stakes: why the process is being automated.
  2. The new processes: how they work, milestones, and who they can refer to for questions.

Resources they can ready or watch will boost adoption so the new processes are used, benefiting your whole organization.

Create a connected ecosystem

Process automation is all about making sure information flows and is easily accessible. It aims to break through data silos. For this to be possible, you need to create an ecosystem of software that shares information automatically.

Choose a tech stack that meets your needs now and in the future. Having software working together without human input means you’ll be able to access real-time, centralized information.

Regardless of the automation software or tool you choose, you have to make sure that they integrate seamlessly with the ones you already use. This can happen through APIs, a way to connect them with low code (or none).

Trustpair for example integrates natively with most procurement, TMS, and Enterprise Resource Planning software (like SAP, JAGGAER or Ivalua). This means our API connects automatically with theirs, giving you a smooth and secure experience. Integration is one of the key factors in choosing the right fraud detection software.

Download our white paper about the Ivalua integration to learn how integration can help your fraud prevention efforts!

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Use KPIs

Nothing like hard facts to prove the efficiency of your process automation! Make sure to track metrics that are important for you:

  • Before you start the implementation.
  • During and after the process upgrade.

This way you’ll be able to measure the impact improved workflows have on your company. It’s helpful to track KPIs overtime per department or function, but also at an organizational level.

Reports will give you insights to:

  • Track progress and errors,
  • Keep on improving your workflows,
  • Communicate internally to reinforce adoption.

Process automation — like any transformation — is an ever-going process. Measuring it over time will show how far you’ve come and prove to management the necessity of implementing relevant, secure solutions.

Consider adding anti-fraud software to your payment chain to secure your procure-to-pay process from end to end. Trustpair automatically checks your vendors’ credentials to ensure they are the right recipients — not a fraudster impersonating them. We use AI to detects any suspicious activity in your payment and block any curious operation before the money is sent. We’ve worked with 300+ large companies worldwide, with zero fraud.

Key Takeaways

  • Process automation is about upgrading your business processes so they’re more efficient and secure. It’s a gradual process requiring a strategic approach.
  • Trustpair automates your third-party checks so you always know who you are paying. We block any suspicious activity before the funds leave your account.

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FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Browse through our different sections and find the answer to your question.

Receiving an invoice automatically after paying for a service, or talking with an AI bot for FAQ as a customer are examples of process automation. It’s widely spread in businesses and we encounter it several times a day, both in B2B and B2C.

Robotic Process Automation RPA is a part of process automation. It focuses on automating repetitive tasks that would normally be done by humans, interacting with software interfaces the same way they would do it.