Today’s businesses have every advantage within their reach courtesy of technology. Mobile and online platforms offer entirely new avenues for marketing and commerce. Improvements in information and communication technology have enabled all kinds of collaborations from virtually anywhere in the world. The business potentials of artificial intelligence are promising even at this early stage of adoption.
But one of the most impactful innovations that businesses can take advantage of right now is automation. Whether it’s a manufacturing business or a purely digital enterprise, automation offers a wealth of possibilities for improvement.
If you own or manage a business, you owe it to your staff, customers, bottom line, and future to make the most of automation. Here’s why.
Improving Productivity
You will never find an article about automation that doesn’t include claims about how it raises productivity. It is the most prominent benefit because it is the most apparent.
In fact, according to studies done by the McKinsey Global Institute, at the macroeconomic level, the increasing adoption of automation can potentially increase productivity by up to 1.4 percent every year.
That may not seem like a lot, but that study looks at global production as a whole. That much disruption can definitely make a difference.
On a more relatable level, proper adoption of automation is already helping countless businesses in various industries to become more competitive with increased outputs.
In manufacturing, for example, not only do automated machines have the ability to work for days on end continuously, but they also reduce the inaccuracies and inconsistencies in the workflows, resulting in less wastage and, yes, more output.
For digital enterprises, automated processes are more streamlined and incredibly accurate. This frees up more time and resources to improve further in other avenues.
Being More Cost-Efficient
If there’s an increase in productivity, there will surely be an increase in revenue. Apart from the initial investment in automated processes and infrastructure, this shift is good news for the bottom line. In fact, over time, these investments will automatically (wink) pay for themselves.
Some companies that offer automation adoption services like John Henry Foster even offer ROI calculators to assure businesses of their profitable transitions.
The reduction of inefficiencies and inaccuracies in processes, workflows, and end products will also significantly reduce cost reduction. And like what was mentioned above, this applies to more tangible settings like factories and more digital operations in offices.
Promoting Satisfaction
Automation doesn’t only create quantitative benefits. In a lot of ways, automation also promotes satisfaction within the business organizations that invest in it.
Automated processes make interactions with customers more seamless. A healthcare clinic, for example, that has an online appointment scheduler, will improve the patient experience of booking meetings. Instead of calling, they can schedule their appointments with just a couple of taps on their mobile device.
Not only does this process make it easier and faster for patients to book their services, but it also makes it safer for them to do so — which is particularly timely for the current situation.
Contrary to popular belief, automation is not the end of employment. According to Forbes, yes, around 400 million jobs around the world may be displaced, but they also claim that there will be significant reskilling. This is to prepare them for newer jobs that do not exist yet today.
Forbes adds that there will be less predictable physical tasks, data processing, and information gathering over the next half a decade. Instead, the workforce will focus on tasks like data analysis and decision-making. Overall, this means less repetitive tasks for people, which can translate to better job satisfaction.
In the manufacturing setting, automation also means safer workplaces. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the industry recorded around 15 percent of all the injuries and illnesses in the US last year. Automation has the potential to drastically reduce this number with safer practices and just fewer people in these settings.
Embracing Innovation
Lastly, automation is a great gateway innovation for any company. It introduces a whole new range of possibilities in terms of further technological improvements in the future. Implementing automation today will put businesses in a better position to adopt similar technologies yet to be developed.
According to Finances Online, businesses around the world are consistently upping their investments in all kinds of technologies to improve their processes and effectively grow their businesses. These kinds of investments promise excellent ROIs, even in the face of the current global events.
Automation is here to stay. And although it’s not exactly in its infancy anymore, automated technologies will only continue to mature, especially when machine learning and artificial intelligence become more mainstream.