One of the most exciting trends in technology and its impact on organizational performance is intelligent process automation. Intelligent process automation tools are being used to optimize a wide range of business processes, from production and manufacturing to supply chain management and customer communication.
What is intelligent process automation?
Intelligent process automation refers to technology that collectively manages and automates digital processes. Manufacturing process automation can encompass robotic process automation, digital process automation, and artificial intelligence (AI).
Robotic process automation refers to the automation of manual tasks, completed by robotics. This greatly enhances the speed and efficiency of a production line.
Digital process automation refers to technology that enables business processes to be automated, allowing businesses to manage the flow of data more efficiently across departments and the entire value chain. This makes it easier for management to identify areas of concern, as well as opportunities for growth.
AI is an advanced technology that automatically analyzes data, recognizing patterns from past activities to generate insights about business performance. Advanced algorithms are applied to the data, with the technology learning from past decisions to make increasingly intelligent calculations.
An intelligent process automation platform integrates all of the technologies above, creating a holistic system for a manufacturing company, and ensuring that different parts of the business – and its data, communicate and connect with each other, instead of operating in silos.
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Many businesses across sectors use intelligent process automation to improve performance. Intelligent automation use cases can be found in businesses that require customer service communications from both automated technologies, e.g. bot chats, as well as human interaction, e.g. call centers. By implementing intelligent process automation, both aspects of the customer service process are integrated, and the data is tracked and analyzed in an integrated, comprehensive manner, leveraging the benefits of AI.
Retail companies use intelligent process automation to improve their online service. They can provide virtual assistants on a website to handle frequently asked questions and provide customer support. This automated process frees up staff from spending time on repetitive tasks. And by applying AI to the process, they can provide better service and make accurate recommendations to customers.
For manufacturers, intelligent process automation provides a bird’s eye view of the entire production process, including automated manufacturing and automated business processes. When manufacturing quality control automation is in place, this adds another level of efficiency and optimization of the workflow and production process.
Today’s smart organizations are avoiding the trap of implementing intelligent process automation in separate departments. Instead, they are taking a comprehensive approach to ensure their entire organizational performance is automated and integrated in an intelligent way.
