Process Efficiency

Process Efficiency Can Be Improved with Process Automation

process efficiency

Process efficiency can be achieved through process improvement methods that cost-effectively increase throughput with the same or fewer resources and can be part of operational efficiency initiatives.

What Is Process Efficiency?

Process efficiency can be defined as the amount of effort required to achieve a business outcome.

A business result could be anything your company produces, whether it's a product (tangible or intangible) or the delivery of a service. Most companies produce products and services. For instance, even though Apple produces electronics, it has to service customers when there are issues. In both cases, Apple wants the processes involved to be as efficient as possible, delivering these outcomes, whether a cutting-edge laptop or a satisfied customer.

How Can Processes Be Made More Efficient?

Before a process can become more efficient, it must be fully understood. That means everyone involved in improving the process must understand the following:

The primary business goal(s) the process is meant to achieve
The constraints the process must operate within
The strengths and weaknesses of the process in its current state

Once stakeholders understand and agree on these elements, strategies can be formed to keep the strengths while the weaknesses are eliminated.

Remember that efficiency is not a one-time effort and requires frequent evaluation and improvement. More on Process Improvement.

Benefits of Efficient Processes

The benefits of improved process workflow are numerous and go beyond the obvious "hard costs" of improved productivity.

Operational efficiency

Clear steps for all stakeholders in a process ensure time isn't wasted deciding or asking what needs to be done next. Automating tasks that are tedious and unnecessary for an individual to spend time on eliminates waste.

Consistent task execution

Predictable actions lead to predictable results. In variance cases, KPIs and audit tools can help diagnose where things went wrong and provide corrective action steps.

Actions are taken within the expected timeframes

Alerts, reminders, and escalation paths ensure that no one in the process misses a step within the allotted timeframe.

Improved profit margins

Higher productivity with the same resources in less time leads to improved returns. Get to market faster and hold off competitors with a well-oiled efficiency machine.

Better resource utilization

Staff can do more in less time and focus on higher-value activities that bring the organization more significant gains.

Better customer satisfaction

Turnaround time on customer requests and orders can be greatly reduced, and errors can be mitigated with consistent service delivery.

Reduced excess inventory

Clear business rules and reduced confusion in order processes lead to fewer order errors.

Efficiency Resources

To help you plan your strategy for making your processes more efficient, we've written several articles on the topic:

How Does Process Automation Help Efficiency?

Process Automation contributes to process efficiency by using business rules and automated tasks to ensure process fidelity. Once a process is optimized theoretically, it must be put into practice. In some cases, this means providing standard operating procedures for each team member. In other cases, it means the process is built out within a process automation platform to automate the simple, rote parts of the process and keep things moving forward.

More Efficiency Resources

Interested in Process Efficiency?

We have a library of resources to help you on your journey to an automated purchasing workflow.

Make Any Process More Efficient

To see how quickly you can begin automating your business processes, check out our 2-minute product video.