Business automation – from operations to customer service thanks to new technologies

Business automation is no longer the domain of large corporations with huge budgets and IT departments. Thanks to the development of modern tools and the availability of numerous solutions, even small and medium-sized enterprises can benefit from it. In practice, this means faster processes, fewer errors, greater scalability and a better customer experience. Which areas of a company can be automated? We explain this in this article.

Business automation – key areas for optimisation

Before you start automating your business, take a look at which areas are the most time-consuming and prone to errors. Entrepreneurs most often mention the following four areas:

• Finance and accounting : ERP systems and invoicing programmes automatically generate invoices, send payment reminders and integrate with online banking. This reduces manual data entry and minimises the risk of human error.  
• Logistics and warehousing : if you integrate your sales and warehouse systems, you will be able to monitor product stock levels on an ongoing basis. Automatic orders to suppliers and low stock notifications will help you reduce delivery delays.
• Sales and marketing Systems such as CRM and marketing automation tools will enable you to send personalised campaigns, track customer behaviour, and generate leads based on predefined scenarios.  
• Customer service : a department that, without automation, is often inundated with questions that could easily be answered by chatbots or voicebots (such as those about shipping status or returns). Implementing automation in this area will relieve your team and enable automatic email notifications. This will allow employees to devote their time to more complex matters.

For example, you can fully automate the process from the moment the order is placed to the delivery of the parcel. The system accepts the order, reserves the goods in the warehouse, generates a shipping label, and sends an email confirmation to the customer. The confirmation includes a link to track the shipment.   

This reduces the time needed to process an order, as well as the risk of errors. . In addition, at every stage, the customer receives information about what is happening with their shipment at any given moment, which has a positive impact on satisfaction.

Business process automation – tools and methods

If you are considering implementing automation, it is worth choosing the right tools for the job. Below, we will discuss some of the most popular solutions. 

Let's start with RPA (Robotic Process Automation) Software robots take over repetitive tasks: they can copy data between systems, generate reports and handle documents. Another popular solution is the implementation of CRM (Customer Relationship Management). This specially designed customer relationship management system automates sales and marketing processes. 

It is also worth considering an ERP (Enterprise Relationship Management) system. These are comprehensive systems designed to support financial, production and logistics management.  API integration, on the other hand, involves connecting different systems with each other, e.g. an online shop with a courier platform. This significantly reduces order fulfilment times. Finally, we have SaaS tools. These are cloud-based applications that you can use for tasks such as email automation or project management.

The methods for implementing automation involve four steps: First, you map out the processes, i.e. identify the steps that you can improve in your company. Then you select priorities, i.e. focus on those processes that take up the most time and consume the most financial resources.

Then it's time for piloting. You implement solutions in one area and test whether they are effective. Finally, we have scaling, i.e. extending automation to other departments of the company.

The role of artificial intelligence in automating business activities

Artificial intelligence plays an increasingly important role in business automation. With real-time data analysis, you can forecast sales trends. Analysing customer purchase data gives bots valuable insights, enabling them to better predict your customers' future behaviour and manage your inventory more effectively.

AI also helps personalise offers Artificial intelligence analyses purchase history, enabling it to suggest products to your customers that are likely to interest them. AI-based chatbots and voicebots can quickly and efficiently answer your customers' questions. They accept requests and can even help finalise purchases!

AI also works well in areas responsible for security. Artificial intelligence identifies suspicious transactions and minimises the risk of fraud. As you can see, thanks to AI, your company can operate faster and more accurately. With AI, automation jumps to a completely different, higher level.

How to start automation in a small or medium-sized enterprise? Sample solutions

Are you just starting out with automation in your company and it seems like a huge challenge? Break the work down into smaller parts and tackle the simplest ones first. 

Start with your accounting department.  Integrate your sales system with your accounting software . Then focus on communication; implement tools for sending personalised emails and text messages. 

Finally, it is worth improving customer service by implementing chatbots and voicebots. A good example is InPost, which for years has been  invests in customer service automation and uses chatbots and voicebots to handle the most common queries They answer questions about parcel locations, shipment statuses, and Paczkomat® parcel locker operating hours, among other things. This allows customers to quickly obtain the information they need, while the customer service department can focus on more complex issues.

Then focus on  integration with logistics . Connect your online shop with courier systems, which will enable automatic label generation, shipment tracking, and customer notifications. Finally, it is worth automating your marketing. Use customer segmentation tools and send them tailored offers.

Is it worth automating your business?

Business automation is no longer just an option, but a necessity for businesses that want to remain competitive. By implementing business process automation, entrepreneurs can streamline their finances, logistics, sales and customer service. Artificial intelligence is also playing an increasingly important role in this area.

Regardless of the size of your company, appropriately selected solutions will support your business. ; they will help you operate faster, cheaper and more effectively. This is perfectly illustrated by the example of InPost, showing that customer service automation in the form of chatbots and voicebots is not the future, but the present. And it is worth taking advantage of this today.