Abstract
Technology is advancing and influencing the way people live. It is becoming essential for organizations to evolve with time by investing in new technologies and adapting to digital ways of doing things. This study covers the best practices in terms of process optimization and modelling for a successful implementation of process automation. The critical factors in implementing business process automation require the processes that are streamlined and improved to avoid inefficiencies and duplication of tasks. In this study, the process automation framework is used as a guideline to successfully implement process automation.
There are gaps in terms of the successful implementation of Business Process Automation (BPA) in most of the South African service sectors. Most of these sectors are still using manual or paper-based processes to carry out daily operations. The limiting factor about these types of operations is that can be time-consuming, and inaccurate. Most of these sectors are considering implementing automation, but due to the lack of awareness and information around this concept, they do not know where to start. This study is aiming to identify and recommend the best practices the organizations can use in terms of modelling and optimizing business processes for a successful implementation of BPA.
The study is aiming to recommend the best process improvement techniques and methodologies capable to assist organizations in successfully implementing automation. This study is intended to assist organizations in terms of streamlining and improving business processes to enable the successful implementation of business process automation. The research method used in this study is quantitative methodology. The research design includes a combination of both primary and secondary research. In meeting the objectives of this study, each case study from organizations A and B are identified and studied. These organizations are classified as service or tertiary sectors and their names are not revealed due to the confidentiality of the organizations.
Organization A is implementing the combination of the Enterprise Content Management (ECM) system and Workflow Management System (WMS). Organization B is implementing only the WMS to automate the processes. The implementation of automation for both organizations provides the following overall results. The processing time for Organization A shows a significant improvement from 85 minutes to 45 minutes, which makes up 47% of the improved time. While the implementation of automation for Organization B has improved the processing time from 36 minutes to 18 minutes, which makes up 50% of the improved time. The study has shown that the implementation of automation improved the efficiencies of both organizations.