By looking beyond the most obvious digitization actions as part of a process of digital transformation, companies are able to achieve substantial growth and even develop new business models.
Digital information entails more than digitization alone. After all, the business processes remain largely unchanged. A company can only truly complete the digitization process if they also apply digitization to stimulate growth and develop new business models. This does require a concrete action plan.
Digital assistant
Many organisations make use of traditional automation. Digitization is the first, important step in this process. Significant added value for both employees and clients is created when use is made of intelligence automation and process optimization. The applications are manifold. For instance, data can be extracted from unstructured information and registered in the proper applications. Relevant content is then offered in the context of a specific process. Decisions can be proposed or taken based on business ruling, and it is even possible to anticipate forthcoming events. You could say that each employee will have a digital assistant sitting beside him or her.
Automation potential
Take, for example, a bank employee who processes loan applications. Some of their daily tasks are repetitive and have a great automation potential. They have to draw up reports, manage documents, approve loans, enter information into the computer system, process applications, answer e-mails, and so on. The remaining time can be spent on important tasks, such as team meetings, talking to existing clients, meeting with new customers, coming up with solutions for problems, etc. These last tasks are the human and interactive aspects of their job with which the business can grow most. The potential to automate such tasks is smaller.
Greater satisfaction and turnover
With intelligent automation we can start working on the tasks with a high automation potential and low added value. Provided that the parameters and formulas are correct we can automate the calculation and approval of loans as completely as possible. Only the special cases would require manual processing. This frees up more time for the human and interactive tasks with a high added value. This way, the expertise and creativity of bank employees really come to the fore, allowing them to have more fun in their jobs. This in turn will lead to more satisfied customers and more turnover for the company.
Simple digitization and digital advisor
The simplest first step is known as capturing, which mainly entails digitization and manual processing of unstructured documents. However, nowadays it is also possible to enter such data automatically to the right locations. The second step is the digital advisor. Someone who works on a file for a certain customer from a certain industry will immediately receive all relevant documents, templates and news, based on which the right decisions can be made. The step that follows is taking decisions automatically. Such an automation process is obviously only possible if all necessary conditions have been met.
On the road to a fully digital business
The third step is translating this principle to the entire business. That way, you can anticipate the constantly changing world, thus remaining one step ahead of the competition. The company’s capacity can thereby be constantly optimized based on weather forecasts, traffic information and so on. This in turn could lead to more and even new sources of income.
In the insurance industry, the weather in the form of an imminent major storm, for instance, could prompt the insurer to send a text message to clients in the region. The clients could park their car indoors, which results in less damage, which leads to less costs for the insurer. Society can also anticipate claims, forcing the insurers to consider temporarily increasing their claim processing capacity.
Total platform
The combination of digitization and intelligent automation making using of AI, robotic process automation and machine learning, all activities of an organisation can be supported. We are already using a Digital Business Automation platform, which encompasses the combination of all those components.
