Process Efficiency
Process Efficiency Can Be Improved with Process Automation
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 begin to be formed to ensure the strengths are kept while the weaknesses are eliminated.
Bear in mind 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:
- Operational efficiency
- Consistent task execution
- Actions are taken within expected timeframes
- Improved profit margins
- Better resource utilization
- Better customer satisfaction
- Reduced excess inventory
Efficiency Resources
To help you plan your strategy for making your processes more efficient, we've written several articles on the topic:
- What is a Process Audit?
- Document, Automate, Monitor: Getting Serious About Workflow Visibility
- Is it Time to Overhaul Your Processes?
- Business Process Optimization Fundamentals
- How to Build a Culture of Continuous Improvement
- For fun: How to Do 10 Things More Efficiently
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.
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.
