What is the difference between Business and Digital Process Automation?

The two terms Business Process Automation and Digital Process Automation are able to be and are interchangeable, they both utilize software to organize the users’ applications, devices, information, and equipment within an organization. So what’s the difference?

 

How do we define Business Process Automation?

 

Business Process Automation (BPA) is defined according to Gartner as “the automated processing of business processes and functions that go beyond traditional data manipulation and record-keeping processes, typically by utilizing modern technologies.”

 

This implies it is possible that Business Process Automation can be used to automate repetitive manual tasks across a company to boost efficiency, while simultaneously connecting applications and streamlining processes across departments, from onboarding of employees within Human Resources to procurement in Finance.

 

What is the main difference between Business Process Automation and Digital Process Automation?

This is a great issue, and there’s many debates about whether the two terms are different. Both terms are able to be utilized interchangeably.

 

“DPA” is a term that was first used by Forrester in 2017. Digital Process Automation (DPA) was first introduced by Forrester in the year 2017. Bizagi received the honour of being a top performer for the Forrester Wave for Digital Process Automation for Deep Deployments in 2019..

 

DPA employs software to organize the applications, devices, information, and other applications throughout an organization. This is also a precise definition of BPA.

 

What is the main difference in Business Process Management and Business Process Automation?

Business Process Management (BPM) is a practice that is similar to BPA. BPM is more concentrated on the processes themselves and the methods to model and analyze, improve  business processes as per Gartner’s definition.

 

Business Process Automation on the other hand, applies to a wider range of tasks: automating these processes, then applying them across the enterprise to boost efficiency, increase collaboration, and facilitate connectivity.

 

It is important to note, however, that BPA was born from BPM. The process is based on the foundation of BPM to aid businesses to optimize their end-to-end processes, and to deliver the digital transformation of their entire enterprise.

 

What are the advantages from Business Process Automation?

 

Enhance efficiency by speedily completing tasks without manual intervention, saving time and money.

 

Enhance customer experience – provides data that allow the customer experience to be analyzed and allows organizations to design more customized experiences for customers.

 

Allow connectivity to be made possible – connects systems and eliminates silos in order to give an all-encompassing view of business information to allow better-informed and more efficient decision-making

 

Connectivity is key IT and Business teams are able to collaborate more efficiently through one platform

 

Business orchestration is a way to facilitate the coordination of individuals systems, information, and people throughout the company to help support business strategies

 

Examples of DPA

 

There are numerous instances and applications of automated digital processes within organizations. Let’s take a look at two instances such as onboarding employees and/or customers and purchase orders for more understanding of the way DPA is integrated into a particular process.

 

Customer and/or employee onboarding

Making hiring decisions or beginning the relationship with a brand new client is an immense task. Employee onboarding requires filling out forms, preparing documents, arranging training sessions, as well as assigning assets, in addition to. Onboarding procedures that are manual could result in a lot of documentation, issues with compliance and low levels of retention. With DPA businesses can automatize one or more onboarding tasks, and eliminate obstacles in workflows through making it easier to transition between different steps within the process.

 

Similar to the process for new accounts, the opening and onboarding procedure requires the collection of a large amount of documents and information from their customers. This is not just expensive and inefficient, but it can lead to lengthy onboarding procedures that cause frustration to new customers. With DPA businesses can automate various steps of the process, which will result in quicker as well as more pleasant onboarding experience.

 

 

Purchase orders

Purchase orders are a great option for digital process automation because they are frequent and carry the potential for substantial delay in workflow. Companies typically process a lot of requests for purchase orders each month, one-time and ongoing. The majority of POs require approval from one or more parties and could be returned repeatedly to make revisions.

 

The changes can cause delays and lower productivity. With DPA companies, they can speed up their PO approval procedures. For example, after the PO has been submitted the digital process automation software will route it to an stakeholder who is responsible to be approved and inform the person who requested it that it has been accepted.

 

Digital Process Automation vs Robotic Process Automation

Like DPA or business process automation DPA as well as robotic process automation can be misunderstood. Although these terms can mean different things, they are frequently utilized in conjunction to enhance customer service. The term “robotic process automation” (RPA), utilizes technologies for intelligent automation such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to automatize repetitive tasks. RPA seeks to eliminate human involvement for business processes.

 

DPA however, is not meant to replace all human tasks that are completed by humans. Instead, digital process automation is focused on automating processes that improve workflows. Therefore, in this sense, RPA and DPA serve different , yet complementary, purposes within an organization. They are frequently used in conjunction in the context of an organization’s overall business processes administration (BPM) strategy and plans.

 

What are some examples of companies that are using Business Process Automation?

 

The Bizagi system was rolled out across the globe through the Global Business Services (GBS) team across the Deutsche Post DHL Group in 17 languages. The goal is to optimize and integrate the business processes, handling more than 2 million transactions per year. In the Duty VAT billing procedure, Bizagi worked alongside Oracle, UiPath and ABBYY and provided automated digital processes that allow an end-to-end process automation with the goal of achieving a 95% efficiency ratio.

 

Bizagi was also utilized to develop the vendor Master Data Management Portal to enhance the experience of employees as well as customers and other stakeholders. Bizagi removed the requirement to manually interact by connecting the systems . It also reduced the number of Full-time equivalent ( FTE) job posts with automation from end-to end.

 

Manufacturing & Retail | Adidas, the biggest maker of sportswear in Europe, changed its supply chain that spans 400 manufacturing facilities to increase the efficiency of operations by 60 percent.

 

Utilizing Bizagi and an agile method led to less development, higher efficiency and cost reduction. Adidas standardized processes and made them more reusable to automate various departments, including marketing, supply chain and retail, finance, and eCommerce. The extremely successful project reduced marketing time by two thirds when compared to traditional internal development.

 

Automating for results

When DPA is used as part of a digital transformation strategy, the focus frequently moves to process reengineering in order to enjoy the benefits of increased efficiency, transparency, and information utilisation. By automating both business operations and data management, DPA provides a significant information advantage. This links company data to intelligently automate business processes and create competitive advantages and measurable results.