iTWire - The importance of workflow management

Monday, 13 December 2021 12:51

The importance of workflow management

By Chris Smith, alliance & partner manager for ANZ, M-Files

Guest Opinion: Manual workflows take time and cost organisations in terms of money, efficiency, and effectiveness. They are error-prone and can create a significant burden of work for staff members. Automating workflows overcomes these challenges and turns mundane business processes into vehicles for growth and sustainability.

Most businesses are aware of this and have at least initiated digital transformation efforts. However, many businesses overlook the criticality of these workflows, which means they miss out on opportunities to dramatically improve business efficiency.
Transforming these workflows starts by understanding each of the steps involved, then determining where bottlenecks and opportunities for error could arise. These can indicate workflows or parts thereof that could benefit from digitalisation and automation.

In most business workflows, there are various steps that must be completed correctly, in the right order. For example, an invoice is received, checked against purchase orders and received goods, signed off by an approver, forwarded to the finance department for payment, and ultimately paid.

When this process is completed manually, a person is required to open the envelope or email (depending on whether the invoice has been sent on paper or as an email attachment). They then read the invoice, noticing key details such as purchase order numbers, the amount of the invoice (possibly including specific line items), and the date payment is due. The worker must then compare this information against the purchase order in their enterprise resource planning (ERP) system to ensure all the details match up and that the invoice isn’t a duplicate that has already been paid. At that point, they can send it to the authorised approver, who must sign off on the invoice for it to be paid. Then it can be entered into the ERP system and forwarded to the finance team for payment.
If one of those steps doesn’t occur, the invoice won’t be paid. If an error creeps in at any of those steps, an invoice could be paid in error, costing the business money.

Workflow management performs each of these steps sequentially and notifies relevant parties when it’s their turn to act. This means that workflows proceed seamlessly and aren’t held up unnecessarily. Automating the process where possible frees up staff members to focus on higher-value or revenue-generating activities. For example, the organisation can implement a workflow that automatically reviews emails, extracts the digital invoices, and compares them to purchase orders and received goods. Paper-based emails can be scanned and would automatically enter the workflow at that point. This approach means that the approver only receives invoices that match existing records. This also means a human doesn’t have to perform these checks, which removes the possibility of human error.
Solutions that automate workflows can also incorporate reporting, increasing transparency and accountability in the business. And, with rules-based workflows automating straightforward tasks, staff members can focus on exceptions and anomalies, which is a far more valuable use of their time than simply completing repetitive tasks.

Businesses that automate these seemingly mundane, boring tasks with metadata-driven intelligent information management solutions could achieve significant cost and productivity benefits, which can help the business grow and compete effectively in a challenging landscape.

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