The most tangible benefit of good business process management is Cost Efficiency that can mean decreased costs and increased revenue. While the rest of benefits BPM delivers is intangible in the short term, they add crucial value in the long run, and help both small and huge companies with gearing up for worldwide competition. BPM technology makes any company better equipped to switch gears, respond to its changing business environment faster than competitors, and succeed!

Learn more how BPM software can help you achieve your business goals while it simplifies your business processes management cycle, handle change processes and drive projects to success.

Here are the Top 10 Benefits of good business process management:

1. Cost efficiency

Simply slashing budgets is no longer a viable option in organizations that have become leaner in response to global economic conditions during recent years. There simply is not much left to cut. However, in order to thrive, organizations still need to maximize the efficiency of the costs they do incur and profit they generate. And good BPM is a driving strategy towards maximizing cost efficiency by streamlining business operations and collaboration, automating repetitive tasks, improving product quality and reducing corporate risks.

CMW Platform combines process management and workflow management with task management and built-in real-time reporting and analysis, so teams collaborate more effectively within both routine workflows and profit-generating projects and bring their projects to fruition within budget, with reported cost savings of 30% to 50%.

2. Business agility

A trend in BPM is toward more nimble processes that respond to organizational learning in the marketplace. Nowadays flexibility is frequently taken as one of business process management goals in addition to cost efficiency. This has led to a greater demand for ultra-flexible business process management tools that are easy to design, change and deploy. Generally, agility incorporates the following elements, all of which are included to CMW Platform:

• Process management: With CMW Platform, process management comes in the form of visual workflows that you can change on-the-fly. You can re-use workflows wherever you need to and customize them as you go.
• Rule management: As work management moves into an unstructured, collaborative age, rules management will be the way to stay properly governed, visible, and compliant, while keeping processes on track. CMW Platform features on-the-fly rule configuration for each department, function or project (whether structured or unstructured), as needed. This provides unique flexibility not seen in other work management tools.
• Integration and automation: CMW Platform offers comprehensive solutions that support task and case management as well as Project Management. The fact that this all sits on one organization-wide database means that the company has full control, visibility and real-time analysis capability.
• Continual optimization and scaling. CMW Platform enables quick-win implementation and non-code addition and modification of running processes. It allows for starting with simple automated workflows and growing incrementally with comprehensive business process management.

3. Compliance ease and visibility

Changes to legislation and other factors have meant that companies without a flexible system for handling end-to-end compliance can incur great, unforeseen costs, both in reporting and penalties. Within BPM systems, companies can build compliance into their business practices if department-specific applications are integrated with the organization as a whole. CMW Platform allows for full integration with function-specific, 3rd party applications via Open API that are also tied to an organization-wide database. This makes it possible to produce automated reports that demonstrate compliance in a cost-efficient way.

4. Customer focus

Savvy customers are demanding thorough proof-of-concept (POC) processes that document how their needs will be heard through self-service Web 3.0 capabilities. Business process management helps organizations to combine people with technology to acquire and retain satisfied customers and CMW Platform lets organizations include any desired user (read: customer) with easy-to-program security roles. This paves the way for ongoing, real-time collaboration with customers in a way that proves responsiveness, personalization, customization and access to information.

5. Staff satisfaction

6. Efficiency and productivity

Consequently, BPM plays an essential role in assisting companies in achieving their productivity and efficiency goals. In order to establish baselines and then enhance them, BPM projects give priority on measuring and monitoring processes, establishing process excellence. Process efficiency rises when operations run smoothly and at full capacity. Moreover, the same tasks can be done within shorter terms, making the team more productive and being able to concentrate on business-critical tasks. Process analysis is continually done. The ability to quickly identify and remove tasks that bring little value boosts productivity overall.

7. Reduced micromanagement

Micromanagement might be effective as it anyway leads to getting the task done. However, it is always detrimental to a company in the long run. Sticking to a set of procedures in order to minimize errors is one of the main reasons that leaders prefer to micromanage their workers.

Micromanagement is no longer necessary due to BPM. Leaders and staff members who are aware of their responsibilities clearly document all SOPs. When a certain step is called for, workers complete it clearly without constant coaching or direction.

8. Single digital environment

The appropriate BPM tool can serve as a unified environment for data fetching and pushing to vital software platforms like ERP and CRM. Department-specific software is typically created for distinct use cases, but data access and use for other purposes can be challenging.

The benefits of integrating core applications with an enterprise-wide BPM platform are numerous. Some procedures require human input, while others do not. With the process automation software enterprise can decrease cycle time and manual entry errors, while granting access to the company’s fundamental operations to all the employees or dividing the access levels for security purposes.

9. Measurable results

You can evaluate the results of new processes using BPM. You may estimate how much time has been saved, decide if enhanced processes actually save money, and keep an eye on these findings in real time. With CMW Platform you may automate the process of monitoring and reporting outcomes, and once you have these findings, you can use them to further direct your internal processes.

10. Improved responsibility

Implementing BPM and citizen development in your organization also becomes the driver for employees to take ownership of their work. As soon as the dependency on IT-department minimizes, the processes can be built and completed faster by non-technical users. It means that the power now is in the hands of any employee who sees the bottleneck and wants to bring value.

At conclusion

Could your organization benefit from improvements in the following areas?

• Increased customer satisfaction and shorter time-to-market for products and services
• Greater efficiency (and cost savings) with existing applications and processes
• Greater team satisfaction as collaboration and best practices are improved
• Full transparency of all activities across the team and organization

…work management is a set of software products and services that apply workflow structure to information and workers so that processes are streamlined and performance is improved…

Some companies already have BPM systems. But, after the BPM initiative is in place for a year or two, professionals in these enterprises are usually frustrated by how difficult it is to change processes, and are surprised by the degree to which colleagues use “work-arounds” for unstructured projects that arise. When formal business processes cannot be changed easily, or when the team isn’t using the formal processes for all work, then visibility, agility, organizational learning and market response times all suffer. CMW Lab low-code BPM software enables non-technical users (Top-managers) to change business processes easily, making sure that company staff don’t need “work-arounds” for projects that occasionally arise and stay effective!

The post Top 10 Benefits of Resultive Business Process Management appeared first on CMW Lab Blog.

Known as Business Process Automation (BPA), BPA is the use of software or a computer to automate the execution of tasks. It is an umbrella term that encompasses both human-driven automation and robotic process automation (RPA). BPA systems often automate time-consuming, repetitive, and manual tasks in order to make them more efficient.

For example, Chargebee’s subscription management software automates the recurring billing process, freeing up valuable resources and reducing manual efforts for businesses.

In this article, we take a look at 4 workforce-related business processes that can be automated in almost all sectors.

4 Business Processes That Can Easily Be Automated

Team Communication and Management

Keeping team members, customers, and business partners up to date on important information is essential for any organization. With the number of stakeholders involved, it is easy for information to get lost or to forget passing the right information over to the right person. In its simplest form, automating your teams’ communication can be as easy as setting up repeat meeting reminders or staff alerts.

Furthermore, if your business deals with digital files or document transfers, most aspects can be pre-programmed, such as permission levels. Yet, many businesses still rely on traditional pen and paper or excel sheets, especially for roster management. By default, managing employee schedules is a tedious and resource-draining task for your human resource department.  If you are looking into optimizing and streamlining this process, you should try employee scheduling tools which will tremendously reduce the workload while boosting your efficiency.

Recruitment and Employee Performance

Workforce recruitment is a multi-stage process that requires a lot of time and labor to be effectively performed. A report by Capterra reveals that 75 percent of recruiters make use of a recruiting or applicant tracking software (ATS). The same report highlights that 94 percent of ATS users report an improvement in their hiring process.

Along the same line, another area that is known to drain resources in monitoring employee performance. Evaluating how your staff performs over time is not only time-intensive but may also be met with biased opinions. This in turn may lead to poor employee engagement, which directly impacts your business productivity. Instead, relying on automated solutions to manage new recruit and employee data helps you save on resources and safeguards against potential bias.

Implementing automated solutions for tracking employee hours not only streamlines the evaluation process but also eliminates potential biases that may impact employee engagement and overall productivity. By relying on objective data collected through tracking employee hours, organizations can make informed decisions and ensure fair treatment of employees. This approach saves valuable resources, promotes transparency, and contributes to a more productive and equitable work environment.

Key takeaway: Automating employee data management makes decision making easier and brings more insights on hard-to-calculate figures, such as staff turnover cost.

Employee Payroll and Benefits Management

Regardless of the size of your business, managing employee payroll and benefits is a time-consuming process for any HR department. This is mainly because payroll and benefits management often involves multiple manual steps, such as salary calculation or clock-in monitoring. According to the PayStream Advisors’ 2018 Payables Insight Report, around 55 percent of organizations still process their accounts payable (AP) manually.

Similarly, managing staff benefits can be very resource-intensive, especially if you have hundreds of employees. Laws and policies vary drastically depending on the geographical location of your business, and maintaining compliance can be tough. Automating benefits management makes billing, tracking, and reconciliation easier and saves your business valuable resources, and leads to more accurate accounting.

Key takeaway: Automating employee payroll and benefits management ensures fewer human errors and mitigates compliance risks.

Claims Processing

Claims processing is another very time-consuming and expensive exercise for businesses that handle it completely manually. This process is often an arduous one for the claimant, the HR department, and the insurance company. Moreover, the process often leads to frustration for the different parties involved, since these claims are traditionally processed one at a time.

For these reasons, many organizations are turning to robotic process automation (RPA), a technology that enables them to automate their claims processing by connecting computers to systems such as e-signatures, spreadsheets, and document management systems. Turning to RPA speeds up claims processing and requires minimal human intervention. A study by McKinsey reports that businesses opting for RPA systems can see up to 200 percent return on investment (ROI) within the first year of implementation.

Key takeaway: Using an RPA for claims processing takes the pressure off the claimant and enables organizations to handle multiple claims and transactions at the same time.

Off you go

Business process automation appears to be an essential component of long-term sustainability. With 78 percent of business leaders stating that automation can increase productivity, we may soon see mass adoption of BPA technology. Whichever industry you are in, automation can increase efficiency and help save resources. Moreover, automating your business processes can give you an edge on the competition through greater savings on labor costs, increased customer satisfaction, and employee engagement.

The post 4 Workforce Related Processes That Can Be Automated In Any Business appeared first on CMW Lab Blog.

By taking the time to make workflows visually-oriented, you lay a foundation for better information exchange, faster resolution of conflicts, easier near- and long-term planning, and an overall more productive and effective team.

Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning. Benjamin Franklin

Business process management isn’t like a task with a defined start and end date. To get the best results in growing and adapting your business, you need to continually improve your business routine.

So lets’ dive into visual workflows and see how they can help your business.

Visual Workflow Management Demands Outstanding Visualization Tools

Don’t think of a visual workflow designer as just another way to create flowcharts. While visual workflow management used to involve flip charts and handwritten lists, today it may communicate actions step by step and incorporate various rules to change what happens next. For example, a rule may state that if an invoice total is above a certain dollar figure, it must gain the approval of the department head. And the right visual workflow software will automatically determine that the invoice total is above the threshold and route it to the correct person. A visual workflow offers authorized users a “snapshot” of project status and progress at any given time and lets everyone know what the next steps are.

How your team can benefit from workflows:

• Get your team organized
• Simplify your processes and keep the projects on track
• Check project status
• Get more tasks done in less time

By implementing a visual workflow, you are creating a solid ground to improve communication, data exchange, short and long-term planning. It will obviously result in increased productivity.

Don’t hesitate to make the first step in business process management. Request free trial – banner with a button

A Visual Workflow Is a Workflow That Makes More Sense

When a workflow is visualized using a visual workflow designer, it’s easier for all project or process participants to see not only what they need to do, but where it fits into the overall project. Suddenly, steps that may have seemed to have no purpose make perfect sense. Modeling and visualizing workflows is typically done in a web-based interface that allows the non-technical user to drag and drop workflow elements and steps into place and incorporate business rules where necessary when decision points are reached in the process. Ideally, your visual workflows should be mobile-friendly for the increasing number of people who use tablets on the job.

Example of a workflow scheme

A visual workflow empowers managers to evolve the workflow and improve it on the fly. It has a high level of adaptability and ensures that a workflow has the maximum possible sense for business.

The Right Visual Workflow Designer Gets Everyone on the Same Page

When everyone involved understands the game plan and strategies, processes and workflows take place with far more precision and efficiency. You don’t want team members feeling as if they’re nothing more than a cog in a complex machine, repeatedly completing certain tasks without ever knowing how they affect the final product. Visual workflow management gets the entire team on the same page, so to speak, and that alone can be great for motivation and morale. Furthermore, visual workflow management allows both management and front-line employees to detect problems and inefficiencies, so they can be rooted out and addressed promptly.

Maybe you have tried a bulk of project management methodology and some of them have made your projects even more complicated for a team – then visual workflow management might be the solution. Visual workflow designer is all about simplicity and makes it a snap to build a simple process, avoid mess and get more tasks done in less time.

Monitoring Workflows Is Easier with Visual Workflow Management

What is visual workflow management? It is an efficient project management approach and technique. Key feature: it makes use of visual cues and flows to aid project implementation and management. What is visual workflow modeling? A design feature that allows non-technical users to drag and drop the sequence of events and steps in a workflow along with the various business rules to be met.

Learning the status of even one aspect of a project used to require unacceptable levels of time and effort, but visual workflows help change all that. Has an electronic approval form been completed and forwarded to the approving authority? The right visual workflow automation designer shows you instantly whether it has. Who was the last person to edit a section of the annual report? Visual workflows make it easy to find out. When you can monitor workflows easily, you can identify bottlenecks and problems before they can fester. If a step in a process needs to be modified to make it better, visual workflow management software should allow you to do so easily.

Build Your Visual Workflow Foundation Quickly

For those struggling to lay a solid foundation for improved business process, communication, information exchange, rapid problem solving, and boosted productivity it is vital to get a visual workflow foundation built within days or a couple of weeks, not months.

Building visual workflows are logical and easy with CMW Tracker — workflow software. The workflow builder lets you create and manage every step of a business process while incorporating any necessary data and forms. And you don’t have to be a programmer or an IT expert to use it. Simply drag and drop steps into the workflow creator and connect them using data, forms, and business rules. With easily-visualized, logical, repeatable workflows, your organization will be more efficient in its use of time and money and will set the stage for a more engaged, motivated workforce.

The post What is Visual Workflow Management and How Can It Help Your Business? appeared first on CMW Lab Blog.

Rather than waiting for bottlenecks to occur, it is helpful to have a more proactive plan of action for dealing with bottlenecks. One of the ways you can do this is to use workflow management software such as Comindware Tracker to evaluate and better streamline processes to avoid future bottlenecks in the workflow. This puts you in control and helps ensure that you don’t suffer from unnecessary delays which can be frustrating for employees and consumers alike.

Using Workflow Software to Detect Bottlenecks

Using tools to analyze your workflows is a great way to avoid or address bottlenecks at any point in your business processes. If you notice that there are unpredictable areas of your workflow, these need to be addressed. It is in these areas where a bottleneck is most likely to occur. You can use the tools to identify bottlenecks and find effective ways to address them.

You can use visual tools in workflow management software by using things like checklists or task cards. Using these tools makes it easy to see where exactly work is piling up. This will show you where your bottleneck or potential bottleneck is and you can then address it.

You can also use this software to visually map activities and elements of a business process. Having these steps laid out in the form of a map or diagram can make it easier to understand how all the steps work together and can make it easier to locate areas where a bottleneck could occur.

What to Do If You Find a Bottleneck

It is all well and good to find areas where a bottleneck might occur and to address it before it happens, but this isn’t always possible. Say, for example, you notice an area in your business process where work is continually piling up. Failing to address this could cause a ton of additional problems you might not expect. It is best to address a bottleneck as soon as possible, otherwise, you could have a cascading effect.

If you find a bottleneck, you may need to rethink how your business process is designed. What is causing one area of the process to get so bogged down as to cause delays in other steps? Perhaps you need more people working on this step or you need to rethink the order a process is completed.

Using batch processes can also be an effective solution. Some things are connected or can easily be bunched together for a batch processing session. This can be a good solution to help avoid unnecessary delays and bottlenecks.

A workflow will continue to change and adapt, just as a business will. It is a huge mistake to think any business process is a set it and forget it kind of thing. They need to be monitored and updated as issues arise or changes need to be made.

Having a visual representation that includes the detailed steps and approvals that are required in a given process makes it far easier to see where potential problems may occur and will allow you to determine where in a process a bottleneck is taking place. You can then take a look at that visual representation to think of ways to redistribute work or to change the order of a process to reduce the chances of bottlenecks in the future.

Timeliness

One of the things that workflow management software like Comindware Tracker can do is make it incredibly easy to locate and deal with a bottleneck. When it comes to the world of business, time is money. You want to be able to address any bottlenecks as quickly as possible and part of this is quick identification. Workflow management software allows you to easily track a wide range of processes and can alert you to any bottlenecks or areas where a bottleneck could possibly occur.

It cannot be overstated how important it is to quickly identify and address a bottleneck before it causes issues with other processes. Delays in on part of a process can quickly cascade into bigger problems in other areas. Using this software makes it simple to keep track of your processes, identify, and address, any bottlenecks that might come up along the way.

In Closing

Bottlenecks, or delays caused by work piling up in a given area of a process, can cause huge headaches for any business. Not only does it reduce the efficiency of your business operations, it can also cost the business money in terms of additional labor and dealing with unhappy clients. This is the last thing a business needs, especially in today’s competitive business world.

Using workflow management software can make it easier for you to identify where bottlenecks are occurring or may occur. This information can then be used to restructure the process to reduce the burden on certain areas and reduce the likelihood of future bottlenecks.

The post How to Deal with a Bottleneck in Business Process appeared first on CMW Lab Blog.

In 2022 having focus on digital transformation, Gartner and other research and consulting companies predict the next logical step, which is expected to improve the quality and the efficiency of digital experiences for both businesses and customers. In a word, the next step and a large IT trend is hyperautomation. In this article below, we’ll dive into the key workflow management trends with respect to hyperautomation context and bring to recollection 2018-2021 trends which are still actual.

Hot Workflow Software Trend in 2022

Hyperautomation is a business-driven, disciplined approach that organizations use to rapidly identify, vet and automate as many business and IT processes as possible. It involves the orchestrated use of multiple technologies, tools or platforms. Gartner

Hyperautomation, which is a huge 2022 trend, brings together technologies like Artificial intelligence (AI), Machine learning, Robotic process automation (RPA) and a vast range of decision, process and task automation tools. It’s hard to imagine a future where all these technologies still operate independently and low-code platforms with advanced workflow management features don’t play a crucial role – they definitely will.

In 2022 a powerful workflow management and BPM (business process management) systems become the control center of your successful hyperautomation strategy.

A workflow system orchestrates all of the employees and technologies that complete that entire sequence of tasks autonomously and make sure all the resources work together effectively. So, you can easily deploy any of the hyperautomation technologies mentioned above at any waypoint in the workflow and be sure that the entire process will keep generating expected results. So, in 2022 a low-code workflow software, like CMW Tracker, is the beating heart of your hyperautomated, traceable and effective business.

The Key Workflow Software Trend in 2021

In 2020 we highlighted that businesses are switching to a new document management approach and prefer to handle data in document cards instead of getting stuck in scan copies or Word files. This trend stays actual in 2021 as surely as the trend of migrating to an integrated digital business platform instead of standalone applications.

The key workflow software trend in 2021 worth your attention is the technology “democratization”. This trend emerged in the 20th century when Apple introduced the Macintosh with a radically new user interface. Do you still remember that at the dawn of the personal computer era users controlled the machines via text commands? Since then, everyone’s got a device that can even respond to your voice commands and help whenever you need it to. Nowadays low-code and no-code technology democratization expands and empowers non-IT professionals to discover and effectively apply specialized skills beyond their expertise. Right now, low-code platforms are a basis supporting the democratization trend to put the power of digital tools into the hands of non-technical users (often named “citizen developers”), so they could develop and design business apps, gain knowledge from expert systems, and do even more.

For instance, technology democratization would enable employees to automate workflows without having programming skills. They would instead rely on a low-code / no-code platform like CMW Tracker to generate the business app and ensure proper workflow operation.

The synergetic effect of the recent technology democratization and integrated digital business platform adoption trends is rapidly bringing us into the new world:

Smart spaces build on the people-centric notion. A smart space is a physical environment in which people and technology-enabled systems interact in increasingly open, connected, coordinated and intelligent ecosystems. Multiple elements — including people, processes, services and things — come together in a smart space to create a more immersive, interactive and automated experience. David Cearley, vice president and Gartner Fellow.
Specializes in emerging and strategic business and technology trends
and explores how these trends shape the way individuals and companies
derive value from technology

Workflow Software Trends in 2020

Documents Without Documents

The paperless office mantra has made executives’ mouths sore and a significant number of them claim that their companies started heading toward digital transformation and became paperless or lowered their paper footprint. It brings tangible benefits, but many executives report that changing paper-based documents to digital versions in MS Excel or Word doesn’t make enough difference for business.

On the way to the much quicker document approval processes businesses tend to consider modern workflow management systems capable of processing data effectively during the approval process, obviating the document exchange steps. For example, in CMW Tracker you can create a document template with all necessary data fields and get the document automatically generated when all data is reviewed and approved by a proper person. Such an approach dramatically improves and speeds up the approval process and fuels digital transformation.

Switching From Standalone Solutions to Platforms

The ongoing digital revolution brought up a whole bunch of new technologies – Big Data and IoT (Internet of Things), neural networks and artificial intelligence, RPA (Robotic Process Automation) and additive technologies, natural language processing, chatbots, and counting. The new technology pilot projects look promising for digital businesses and are expected to bring even more benefits when scaled in the enterprise environment. All these technologies are also perfectly combined with workflow management systems –there are more and more examples of synergy in recent years.

Integrated platforms will be implemented, allowing us to consolidate a wide range of digital technologies and get even more benefits from their synergy. Gartner names this new type of platform a Digital Business Technology Platform and encourages CIOs to consider building such a platform to get their companies ready for obstacles and continual change, all while integrating systems and adding new technologies. Experts note that workflow management systems and BPM systems efficiently working in convergence with numerous technologies are expected to be a reliable core of an integrated digital business platform.

The above workflow management system trends are emerging, and it’s worth considering them together with the notable 2019 trends that are gaining momentum.

Workflow Software Trends – 2019

A workflow may be a simple sequence of work activities or a complicated collection of processes that take place in parallel. During the past few years, executives realized that workflow automation is vital for business competitiveness, and the BPTrends Report confirms this fact. Year after year businesses report that integrating a workflow management system capability within the company’s methodology can bring tangible and even impressive overall efficiency gains and cost savings. No surprise that companies report their intention to increase spendings on business process management and workflow automation:

The State of the BPM Market – 2018
BPTrends Report

In recent years the business world has been inundated with talk about the benefits of innovative features needed in the right workflow management solution. In 2019, workflow management matured. Now businesses stop thinking in terms of features when choosing a workflow management system and instead focus on strategic advantages a solution delivers.

More businesses are looking to embrace digital transformation, which means blending digital and physical business while improving operational efficiencies and performance. If you’re among the businesses working to reimagine and enhance existing processes, open the door to dynamic, agile workflows and build a digital strategy. Here are the strategic workflow trends to consider in 2019:

Trend 1 – Transforming Customer and Employee Experience

Unarguably, when a person gets used to the convenience of mobile apps for hotel, ride, or flight booking they will never accept the old experience. Expectations from interfaces and overall service experience rise. So, serving customers the usual way would kill your company’s competitiveness. Meanwhile, 84% of organizations working to improve customer experience report an increase in revenue (Dimension Data). Not surprisingly, Gartner surveys confirm customer experience is the new battlefield, with 89% of businesses expectedly soon to be competing mainly on customer experience.

In the meantime, employee expectations rise too, and serving employees in an old-fashion way will ruin their loyalty, resulting in high employee turnover and related costs.

New employees who went through a structured onboarding program were 58% more likely to be with the organization after three years.

SHRM Presentation” by The Wynhurst Group

Taking into account new employee expectations, many companies build an automated onboarding process supported by workflow management software to streamline and speed up the employee assessing, hiring, training, and onboarding workflows. It is also worth noting that in addition to a modern onboarding process employees expect to have a one-stop shop for IT-, HR-, procurement and other internal services.

So, there’s a trend to converge user-friendly interfaces, easy access from various devices, customer mapping, artificial intelligence, and many other features in concert to serve customers and employees in an ever-improving way. When choosing a workflow management tool, make sure that it is capable of supporting your service improvement initiatives.

Trend 2 – Synergy of RPA and Workflow Management

RPA (Robotic Process Automation) is gaining momentum as bots can be leveraged quickly and can displace humans in low-level and redundant work. According to Deloitte Global RPA Survey, 53% of respondents have already started their RPA journey and the benefits of RPA adoption are significant across multiple dimensions including:

• improved compliance (92%)
• improved quality/accuracy (90%)
• improved productivity (86%)
• cost reduction (59%)

Meanwhile, it is important to remember that bots can’t work with implicit processes while humans can. So, in 2019 many businesses use both technologies together: RPA and workflow management. The tasks to complete a workflow are done by bots or humans, while task assignment and flow control are managed by a workflow management solution. This approach becomes more popular and there may come a day when you need humans and bots to work together. So, ensure that your workflow management software has an open API for easy integration with RPA systems and supports human-bot intimate cooperation.

Trend 3 – The Shrinking IT Department Role

In the digital era, the IT department still plays an important role in every company. Meanwhile, according to Gartner Research, the modern IT infrastructure is very different from the one used in the 90s. As more business solutions, including workflow management tools, run in the cloud, have more user-friendly interfaces, and allow no-code changes to the solution business logic, there’s no longer a need to rely on the IT department for all the IT tasks. Modern workflow management software is expected to ensure that employees with basic IT skills can address most of their issues and build workflow applications quickly. A 2017 low-code adoption survey shows that in three-fourths of companies at least some business apps are developed by the civil developers, not the IT departments.

Conclusion

CMW Lab is the company behind one of the most powerful no-code workflow software on the market. With CMW Tracker, you can easily create workflow graphical models, define role-based access, and design workflow patterns with tremendous flexibility. Furthermore, you get features like form pre-filling, easy-to-use status views, and powerful reporting, all in a cloud solution that takes away the worry of on-site server and software maintenance.

Look ahead by looking back

Below you will find a retrospective look at our evolving understanding of the must-have workflow solution features, which have progressed as new technologies have matured.

Workflow software features you needed in 2018

The right workflow management system keeps everyone in the loop and makes tracking complex projects easier.

Create your workflows and quickly change them on the fly and without coding using a visual workflow builder.

Pre-filled forms go a long way toward streamlining work processes.

Workflow software features you needed in 2017

Enjoy task flow transparency and get full control over daily activities

Create as many fields as needed, add tables, group related fields into sections, and empower your forms with business rules.

A role-based dashboard of your workflow management system adds value

The post Top Workflow Management System Trends and Features appeared first on CMW Lab Blog.

The post 5 Ways Workflow Analysis Helps Your Business appeared first on CMW Lab Blog.

Without a good business process analysis, there is a lot of wasted time, inefficiency, and delays when it comes to meeting specific goals. When you have a good means of business process analysis, you can easily see how well the business is working towards goals, where inefficiencies may lay, and even determining potential problems and how they might be addressed.

What is business process analysis?

It is important to understand that there is a difference between business process analysis and business analysis. The latter refers to overall business operations and macro issues, whereas business process analysis refers to steps within a specific process. This is typically used on the core functions of any business and can help troubleshoot, solve problems, as well as improve various parts of the process. How well does the process meet the needs it is designed to address? How can it be improved? These are questions that can be answered with business process analysis.

Some key ways business process analysis can help:

• Determining aspects or areas causing issues or delays
• Learning what does and doesn’t work in a given process
• Deciding whether to scrap, change, or completely redo a business process
• Determining whether the process is as efficient as it can be

There are tons of great choices when it comes to business process analysis software and much of it, such as that we offer here at Comindware, helps to automate and dramatically increase the efficiency of this process, providing untold benefits to businesses large and small. One can see the myriad of benefits that can result from using this software and it is a great way to troubleshoot processes that seem to be running inefficiently or regularly causing issues, errors, or delays.

With software like this, you can work to identify where delays are occurring, what aspects of the process are running slowly or inefficiently, what processes need to be revisited or edited, and more. A good, thorough analysis can be helpful for employees or other people involved in the process that are struggling to visualize or understand a given process.

Business process analysis examples

While it can be easy to understand the value of business process analysis conceptually, it might be a bit more difficult to figure out in the specific context of the work you are doing. There are several common business process analysis examples that are regularly used by businesses large and small that we will briefly touch on here.

Observation: as the name implies, this allows you to simply watch a process and see how it plays out to determine whether there needs change. There is also a subset of this that is often called experience observation, which entails watching and talking to those involved in the process being analyzed to get their input and see what issues they have noticed.

Value-added analysis: this lets you determine whether a particular process or aspect within a process adds value and if it doesn’t, it may be removed.

Gap analysis: this allows you to determine whether there are aspects, functions, or tasks in a process that are missing so they can be fixed.

These examples show how this software can help streamline, improve outcomes, and give warning that a process is not functioning optimally. It provides for greater transparency and sharing of information between parties within the organization. It allows one to see how a process is performing, troubleshoot, and even provide better new employee training and guidance.

In closing

It is vital to ensure that any process your business runs is performing the function it is designed for in an efficient and meaningful way. Business process analysis refers to looking deep into each aspect of a process to determine whether it is the most efficient means of achieving a goal or not. Analysis also helps you find and root out inefficiencies or issues within a given process that could be slowing the entire process down. Process management and analysis software provides invaluable ability to improve the effectiveness of strategic planning and make it easier to achieve the desired goals.

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What is a business rules engine?

A business rules engine refers to conditions that are created within the software that determines when and what applications to start, stop, and the like. This is where the rules for how the automation software is to respond to given inputs or conditions. With this, even those who don’t have any coding experience can interact with and even change aspects of the conditions in the process as needed.

With this tool, you can change, alter, or customize different aspects of business requirements without needing to change any code or have any technical know-how. This makes it far more accessible to more parties within an organization that can help to streamline and better the software in use.

It is important to understand that business rules engines do not, themselves, perform tasks. Rather, it is a set of conditions and guidelines that help determine a course of action in a given instance.

Business rules engines are useful in that they promote consistency and can be combined into what is called rulesets.

Comindware Tracker utilizes functionality based on the classic rules system. These systems use a logical approach whereby a large set of conditions will determine that resulting action. It gives a clear understanding of what action is necessary based on the rules and conditions that are built into it. This creates something akin to a “working memory” for the system to determine when a new action or process needs to be initiated or implemented.

What is a workflow engine?

Business processes, in the parlance of automation software, are often referred to as workflows. A workflow engine is a tool that allows tasks to be initiated and automated. This is done via the workflow design, in which users map all steps and conditions within a given process. The software can then execute tasks based on this workflow design.

Workflow simply refers to the steps that must be taken for a process to be completed. This is most often done with data entry or other repetitive tasks that not only take up a lot of valuable time but also leave room for human error.

In the “old days” this was all done manually, by hand, and often required the input of multiple people along the way. It is easy to see how inefficient and unnecessarily time-consuming this is.

With a workflow engine, workflow design tool and data management feature you can easily create a set of processes, get them running, and manage them, as well. This saves a ton of time and often leads to a dramatic reduction in error and delay. With workflow software like our offerings at Comindware, even those who don’t have a ton of technical experience can still use the software and reap the myriad benefits.

Key differences between business rules engines and workflow engines

Both of these tools create an environment where even those without a ton of tech experience can manage and change automated business processes as needed. Both of these engines allow changes to be made without the need to alter the underlying code, meaning that most employees can manage the software, even if they have no experience with coding.

They are very different in terms of what they do and what their function is. For example, a business rules engine is designed to help with decision-making processes, especially those with a lot of complex variables. Workflow engines run specific processes based on the workflow design.

Business rules engines are a part of what is called an enterprise application, whereas workflow engines are an actual tool that is part of workflow tools and technologies. Workflow technologies automate many aspects of workflow, but business rules engines can be separated from applications and used in other instances.

A business rules engine is, as the name implies, driven by basic rules. Workflow software is based on a workflow design of the specific process to be automated. Workflow engines help perform business functions, while conversely, a business rules engine simply helps to develop business knowledge.

Though some may use the words interchangeably, it is clear to see that business rules engines and workflow engines are two very different things. Business rules engines allow for the definition of various business processes that will help with complex decision-making and add to the overall knowledge base of the business. Workflow software, like Comindware Tracker, is used to automate various tasks based on a process workflow design. Both tools are versatile and flexible and those without a knowledge of coding can manage, change, and integrate these solutions.

The post Business Rules Engine and Workflow Engine – Difference appeared first on CMW Lab Blog.

There are many aspects of the business that can greatly benefit from the use of automation and other workflow technologies. These technologies can help improve efficiency, reduce the time it takes for accounts to be resolved, and streamline a vast number of basic and even sophisticated business processes. One of the most important processes any business utilizes is the process of procurement, which can also benefit from automation.

What is procurement?

Procurement is a very important aspect of business functioning, regardless of what industry the business is in. Procurement management simply refers to the processes involved in getting various products and services, raw materials, and the like in the most cost- and time-efficient manner possible. It is easy to see why this is such an important department within any business structure, but sadly, for many organizations, the techniques, and technology used in procurement processes are woefully out-of-date and inefficient.

The old way of managing the procurement process

Until very recently, procurement was done by hand, using a pencil and paper, which not only reduces the efficiency of a company but leaves them open to human error. All of these things end up harming the all-important bottom line of a company, reducing efficiency and leading to problems associated with human error.

Inefficiency is a huge drag on any type of business, but within the procurement department, it can mean real cash flow issues. This can lead to disputes about transactions, which requires even more time to resolve to everyone’s liking. It can lead to a loss in revenues and end up delaying payments or purchases. All of this can start to add up over time, really dragging the business down in the process. In today’s cutthroat world of business, mistakes like this can spell the difference between success and failure in a business.

There are money-saving benefits to moving from the old manual way of handling procurement that can allow you to take advantage of early purchasing or payment discounts and also reduce the amount of time it takes to resolve accounts.

While we don’t want to oversimplify a pretty complex area of business operations, the procurement process entails three things: process, people, and paperwork.

Procurement in business will start with the process. The process simply refers to the different steps or tasks that are involved in each step of this part of business operations. The acquiring and paying for goods and services can become more complicated depending on the scale of the sale and this can leave more room for administrative error.

Next is people. This refers to the people within your organization that is tasked with handling each step of the purchase order process. Finally, we have paperwork. This is all the documentation that it takes to complete the purchase order process. Any documentation used is also going to be stored and kept for record-keeping purposes.

Procurement Process Flow

This involves detailing all the steps that are entailed in a purchase order, noting who is responsible for each step in the process, how the steps work together to complete a process, and the like.

Benefits to automating the procurement process flow

Given the importance of the procurement procedure, it is easy to see why this department would be a great candidate for the use of powerful automation software. This department doesn’t have room to make errors and yet, when people manually handle these processes, it is bound to happen. Not only can it reduce errors, but a process order app or other automation software can also increase transparency and simplify the different elements of the process. What follows are just some of the benefits of automating the procurement process.

• Reduced errors
• Increased transparency
• Less paper and confusion
• Reduces the amount of time it takes to resolve accounts and purchases
• Provides for a consistent process

In closing

Given the importance and vitality of the procurement department and their various processes, reducing error, the time it takes to resolve accounts, as well as simplifying the process and increasing transparency are all just plain good for business. The complexity of the purchase order process and the lag time for accounts being resolved is inefficient and wastes time and money. A failure to streamline this process puts businesses at a disadvantage against those who do use this powerful software. This type of investment not only reduces error, saves time, and reduces the need for human manual data entry, it will also pay for itself in a short period.

Ready to check in practice how workflow automation technology can help with effective procurement management? Don’t delay and give a try to Comindware Tracker, workflow software that is widely used by Chief Procurement Officers all over US and has proven its reliability.

The post What is procurement and how to keep it effective? appeared first on CMW Lab Blog.

At the same time, companies also need to cope with accounts payable – the concept that is almost the exact opposite of accounts receivable; it refers to companies having lines of credit with suppliers which they pay off over time. One of the biggest challenges with both accounts receivable and accounts payable is that different companies structure and handle their processing very differently.

These challenges alone can make a lot of work for an accountant but when this task is undertaken manually, the likelihood of error increases even more. This is why so many businesses and accountants use automated accounts receivable software that reduces the inefficiency often associated with accounts receivable, reduces the amount of time it takes to ensure proper payment or receipt of payment, and also reduces the chance of error in the process.

Below are the top 3 tips for utilizing accounts receivable workflow software to maximize efficiency and reduce human error.

1. Streamline Categorization and Proper Authorization

Not all suppliers and customers manage their bills in the same manner. Some will come to you in a digital format, others may come in as a more traditional hardcopy. Quality accounts receivable software makes processing a variety of documents in a range of different formats incredibly easy and straightforward. Such software will utilize several mechanisms to ensure that proper authorization is used when processing payments, and reduce the amount of time it takes to receive payment or pay vendors, while also ensuring a proper audit trail should something require some closer scrutiny.

This is important since there are likely to be many different people or companies that are being paid or invoiced. Quality software like Comindware Tracker makes automated authorization and processing as simple as just a few clicks of your mouse. It offers a user-friendly and easy-to-use interface, while still being a powerful toolset that provides real-time data and advanced analytics which can be invaluable to small- and medium-sized business owners. With a drag-and-drop interface, there is no need for someone with a ton of technical nor IT experience, so consider starting a 30-day free trial, today!

2. Improve the Efficiency of Data Entry and Validation

Manual data entry is a time-consuming process and any process that requires manual data entry leaves the door open for human error. Accounts receivable software comes with automated data entry tools that quickly allow you to import any new data without the worry of human error. Validation software helps with catching any potential errors in data in real-time, also helping companies improve accounts and problems resolution efficiency.

3. Don’t Slack on Verification

You never want to pay a bill or send a bill until you have verified that you really do need to make a payment or request one that is owed. Accounts receivable software offers automated mechanisms that verify the validity of payment requests and bills issued, to ensure that payments aren’t rendered or collected until they are verified by the software as being owed. This set of software tools will scan all relevant files to find any documentation associated with particular accounts as a means to verify payments before they are processed.

Businesses send and receive money regularly and many of them either extend credit to customers or utilize credit via suppliers and vendors. This means that accounts receivable, which is the metric that tracks outstanding payments, is so important for all businesses. The process of managing tons of different accounts, which are due at different times, and may be paid in different ways, can be a time-consuming and error-prone mess. This is why so many businesses rely on smart accounts receivable software that utilizes the latest technology and machine learning, integrating automation to make the process much more efficient and less prone to human error.

Comindware’s no-code workflow software empowers you to handle accounts receivable processing efficiently, ensure proper data entry, automatically verify invoice validity and much more.

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