Every organization relies on workflows to move forward. Some workflows are well documented, while others are simply a chain of tasks, handoffs, and decisions to keep data moving in a certain way. If your workflows rely on manual steps to keep moving, they’re costing you more than you realize.
Why You Need Automated Workflows
Workflow automation is the practice of using software to handle repetitive or rules-based tasks automatically. By automating your workflow, you remove the manual steps that slow things down and create room for errors.
An automated workflow does three basic things:
- Detects when something has happened
- Applies logic to determine what should happen next
- Executes the right action
Your ERP is where orders are created, invoices are posted, inventory levels change, and customers are updated. Each of those events is critical for how your business runs, and there may be steps within those processes that are manual today but could become automated.
The Benefits of Workflow Automation
Workflow automation allows you to create processes that don’t rely on manual execution or triggering, offering multiple benefits you can take advantage of.
Consistency
When your workflow relies on manual processes, people don’t always perform them the same way. They develop their own shortcuts, skip steps under pressure, or think about tasks differently, ending with varied results. Automated workflows run the same way every time, which means your data stays cleaner and your processes stay auditable.
Speed
A workflow that waits for a person to notice or act on it can take hours or days. When automated, the same workflow can be completed in seconds. For customer-facing processes, like order confirmations or support updates, that speed (or lack of it) is seen by your clients.
Scalability
Manual workflows can only scale so much. If your transaction volume grows, the time and team needed to manage it grows too, unless that process is automated. Workflow automation lets your operations scale without an increase in manpower.
Visibility
If a process lives inside someone’s head or inbox, it’s impossible to track. Automated workflows create a visible record you can refer back to. See what ran, when, what succeeded, and what failed. That visibility makes it easier to catch problems early on while continuously improving the process.
Focus
Finally, workflow automation gives your team back the time they’ve been spending on repetitive tasks. Instead of focusing on busywork, they can direct their energy toward the decisions that matter most.
How eOne Fits In
Workflow automation in an ERP environment requires tools that understand how ERP data moves, and eOne’s iPaaS can handle it all.
SmartConnect
SmartConnect is where integration-driven automation lives. It connects your ERP to the systems around it and automates the movement and transformation of data based on schedules or triggers. This looks like:
- A new customer recorded in your CRM automatically creates a corresponding record in your ERP.
- A posted invoice triggers an update to your reporting database.
- A completed fulfillment syncs back to your eCommerce platform.
SmartConnect handles the field mapping, transformation logic, and error handling that make these workflows reliable without requiring custom development every time a process changes.
Popdock
Popdock brings automation to the reporting and data access layer. Rather than building static reports that someone has to manually run, distribute, and maintain, Popdock lets teams query and surface the data they need on demand, embedded in the tools they already use.
With Popdock, the right data reaches the right people on schedule without anyone manually pulling and sending it. That means fewer data requests to IT, and faster access to the information that drives important decisions.
PopdockAI
PopdockAI extends automation into natural language. Instead of navigating menus or waiting for a report to be built, you can ask questions about your data in plain language and get immediate answers. PopdockAI removes the manual back-and-forth between the person who has the question and the person who knows how to pull the data to answer it.
Together, these tools address workflow automation across the lifecycle of all your processes.
Where to Start
If you’re ready to start automating your workflows, the easiest place to begin is by auditing your processes and identifying the most repetitive ones. You should also determine which processes are the most error-prone or dependent on a single person.
Once you know what you want to automate, you can dive into the tools within your integration layer. When your systems share data automatically and reliably, every other workflow built on top becomes easier to automate.
Curious about workflow automation and the eOne iPaaS? Contact our team to learn more today.
