Understanding the Perils of Manual Operations for Small and Medium-Sized Organizations

SILVER SPRING, Md. - July 22, 2024 - PRLog -- Leaders at small and medium organizations (SMOs) may not match their larger counterparts in terms of scale and budget for technology investments. That said, modernization, automation, and business transformation are increasingly recognized as the keys to remaining competitive and meeting the evolving expectations of customers and other stakeholders. The good news is that new developments in technology and the emergence of new services have democratized SMO access to a growing array of business process automation capabilities.

A growing body of research (https://hbr.org/sponsored/2023/04/how-automation-drives-business-growth-and-efficiency) confirms that automation represents an existential imperative for all organizations. It is increasingly clear that those who fail to embrace emerging technologies in general—and business automation in particular—risk falling behind in efficiency, cost management, and customer satisfaction. Avoiding modernization, if not outright transformation, has many consequences.

Manual tasks take longer to complete than those that are automated. This extra time translates into more expense and results in opportunity costs by diverting talent from more important activities that could add greater value to the business.

These direct labor costs are compounded by indirect costs, such as increased supervision, training, possibly overtime, and—importantly—human error, which can lead to extra work, delays, and potential damage to a company's reputation. On this point, compliance risks are a concern, as mistakes in manual data entry can result in fines and legal issues as well as bad press.

Resource utilization is another area where manual processes fall short. Unautomated operations often require physical documents, leading to higher paper, printing, and storage costs. Storing physical documents takes up space that could be used more productively.

Finally, manual processes often lead to poor data integration, a serious handicap in today's real-time business environment. This hinders decision-making and introduces friction in the customer experience. SMBs may miss out on new technology that could improve their competitive edge.

Quantifying these costs can vary widely depending on the specific business and industry. However, studies have shown that automating tasks can lead to significant savings. For example, McKinsey reports (https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/future-of-work...) that about 60% of all jobs have at least 30% of activities that could be automated. This, researchers note, can lead to 20-50% in labor cost reductions for certain tasks.

To read the full report visit:

https://www.biztechreports.com/news-archive/2024/7/7/unde...