Leverage Artificial Intelligence in Business Process Management
Everyone in the business world is talking about artificial intelligence today. Even as you read, new technologies are emerging that have the potential to completely change the way businesses work today. But like any other technology, it is only as powerful as its application. Rather than treat it like yet another technological development, it must be deployed as a business transformation tool. Businesses that learn how to combine AI capabilities with business logic, will leap ahead of the competition in no time.
But before we look into the role of artificial intelligence in business, let’s first talk about business process management.
What Is Business Process Management?
BPM came into existence in the late 1980s and has today become an indispensable management tool for most enterprises. As the name suggests, BPM is the study of finding ways to streamline business processes to get the maximum value from operations. Today, BPM has revolutionized the way we work by providing better decision-making, faster results, improved quality and better efficiency in most areas of work.
What is artificial intelligence in the context of business process management? The development of AI has been specifically to use computer systems and programs to perform tasks that have traditionally been executed by humans. Oftentimes this includes repetitive yet critical tasks that require accuracy and speed. Today, AI has evolved to a level where algorithms can learn from data, recognize patterns, make decisions and solve problems, akin to human intelligence.
What are the implications of this technological development? Enterprises that adopt AI can streamline, improve and enhance their business process management to a level not imagined before, with a direct impact on their bottom line. Let’s delve deeper into the numerous immediate applications of artificial intelligence in business process management.
Applications Of Artificial Intelligence In Business Process Management
Process Simulation
AI and machine learning are excellent at identifying patterns from historical process data and creating future scenarios to be tested. An enterprise can quickly estimate key performance indicators, including process costs and lead times, while also identifying possible bottlenecks in the process. Doing so can help them gauge the impact of any process changes in advance. By studying each step in detail, they can spot likely delays, the frequency of each process step, and the overall cost of the entire process broken down independently. This helps companies get a better understanding of their overall processes and make better decisions.
Process Mining
Artificial Intelligence has access to a vast repository of data and it can help improve business processes through process mining. AI can step in and analyze log data or event logs from CRM or ERP systems, and identify patterns and relationships between these data blocks. This gives a business a better perspective of the process flow and helps identify individual steps. Any deviations from the defined process can be quickly detected, preventing operational and financial damage due to delays, bottlenecks, weaknesses, and errors. This allows companies to address potential issues before they escalate.
The biggest advantage that AI-driven process mining offers is that processes can be monitored in real time and not just analyzed after their completion. This allows companies to step in immediately and solve the problem or take advantage of any opportunities.
Process Automation
AI is great for helping minimize the use of your human resources to perform manual, repetitive, and rule-based tasks. With the responsibilities shifted to a digital robot, the enterprise benefits from speedier processes, reduced costs and minimal errors. The bigger advantage of AI business process automation is that employees get the bandwidth to focus on more critical tasks and human resources are utilized more effectively.
What can you shift to AI? Tasks, such as evaluating purchase inquiries, processing invoices, planning employee onboarding, and even submitting employee vacation requests don’t require specific skills and can be automated easily. As technology improves, more complex tasks can be automated, leaving human intelligence free to pursue more insight-driven assignments.
Intelligent Decision-making
In most organizations, decision-making is time-consuming since it involves multiple stakeholders. With AI in the picture, some of the burden can be eased. AI can access more information, faster, and process structured as well as unstructured data from multiple sources. It can identify and extract relevant data, recognize patterns and simulate alternate scenarios. This helps decision-makers take into account all possible consequences and take the correct decision. In some cases, AI can even recommend the optimal decision.
AI can also be completely entrusted with process decisions if there are predefined rules or patterns, thus eliminating the need for human intervention. This way there are fewer errors and decision-making is faster.
Predictive Analytics
AI’s ability to access and process historical data faster than humans gives it the unique advantage of being able to predict risks, faster than humans. The biggest plus about this is that enterprises can use the patterns that unfold to make future forecasts about certain processes. For instance, predictions allow companies to respond to market changes faster and adjust their delivery to cater to demands in time. Internally, a business can identify bottlenecks in its process and take the necessary steps to prevent delays in its workflows.
Some areas that AI can help with are pricing strategies, sales projections, customer service, machine maintenance, employee engagement and turnover management, and even credit fraud. With AI in place, a business can make decisions today regarding likely scenarios that may develop in the future.
Advantages Of AI In Business Process Management
Not every business requires AI in every aspect of its operations. However, irrespective of how AI is deployed, its advantages in Business Process Management cannot be denied. With technology by its side, an enterprise can expect:
Greater Productivity
AI has the power to optimize existing business processes simply by automating repetitive and time-consuming tasks, thus allowing employees to focus on more demanding tasks.
Improved Quality
With AI, tasks are fulfilled with greater accuracy and consistently so. Also, with reduced human error, there is enhanced quality in business processes.
Real-time Decisions
Fluctuations in the market will no longer faze businesses since AI can instantly analyze real-time data and help them respond to changing customer requirements faster.
Full Objectivity
AI has the capacity to factor in all available information within a short period. Furthermore, AI’s analysis is unbiased and not reliant on personal experiences or preferences.
Extensive Data Analysis
AI can analyze vast amounts of structured as well as unstructured data, provide advanced data analysis and processing, identify patterns and make accurate predictions. This helps enterprises make better-informed decisions.
Risk Management
AI has the ability to rapidly identify potential risks in business processes by identifying anomalies in data, thus helping companies take proactive action to avoid or minimize damages.
The Future Of The Role Of Artificial Intelligence In Business
There is no denying that AI technologies are advancing rapidly and more and more businesses are adopting AI-driven process management. The right combination of human intelligence, acumen and judgment with artificial intelligence has the power to revolutionize the way the business world operates.