Automate business processes: where do you start?

Many companies have several tasks that take up time every day: transferring inquiries, updating data, following up on offers or compiling reports. The first automation should therefore be a conscious choice. A clear, frequently recurring process is usually easier to check than an overall problem that is vaguely described.

Before choosing a tool, describe the process. What triggers him? When will it be completed? Who is working on it? Which systems and data are needed? These questions make it clear whether the task can already be automated or whether it needs to be clarified technically first.

Evaluate possible entries according to five criteria

The assessment does not have to result in a complicated score. A small comparison of several processes is often enough to choose the first candidate. Explicitly mark unknown assumptions rather than treating them as certain savings.

• Frequency: How often does the process actually occur?

• Effort: What manual steps are involved per process?

• Clarity: Are rules, responsibilities and the desired result known?

• Data access: Is the required information reliably available?

• Exceptions: What happens if information is incomplete, duplicates or errors?

Example: From the request to the responsible person

A possible process begins with a new request. The system checks the required information, searches for an existing contact and creates or updates the process in the CRM. The responsible person is then assigned based on agreed rules and informed about the next step.

A useful test also includes special cases: the same person asks again, important information is missing or the CRM is temporarily unavailable. The process must determine how these cases become visible and who takes them on. The example describes a possible architecture, not a guaranteed function in every existing tool.

Where fixed rules are enough and where AI helps

A clearly defined data field can often be transferred directly. A free-form email may need to be classified first. Here, AI can prepare information or provide a suggestion, while fixed rules control subsequent processing.

Determine in advance when a suggestion needs to be checked and which actions require approval. The use of AI is a technical decision within the process. It does not replace clear responsibilities or appropriate data.

Measure the initial state

Before you start, capture a small, appropriate sample of actual operations. Processing time, waiting time, queries and corrections are interesting. Separate active work from time when a task is just waiting for another person.

After the introduction, check the same sizes again. This way you can see whether the solution delivers the desired benefits or whether work has simply been moved elsewhere. A time saving in a model calculation remains an assumption until it is verified in everyday life.

Plan post-launch responsibilities

Appoint a person who sees exceptions and classifies technical changes. Document data sources, rules and key error paths. When a tool or process is changed, the automation must also be reviewed.

Systemlink supports companies in Switzerland and Germany with the analysis, implementation and agreed support of such processes. A clearly defined initial process creates the basis for prioritizing further topics according to their actual benefit.

Suitable services: Ops automation · AI automation

An illustrative process for the first pilot

Let's take a consultation request via a website form. In the example, the contact is first searched for in the CRM. An existing data record is supplemented and a new person is clearly created. The request is then assigned to a responsible person and a next activity is created. This example is not a description of a specific customer project.

Acceptance checks the entire process: a new request, a second request from the same person, missing mandatory information and a temporarily unavailable interface. A process is only usable if an error is visible and does not simply disappear in the background.

A checklist for acceptance

Compare the results with the previously agreed definition. Is all the required data available? Can the responsible person take over the process? Can you tell which action has already been carried out? Can an incorrect assignment be corrected?

Record open points and responsibility for ongoing operations. A documented small process is a better basis for the next expansion than several unclear automations that no one fully understands.

Related to this topic: Customer onboarding & project processes · AI automation in medium-sized businesses: defining a viable pilot.