Why SME's Should Consider Back Office Automation

SME’s are experiencing challenging times. It’s no secret that today's high inflation environment is creating big challenges for SME's. Input costs are rising, shrinking margins, and putting pressure on cashflow.

Back office automation can benefit small businesses in many ways, such as:

• Improving efficiency and productivity by reducing manual errors, optimizing workflows, and saving time on repetitive tasks.

• Lowering operating costs and increasing profits by eliminating the need for hiring, training, and retaining staff for back office functions and streamlining these business functions.

• Enhancing the customer experience by providing faster and more accurate service, offering flexible payment options, and providing personalised offers and discounts.

• Empowering employees and improving morale by freeing up time spent on mundane tasks and allowing them to focus on more creative, value adding and personally satisfying tasks.

• Increasing cash flow and profitability by optimising payment cycles, automating the management of inventory levels, and allowing for better deals to be negotiated with suppliers.

• Enhancing your competitive advantage and improving innovation by leveraging data analytics, artificial intelligence, and cloud computing. When used well these can allow you to gain insights, improve decision making, and create new products and services with ease.

Sounds like a no brainer right? Well, yes but there are risks to consider when planning a back office automation project. These can include:

• There is often internal resistance to change. Some employees may be reluctant or unable to adapt to the new technologies and processes, resulting in reduced performance, morale, and satisfaction.

• Legacy system integration needs consideration as some automation tools may not be compatible with your existing systems. This could lead to operational disruptions and data vulnerabilities.

• Cybersecurity should also be considered as automation may expose your business to threats from hackers or data breaches and violations.

• Project managing an implementation project can also be challenging. These projects may require significant time, cost, and resources to manage, as well as employee training and upskilling to avoid operational set backs and unbudgeted project costs.

• There may also be ongoing running costs for automation software that will require budget consideration, including software fees and human resources to maintain it.

There are many back office automation software solutions available for small businesses that have different levels of functionality and integration. I recommend getting advice on what solutions will best fit your business needs and budget and weighing up the pros and cons before costing out your implementation project.

If you are interested in learning more about what solutions would add the most value to your business contact Key Executive Solutions for a discussion today.