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5 WAYS TO HELP AUTOMATE YOUR BUSINESS

StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article |Automate your Business|5 WAYS TO HELP AUTOMATE YOUR BUSINESAutomation is a process of replacing manual human needed in executing tasks with any form of technology. Automation is an area of business that is of immense benefit as it uses technology to perform business tasks or processes, where human effort or supervision would be otherwise needed. By incorporating automation, business-owners can boost efficiency, minimize operating costs, and ensure near-perfect consistency in business activities.

Although automation is great for business, certain factors must be considered before integration into your business. Areas any business owner should focus on are tasks or processes that are reoccurring, repetitive, algorithms can handle easily or time-consuming. Choosing the right tasks to automate is key to the growth of a business. So, here are five easy ways to help automate your business.

1. Social Media Automation

Social media has become an essential part of any business, especially in small businesses. Social media can help businesses to build an online reputation, raise awareness for their products or services, engage customers and potential customers, get feedback, and demonstrate expertise.

Automating your social media is a great way to help boost productivity, with tools that integrate your social media platforms and schedule posts across various social media platforms. There are several available such as Buffer, Hootsuite, ContenCal, etc.

2. Integration of AI Learning

The capabilities of Artificial intelligence have grown significantly over the last decade. It is now possible to feed AI’s business metrics in the form of data points that allow AI to optimize your business activities like price and digital marketing send. The benefits of Integrating AI are not no exhaustive, as there are constant developments and updates.

3. Automated Updates and Responses

Setting up automated updates and responses is great for reoccurring activities that involve your customers. Such as automated email updates that welcome new subscribers or inform them of recent transactions with your business or business promotions

The automated updates can intelligently respond to basic questions and regular inquiries customers may have, based on pre-set guides.

4. Documentation and Data Gathering

Automation in business is not limited to digital relations alone; it is also useful in areas of data gathering and documentation. Several documents and data are transferred in email correspondence, and keeping track of all the paperwork can be very time-consuming and tiring.

With automation software such as ERP Development, all the paperwork and documentation are automatically sorted according to your pre-set rules.

5. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)software

ERP software one of the best ways to ensure effective business automation. As it is a system that centralizes various aspects of business process management i.e., human resources, logistics, finance, documentation, orders, billing, inventory, customer management, and all that comprises the said business. ERP is basically a business management software.

However, the ERP software is not a generic solution, as it must be developed to suit every businesses’ metrics. Therefore in ERP Development, the software system must be modeled after the metrics of every business.

Conclusively, the first step to ensuring effective automation is to observe the repetitive and time-consuming areas of your business. Also, the development of ERP software will help in centralizing all the aspects of your business.

Six Ways to Improve Your Business’ Efficiency

StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article |Business Efficiency|Six Ways to Improve Your Business’ EfficiencyTime is money, and for that reason one of the single best ways to improve your bottom line is to improve your business’ efficiency. This applies to every single aspect of your company, from supply chain all the way to employee management. Some will require trial and error, yes, and you will learn as you go (even if you are an established business). Other efficiency solutions, however, come in the form of new business management tactics and tech tools.

There are so many ways that you can improve your business’ efficiency, and this guide will help you get started:

1. Software to Manage Remote Traveling Teams

If your business operates via house calls (plumbers, electricians, movers, tech experts, etc) then you need a unique, effective solution to manage your team on the go. There are so many applications to service dispatch software that go beyond just team management as well. You can provide customers with live updates, provide map directions to your team, and add new or recurring jobs without causing any schedule conflicts.

2. Software to Manage Remote Work from Home Teams

The best option to keep track of what your work from home teams are doing is through a simple project management solution. Have each team create a set of sub-goals for their task, so they can easily update you, the manager, on their progress. This way you don’t have to check in and interrupt the workflow just to get a sense of where they are at with their task. You can just look online, and make note of what teams are making good progress, and which ones seem to be struggling.

3. Cloud Technology

The reason why you will want to use cloud technology is that it enables the same data and tools to be shared to all of your remote employees without requiring them to download that information or those tools directly to their own computer. Furthermore it also allows for instantaneous collaboration, so your employees can get work done in live time, rather than interrupting themselves with long email chains.

4. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)

Separate cloud systems are not perfect. Ideally they need to be able to talk to one another so that you can set up automated tasks, updates, and reminders. The most extensive option that will allow for this is an ERP system. Enterprise Resource Planning is meant for large, multi-national corporations, but there are plenty of smaller-scale options that fulfill the same basic functions: collaboration and automation.

5. Supply Chain Optimization

If 2020 taught businesses anything, it is that complex supply chains are not sustainable. There are too many variables that come into play that could interrupt the supply chain and put everyone down the line in a vulnerable position. Try to optimize your supply chain by removing unnecessary steps, and even by working with more local suppliers to ensure steady shipment.

6. Redesigning Waste

It isn’t just time you can work to improve. Redesign packaging, your printing model, and even the raw materials you use so that you can reduce waste at its source. Save by minimizing waste, and be a better business for it.