How to Automate Your Way Out of Annoying Manual Practices

For all its many benefits, digital transformation comes with its risks. And one of the biggest is, perhaps, you and me. Or more generally, humans. Even the best technology solution can be hijacked by resistance, anxiety or a lack of understanding. It’s us, you see, not the systems, that are most likely to place a rather large speed bump on any tech-driven pathway.

This is particularly true for automation initiatives. We constantly hear that automation will take our jobs and render us mere humans obsolete.  But despite this fear, the reality is far more nuanced. 

First, less than 5% of jobs consist entirely of activities that can be fully automated​ – that is according to a report by the McKinsey Global Institute. McKinsey also notes that in about 60% of occupations, at least one-third of the activities that make up a specific job could be automated. This means that rather than completely eliminating jobs, automation is more likely to transform them by taking over repetitive and mundane tasks, freeing workers to focus on other more strategically minded activities. 

Second, successful organisations know that they must continue to focus on employees as much as on technology. While automation can indeed lead to job displacement, it’s also likely that by introducing new ways of doing things, employees will begin to work alongside the new technologies. This collaboration not only enhances productivity but also creates opportunities for upskilling and career advancement, as workers adapt to new roles that involve overseeing and managing automated systems​.

So, while automation may eat into your job, it certainly isn’t the enemy it is often thought to be. In fact, it could just make your work life a whole lot better and more rewarding.

Let’s explore some rather mundane tasks that procurement and supply chain professionals can do away with using automation, and how it may benefit you and the company employing you.

Requisition Processing

• Task: Creating and approving purchase requisitions.
• Solution: E-procurement software allows easy creation and routing of purchase requisitions through approval workflows. Once approved, requisitions can be automatically converted into purchase orders. 
• Benefit: Automated systems streamline the creation, approval, and tracking of requisitions, reducing manual entry errors and speeding up the process.

Supplier Selection and Evaluation

• Task: Identifying and evaluating potential suppliers.
• Solution: Tools use artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities, to automatically assess and rank suppliers based on predefined (and, most importantly, human-defined) criteria, effectively automating the traditionally manual supplier evaluation process
• Benefit: This dramatically reduces the time and effort required for supplier evaluation to yield notable time and cost savings.

Purchase Order Creation

• Task: Generating and sending purchase orders.
• Solution: Automated systems generate purchase orders based on requisitions or reorder levels, incorporating customised budgets, permissions, approval workflows, and policies.
• Benefit: This significantly reduces manual workload and errors, enhances accuracy, and speeds up the procurement process while maintaining compliance with organisational policies.

Invoice Matching and Approval

• Task: Matching invoices with purchase orders and receipts.
• Solution: Automation software reconciles invoices with POs and receipts, flags discrepancies, and routes for approval with minimal delays, expediting the payment process. 
• Benefit: Automations like these reduce manual errors and processing time, ensure accuracy, and make financial operations more efficient, leading to faster payments and improved supplier relationships.

Contract Management

• Task: Drafting, storing, and monitoring contracts.
• Solution: Automated systems can organise contracts, set reminders for renewals, and ensure compliance. 
• Benefit: Efficient contract handling like this leads to streamlined operations, reduced risk of non-compliance, and timely renewals. It also enhances the accessibility and management of contracts.

Inventory Tracking

• Task: Monitoring stock levels and reordering supplies.
• Solution: Automated inventory management systems can track stock levels in real-time, generate reorder alerts, and create purchase orders when inventory falls below predefined thresholds.
• Benefit: This automation is powerful. By preventing stockouts and situations where companies are holding excess stock, you can maintain optimal inventory levels, reduce manual tracking efforts, and improve overall operational efficiency. It also enhances accuracy in inventory data, leading to better forecasting and inventory control.

Supplier Communication

• Task: Communicating with suppliers about orders, deliveries, and issues.
• Solution: Supplier portals and automated communication tools streamline interactions and updates. 
• Benefit: Automations like these can streamline interactions and updates, ensuring timely and efficient communication. For example, you can reduce the need for manual follow-ups and improve the overall efficiency of supplier management, leading to better relationships and more reliable supply chains.

Spend Analysis and Reporting

• Task: Analysing procurement spend and generating reports.
• Solution: Automated tools – powered by advanced algorithms and AI –  can consolidate and analyse data from various sources, categorising spend by supplier, category, and department. They can pinpoint spending patterns, anomalies, and opportunities for savings. Then wrap it all up in detailed, real-time narrative reports that highlight key metrics and trends.
• Benefit: Enhanced visibility into spending patterns allows procurement teams to quickly identify cost-saving opportunities, negotiate better terms with suppliers, and improve budget management. It also reduces manual data entry errors, saves time, and supports consistent and accurate reporting.

Compliance Monitoring

• Task: Ensuring procurement activities comply with regulations and internal policies.
• Solution: Automated systems can track procurement activities against regulatory requirements and internal policies in real-time. These systems use predefined rules and machine learning to monitor transactions, flag potential compliance issues, and generate compliance reports. They also alert you when discrepancies are detected.
• Benefit: Real-time tracking and reporting ensure continuous compliance, reducing the risk of regulatory breaches and associated penalties.

Supplier Performance Management

• Task: Evaluating and tracking supplier performance.
• Solution: Automated systems monitor and evaluate supplier performance using key metrics such as delivery times, quality of goods, compliance with contract terms, and overall reliability. They are able to collect and analyse data from multiple sources, generating detailed performance reports and dashboards as they go. 
• Benefit: This leads to better supplier relationships and enhanced supply chain efficiency while ensuring suppliers meet performance standards.

So, the next time you’re bogged down in spreadsheets and data, tracking down exports from multiple systems, or staring at outdated reports, remember, there’s likely an automation that could significantly improve things for you and your team. And far from threatening your job, it may make your job a whole lot more rewarding.