For high-tech manufacturers, the business is more than just a manufacturing plant; it's an entire ecosystem—and it's essential to manage the whole gamut of processes within the organization and ensure they run smoothly. Business process automation is precisely what high-tech manufacturing companies need.

Automating business processes is a great way to improve efficiency, save time and money, and increase the quality of products. But it's often difficult for companies to know where to start regarding automation.

In this blog post, we'll talk about five business processes that can be automated using Business Process Automation (BPA) software and help high-tech manufacturers streamline these processes.

High Tech Manufacturing: A Unique Business

High-tech manufacturing is unique because of the extreme complexity of its supply chain network, continuous upgrades required for better product quality and performance, and strict adherence to compliance norms. They need to be able to quickly identify and solve problems without causing any production interruptions while doing so.

The key to meeting these challenges is through business process automation. It is a method by which companies can streamline their operations, making it easier for them to execute their core competencies while freeing up time and resources that they would otherwise need to spend on routine tasks. 

Process 1: Order to Cash

The order-to-cash cycle is a sequence of steps from the beginning of the order (when a high-tech manufacturer first receives it) until that manufacturer receives payment for that product or service. It reflects whether or not the company can meet its customers' needs promptly and if it can provide its services efficiently. Manufacturing firms must ensure that this Order to Cash cycle is efficient and effective, or potential customers will go elsewhere.

Business process automation can help increase the efficiency of the Cash process by reducing manual steps involved in completing orders (e.g., data entry), automating payments through ACH or wire transfer, and automating invoice processing. 

Process 2: Asset Service Management

High-tech manufacturing is an asset-intensive business, constantly introducing new machines, tools, and equipment into its facilities. But managing these assets can be a daunting task. Asset management in manufacturing companies is often manual and involves gathering data from various sources and generating reports for management at different levels of an organization — including senior-level decision-making.

Companies can use a BPA solution to help them manage and maintain their tangible assets. With business process automation, manufacturers can get an overview of all the tangible assets—even those that are spread out across multiple locations—and make sure they're being taken care of in an efficient and cost-effective way. 

Process 3: Payroll Processing

Payroll is one of the essential functions in any organization, but it can also be extremely time-consuming—especially when dealing with a large number of employees. Not only do manufacturers need to calculate each employee's salary based on their position, but they also need to make sure that all of the appropriate taxes are calculated and paid on time, as well as any other benefits that are owed under human resources policies (such as vacation days).

Business process automation software can help in payroll processing by enabling companies to easily create employee paychecks, track hours worked, and other relevant information. It will save money in the long run because it doesn't require additional employees and will also help reduce errors than traditional methods.

Process 4: Regulatory Compliance

High-tech manufacturers must ensure that their products meet regulatory requirements at every stage of production and distribution. Failure to do so can result in fines or lawsuits from government agencies or private organizations such as consumer protection groups or trade unions.

The problem is that the regulations themselves can be quite complex, and they change all the time. Enter business process automation. With BPA, manufacturers can automate the processes and integrate the systems, which means access to all the information in one place—without the need to hunt for it across different platforms.

It will make it much easier for high-tech manufacturers to meet regulatory requirements with just a few clicks instead of going through multiple steps manually (and potentially making mistakes). By automating this process using BPA software, high-tech firms will save time while ensuring that all processes operate within legal parameters at all times.

Process 5: Incident Reporting

Incident reporting is critical to any company's operations, but it can be time-consuming and expensive if done manually. It's challenging to track what's happening in one plant, let alone across multiple plants with thousands of employees.

Implementing automated workflow features helps companies comply with OSHA incident reporting requirements. However, it is only half the battle—putting the right technology in place is just as important as ensuring that all employees adopt and comply with new processes once implemented.

With business process automation, high-tech manufacturers can create a straightforward and easy-to-understand incident reporting process that anyone can follow. This automated process helps address the issue quickly and resolve it as soon as possible.

Bonus Process: Supplier Conformance Process 

Supplier conformance is a process that helps manufacturers to determine if the suppliers are meeting the set quality standards. It's essential to have a formal process in place for supplier evaluation because it gives an objective way of measuring their performance and ensuring they're producing high-quality products.

With so many suppliers and products worldwide, it can take much work to keep track of them all. That's where business process automation comes in.

High-tech manufacturers can improve the supplier conformance process by automating data collection and analysis to audit conformance without relying on human labor or manual processes. This way, high-tech manufacturers can ensure suppliers adhere to all necessary regulations.

Key Takeaway

High-tech manufacturing is a complex business, but it's possible to automate. With the right BPA software and a little creativity, high-tech manufacturers can easily automate many manufacturing processes. 

Elbit Systems Ltd., a global innovator, and developer of defense, homeland security, and commercial systems, modernized its application development process by deploying AgilePoint.

AgilePoint's low-code framework allows IT to build reusable no-code components that interact seamlessly with the company's underlying systems.

Through AgilePoint's low-code framework, Elbit analysts would create applications that serve as shared services among subsidiaries, the parent company, and other partners – and orchestrate among them while complying with regulatory requirements.

If you want to learn more about how AgilePoint's Business Process Automation solutions can help your manufacturing company automate its workflow and save time and money, contact AgilePoint today!