In order to thrive in today’s competitive landscape, companies have to ensure they are running on maximum efficiency and productivity. That is why forward-thinking companies are embracing business process automation (BPA) as a strategy to eliminate inefficiencies, reduce human errors and cut costs. BPA leverages cutting-edge technologies such as AI to automate repetitive, time-consuming and manual tasks as well as workflows. By doing so, companies can free up their human talents, and get them to focus on higher-value tasks such as fostering collaborations and innovation.
The benefits of BPA are manifold. It saves companies tremendous man hours. Every operation is executed based on preset commands, and this ensures consistency. What’s more, every process in the entire operation is logged for transparency.
In this article, we take a look at a few examples of business processes that AI can automate, namely document processing and workflows, surveillance and human resource (HR) services.
Streamlining document processing and workflows
Businesses in the logistics industry often have to deal with a multitude of physical documents, including shipping orders, invoices, delivery acknowledgements, packing lists, claims and damage reports. In the past, administrators would have to scan the physical documents one by one. Additionally, when it came to book closing, accountants had to enter the data manually. This process was highly unproductive, time-consuming and prone to human errors.
Intelligent data capturing solutions such as IRISPowerscanTM, ThereforeTM Smart Capture, and Antelope Genie offered by Canon have streamlined these tedious processes. Boasting the capabilities of optical character, intelligent character and optical mark recognition, Canon’s solutions are able to scan, capture, sort and index any electronic and paper documents. Simply scan and upload the document, initiate or trigger a workflow, and the process can be automated moving forward.
Able to process huge volumes of invoices at a high speed, our solutions automatically extract and index the captured data. What’s more, they allow users to create input and output categories as well as workflows. With the latter, users can set up manual verification as a task, and the data will be routed to the assigned financial personnel for review.
Also, our solutions leverage data capture technology to extract relevant data – even handwritten notes – from physical documents. It can scan hundred-page documents and compare document versions for changes, all within a span of minutes.
Not only that, its workflow management tools allow companies to create custom, codeless operational flows. For example, it can generate email notifications, complete with necessary tracking information, and dispatch them to customers whenever a shipment is processed.
Enhancing surveillance and business operations
CCTVs have long been used in the security sector as a form of deterrence. However, their main limitation is that they can only capture footage for playback, thus resulting in delayed responses to incidents.
A game-changer, Canon’s AI-powered intelligent video analytics upgrades the capabilities of surveillance cameras from monitoring to real-time detection. Once integrated with the cameras, it can analyse and interpret video data to perform a variety of tasks, including detection of intrusion, loitering and violence. It sends instant notifications to security teams, alerting them to deploy first responders swiftly.
Not only that, it can scan and extract valuable information from huge volumes of video footage thanks to its advanced algorithms. Using functions such as heatmaps, people counting and demographic profiling, it can generate data-driven insights for businesses to enhance their operations for greater success. Retailers, for example, can reimagine their storefronts based on customer flow while office managers can identify resources with the highest usage for better allocation.
AI-powered CCTVs will help to alleviate the age-old woe of manpower crunch faced by the security sector. In industries such as manufacturing, healthcare and construction, there are many restricted areas that require 24/7 monitoring. These cutting-edge CCTVs can provide round-the-clock surveillance for absolute peace of mind.
Upping the effectiveness of HR functions through data
From sifting through resumes to onboarding new employees, HR functions are one of the most resource intensive in any workplace. With our AI chatbot under the Antelope Genie solution, HR personnel can now automate routine tasks such as resume prescreening. They can upload the resumes to the chatbot, enter a prompt that specifies the years of experience and field of expertise, and get it to filter out the relevant applications. This saves tremendous time, and allows them to focus their time and energy on interviewing the candidates.
When it comes to professional development, AI can also identify skill gaps, allowing HR personnel to formulate suitable training programmes for employees. All these help to shape an employee-centric organisation.
Take your company’s productivity levels to new heights with AI. Explore Canon’s solutions that can help your company kickstart its BPA journey, and the benefits they bring, by clicking on this link.
