The Difference between Business Process Automation and Digital Process Automation

What is the definition of Business Process Automation?

Business Process Automation (BPA) is defined by Gartner as “the automation of complex business processes and functions beyond conventional data manipulation and record-keeping activities, usually through the use of advanced technologies.”

This means that Business Process Automation can be applied to manual, repeatable tasks throughout an organization to improve efficiency, while at the same time connecting applications and streamlining processes throughout departments, from employee onboarding in Human Resources to procurement in Finance.

What is the difference between Business Process Automation and Digital Process Automation?

This is a very good question, and there is much debate around whether the two terms differ. But the two terms can be, and are, used interchangeably.

The term Digital Process Automation (DPA) was first used by Forrester in 2017. Bizagi was named a leader in the Forrester Wave for Digital Process Automation for Deep Deployments in 2019.

DPA uses software to help orchestrate the people applications, devices, and information across an organization, which is also an accurate description of BPA.

What is the difference between Business Process Management and Business Process Automation?

Business Process Management (BPM) is a related practice to BPA. BPM is more focused on the process models themselves, and how to model, analyze, measure improve and optimize business processes, according to Gartner’s definition.

Business Process Automation on the other hand applies to a broader set of activities: automating those processes and then applying them throughout the business to improve efficiency, promote collaboration, and enable connectivity.

It should be noted though, that BPA evolved from BPM. The method builds on traditional BPM to help businesses further optimize end-to-end processes and deliver enterprise-wide digital transformation.

What are the benefits of Business Process Automation?

• Improve efficiency – quickly completes tasks, without any manual interference, saving time and money
• Enhance the customer experience – makes data available that allows the customer journey to be put into context and helps organizations to create more personalized experiences
• Enable connectivity – integrates systems and eliminates silos to provide a single view of business data to enable better informed and more efficient decision making
• Promote connectivity – Business and IT teams can collaborate more effectively through a single platform
• Business orchestration – supports the coordination of people, systems, and information across the organization to support business strategy

What are examples of organizations using Business Process Automation?

Transportation & Logistics | Deutsche Post DHL Group, the world’s leading logistics company deployed Bizagi globally for 280,000 users to drive automation orchestration from end-to-end.

The Bizagi platform was deployed globally by its Global Business Services (GBS) team across the Deutsche Post DHL Group in 17 languages. The objectives are to integrate and optimize business operations, processing over 2 million cases per year. In the Duty VAT Billing process, Bizagi worked alongside Oracle, UiPath, and ABBYY, providing digital process automation to enable end-to-end automation of the process, achieving a 95% automation ratio.

Bizagi was also used to create a Vendor Master Data Management Portal to improve the user experience for employees, customers, and stakeholders. Bizagi eliminated the need for manual intervention by connecting the systems and saved many full-time equivalent (FTE) job positions with end-to-end automation.

Manufacturing & Retail | Adidas, the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe, transformed its supply chain across 400 factories to improve operational efficiency by 60%.

Using Bizagi and an agile methodology meant less development, more efficiency, and cost reduction. adidas standardized processes and made them reusable to deliver automation across various departments including supply chain, marketing, finance, retail, and eCommerce. The highly successful initiative reduced the time to market by two-thirds when compared with the traditional in-house development.

Visit our Case Studies: Success stories from organizations across industries and around the globe

Do I need a platform to deploy business process automation in my organization?

Having a digital platform to enable BPA is a great way to establish end-to-end automation of processes across your organization. It unites the business and IT departments in the business for better collaboration. The platform also acts as an orchestrator that brings together siloed data to give a better view of all customer information.

Find out more about how you can use Bizagi to orchestrate the people, applications, devices, and information across your entire organization.

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