How do companies identify processes that are worth digitizing?

Every company has processes that are worth digitizing, but how do you identify them and approach the topic? In this article, we provide you with initial ideas for selecting and digitizing processes with digitization potential.

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What are processes worth digitizing?

This refers to business processes that are improved through the use of digital technologies, automation or data-driven approaches be improved, optimized or transformed These are, for example, processes that currently still require a lot of manual work or are partly carried out on paper.

Here are a few examples of processes where improvements can be achieved quite quickly, so-called quick wins:

• Cost management:
  • Use apps or software to easily record and manage business expenses and expense reports.
• Holiday requests:
  • Implementation of a digital system for managing vacation requests and monitoring vacation quotas.
• Onboarding employees:
  • Digitization of the onboarding process through electronic forms, digital training materials and e-learning platforms.

The selection of processes worth digitizing depends on the specific challenges and goals of a company. It is important to identify the processes where digitization brings the greatest benefit and fits the company's strategic goals.

To identify processes that are worth digitizing, the company should plan sufficient time and appropriate resources. The identification process is a project that should be carried out with the utmost care and commitment. This is the only way to ensure that the right processes are selected that meaningfully contribute to achieving business goals.

What could a concrete use case for a company look like?

A concrete use case for companies could be that they first identify one or more processes that they consider worthy of digitization. A concrete example could be travel expense accounting and the associated approval process.

Power App for travel expense reports

In many companies, employees regularly travel on business and then have to settle their travel expenses. This is not only time-consuming, but also often prone to errors. By handling this process digitally, the billing and approval process is simplified and improved so that it costs the company less time and less money and more resources are freed up for higher-value tasks.

To achieve this goal, various functions are added to the Power App that allow employees to record their travel expenses via the app. All costs and expenses related to the trip are entered in the fields provided and the corresponding receipts are uploaded. The app automatically calculates the total amount of travel costsMeal allowances depending on travel times, possible advance payments or project-related payments can also be taken into account.

After successful travel expense recording, a automatic approval workflow triggered, which notifies the responsible supervisors that a new approval process is waiting in the mailbox. The supervisors now have the option of accessing the respective invoice with one click, checking it and approving or rejecting it accordingly. The Power App can track and document the respective status of the travel expense report in the approval process and display it on demand.

After successful approval, the invoice is automatically forwarded to the relevant accounting department to process the reimbursement. Appropriate interfaces to the accounting software can also be integrated into the application to automatically import the reimbursement amounts and other data. In addition, reporting functions can also be built into the travel expense report tool to help Control travel expenses and improve budget planning.

What are the benefits of a travel expense app created with Microsoft Power Apps?

The travel expenses app offers many advantages over manual processing. Overall, Paper and Excel forms avoided and automatic calculations are carried out, which significantly shortens the processing process. Other advantages are:

• Reduction of processing costs: Data entry errors are greatly reduced and delays in the approval process are eliminated.
• Greater transparency and control: The data and status of the processing are accessible to all parties involved at all times.
• Improving compliance: New travel expense policies can be implemented automatically via the app.
• Increased employee satisfaction and flexibility: Travel expenses can be recorded from anywhere, even on the go, using a mobile device.

Conclusion

This simple use case shows how much efficiency improvement potential can be found in a single process that is worth digitizing. Power Apps are very flexible and can be can be adapted to individual requirements with manageable development effort and are used in a wide range of business areas. This offers companies a great opportunity to significantly increase their efficiency and productivity and to achieve their goals in terms of profitability and innovation.

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Blog series on the Power Platform

This is the third article in a four-part series. Here are the other articles on the Microsoft Power Platform:

1. What is behind the Microsoft Power Platform?
2. Microsoft Power Platform: Was ist Low Code/No Code?
3. Microsoft Power Platform: How do companies identify processes worth digitizing?
4. What benefits can companies generate from the Power Platform?