Unleashing Efficiency: The Automation Revolution

It's interesting to think about how many mistakes we, as humans, can make. At least three mistakes an hour is the projected statistic reported, which may already seem high, but as experience has taught me, the gravity of the mistake is the driving force for concern. Perhaps you browse through the purchasing requests, and your heart skips a beat when you realize your restaurant is preparing to order 800 boxes (x5 units) of milk instead of the usual 800 cartons. Or maybe you fly to South Korea to meet a supplier, ready to purchase their merchandise, only to discover that they seemingly missed a zero off the estimated price. (Note: Both events are real and happened to me).

Whatever the blunder, human errors can impact companies in a plethora of ways, such as hurting an organization's brand, causing it financial loss, delaying and disrupting the business's operations, breaching security protocols, and even causing missed opportunities to be sought after. It is, therefore, no wonder that many companies are now leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools to reduce the risk of human errors. Just some examples of the AI tools companies are shifting towards include:

• 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐕𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬: Social media apps like Meta allow messaging tools to automate customer service, handle inquiries, provide information, and automate routine tasks. Companies like IBM, Google, and Microsoft are developing assistants that can integrate into websites, mobile apps, and messaging platforms to assist in the same fashion.

• 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐀𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐲𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐓𝐨𝐨𝐥𝐬: Tools like Salesforce Einstein Analytics support market trend data and forecasting sales. Others can assist with demand planning and risk management to generate predictions and assess future outcomes.

• 𝐀𝐈-𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐂𝐑𝐌 𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐬:  Pipedrive allows salesforce companies to prioritize their best leads, while programs like Insightly can support companies in relationship mapping, predictive analytics, and project management integration.

• 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐎𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐓𝐨𝐨𝐥𝐬:Some tools like Odoo and Sap analyze data from various sources to improve forecasting accuracy, optimize inventory levels, and streamline logistics. These tools are particularly useful for companies managing multiple warehouses and product lines.

There are many other AI support choices that businesses can opt into. From AI cyber security applications to Administration tools such as Grammarly that will minimize spelling and punctuation mistakes. No matter the choice, to a degree, the user must still be cognitive of how they use the tools to reduce human-system error. But with industries reporting human error as their leading problem at a rate of 46%, it is no wonder we have seen such a dramatic shift towards automation.

Many companies are making a complete switch towards automation - Amazon.com, Ocado Group, and Siemens, to name just a few. Seemingly, this shift towards automation creates an unease around future job security. But from an employee situation, process improvements are the best and most sustainable way of making manpower indispensable without causing companies to invest large amounts of capital. Some steps managers can take include:

1. 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐀𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐬: Conduct a thorough analysis of existing processes to identify inefficiencies, bottlenecks, and areas for improvement.

2. 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Establish standardized procedures and best practices to ensure consistency and efficiency in operations.

3. 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭: Invest in training and development programs to enhance the skills and knowledge of employees.

4. 𝐄𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲: Empower employees to take ownership of their work and make decisions to improve efficiency.

5. 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Promote open communication and collaboration among teams and departments to facilitate information sharing, problem-solving, and decision-making.

6. Workload Balancing: Ensure that workloads are evenly distributed among team members to prevent overburdening and minimize idle time.

7. 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭: Foster a culture of continuous improvement where employees are encouraged to seek out opportunities for innovation and optimization.

8. 𝐅𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐌𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭: Solicit feedback from employees, customers, and stakeholders to identify areas for improvement and measure performance against key metrics and benchmarks.

For many, there is no compromising on manpower over automation. Human interaction is not something that can be recreated through technology. The public yearns for face-to-face contact and a human understanding of a situation. Statistics and coding take the social considerations out of interactions, which can lead to unfair treatment. Many industries, such as tourism and hospitality, healthcare, education, and legal services, where human cognitive decisions and communication, emotional intelligence, and personalized service are required will welcome manpower over AI for the foreseeable future. While industries such as finance, logistics, e-commerce, and cyber-security welcome AI over manpower due to its analytical and efficient characteristics. Particularly when it comes to repetitive tasks.

"𝐀𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐭, 𝐭𝐡𝐮𝐬 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬." - Fei-Fei Li

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