The word efficiency can be described in many different ways, but they all come down to this; getting the most work done with the least amount of resources. To an entrepreneur, efficiency means avoiding waste by being methodical and intentional about how the company’s resources are being used. By resources, we mean human and non-human resources. The reason is that startups are often walking a financial tightrope and until the business breaks even and becomes profitable, there is a need to be very conservative and highly efficient. This doesn’t mean that successful companies have no need for efficiency, in fact, one of the best ways of assessing how well a company is performing is by looking at its input and output volumes. 

Input refers to the resources (tangible and intangible) that go into the production process. These include money, labor, time, effort, etc. Outputs are the finished product that comes out at the end of the line. These are the products and services which the company is known for. Now to be profitable, the output must be greater than the input. The bigger, the better. Standing between the inputs and outputs is what we will focus on today and that is Processes. 

What are Business processes?

Business processes are steps taken by the business to achieve its goal. It is the middleman between the business inputs and outputs. Having a well-defined business process is one criterion that must be met if a company wants to become more efficient. The more repetitive and automated the processes are, the better the output and the higher the efficiency. A good business process may be costly to establish but would save the company more money in the long run. A good place to start when talking about automation is the automotive industry. 

Robots were first introduced into the automotive industry in 1961 by General Motors. Ever since then, it has become a common theme in many car manufacturing industries. Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is now a billion-dollar market said to be worth over $8.7 billion by 2024. This is because the technology has become more advanced, is easy to implement, and has a high ROI. But automation is not only useful in the automotive industry alone. According to a report by McKinsey & Company, knowledge automation could become one of the most disruptive technologies by 2025.

What this tells us is that every entrepreneur has to effectively manage their business processes if they want to see good results. Automate where they must and streamline their processes to fit their goals. While there are different aspects of a business process to be managed, this series will talk about three very important aspects they are Knowledge Management, Personnel Management, and Equipment Management processes. 

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