How does automating business processes impact decisions in the wider supply chain? A recent report from EY shows that senior supply chain professionals see the impact is powerful. Not only is business automation able to reduce critical errors, but it also enhances visibility and continuous learning.

Yet globally, companies of all sizes and varieties are struggling to know how best to change their ways. Manual paper-based documentation processes remain, as do the unnecessary time-delays, mistakes and miscommunications.

With the global economy ramping up in cloud spending, partnerships with specialised cloud-software companies are fast-becoming the new norm for business automation.

Modern workplace specialists, Walkerscott, say that “A scalable solution expands to further improve efficiency throughout the company.”

They give the example of Snack Brands, an Australian potato chip production company, to highlight that with the right software in place, staff and executives, as well as stakeholders along the supply chain, can be kept on the same page.

Talking to Snack Brand’s workshop staff and executives, it had become clear that the manual, paper-based system for recording snack production was an impediment to business. It typically took staff up to 36 hours each time.

This paper-based approach had flow-on effects, too. There was limited product traceability. It was hard to comply with and deliver to traders along the supply chain. Information exchange and decision-making was challenging.

Using an open-source programming language and a relational database, Walkerscott created a custom web application able to be deployed on the factory site using industrial touch screens. The app augmented how operators worked already with their paper-systems, enabling barcode scanning and integrated label printing, as well as mobile reporting.

The application meant the once paper-bound tasks could be decreased to a matter of minutes. Both executive and production staff can be informed in real-time, which in turn enhances product transparency, compliance and traceability.

Cloud-based interventions such as these are examples of how, with the right guidance, automation can take business to new levels. They suggest that business automation need not be such a daunting prospect: with the right software provider, solutions will be bespoke to – and supplement – your business needs.