The future of automation: which business processes will be automated next

The future of automation: what business processes will be automated next?

In the past 100 years alone, humanity has experienced several technological revolutions. The widespread mechanization of labor at the beginning of the 20th century increased productivity several times. Computers created in the 1950s made it easier to process large amounts of information and make management decisions. The Internet of the 1990s helped to establish global communications and accelerate the exchange of data in the world. And the 2020s were the era of artificial intelligence (AI), which managed to replace human beings both in communication and in performing creative tasks.

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Of course, this is not the last technological revolution. Today we will tell you what innovations can be expected in the near future and what business processes will be automated next.

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Inventory management

Large firms are developing complex mathematical models that take into account current demand, seasonality, and sometimes unexpected factors, such as air temperature forecasts for the coming week. And yet, these calculations are far from ideal, so dozens of people work in logistics and planning who monitor inventory and place urgent orders if necessary. And even such a multi-level system fails, so you sometimes have to see empty shelves in stores and wait several weeks for equipment to arrive. You don't have to talk about small businesses — orders are usually placed intuitively, without mathematical justification.

As expected, artificial intelligence can come to the rescue. It is able to:

• find hidden patterns, for example, an increase in demand every second Friday due to payroll payments at local businesses;
• mitigate accidental emissions associated with bad weather, sports broadcasts and other events that are not repeated regularly;
• optimize stocks, taking into account production or trade needs, warehouse capacity, transportation time, shelf life and other factors;
• assess the honesty and reliability of suppliers even before the first delivery, including writing letters and analyzing responses.

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Another technology that is already being adapted for inventory management is blockchain. It allows you to monitor the status of each batch of goods in real time without the risk of intentional data substitution and accidental errors. Information encrypted on the blockchain will even help you find out at what stage the package was opened or damaged, making it easier to resolve conflicts.

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Predictive maintenance of equipment

Everyone who owns a car knows that oil, filters, seals and other consumables need to be changed regularly. The same applies to many types of household appliances — washing machines, vacuum cleaners, coffee makers, etc. Manufacturers recommend regularly changing batteries in smartphones and laptops, as well as fans in servers and desktop computers. Today, maintenance is carried out on the principle of “it is better to replace sooner than deal with the consequences”. Because of this, workable components are sometimes sent to the trash, and cars drain almost pure oil, which has retained its chemical properties.

In the near future, two technologies may change this situation: artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things (IoT). The latter term implies the use of network adapters in all possible types of equipment — smart speakers, refrigerators and TVs. Diagnostics will be performed using:

• built-in sensors — if they give abnormal signals, the device will send a message to a router, smart speaker or smartphone;
• microphones — if the sound of the dishwasher or refrigerator has changed, neighboring devices will note this and warn you;
• mathematical models — artificial intelligence can find the smallest deviations from the norm, for example, a decrease in average engine power by 0.5% or an increase in the duration of the wash cycle by 12 seconds. This will also help identify hidden issues.

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Predictive service provides benefits for consumers and businesses alike. In the first case, it optimizes equipment maintenance costs, and in the second case, it allows you to better plan your activities. And we should not forget about the environmental benefits due to the rational use of resources.

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Recruiting

Today, hiring is mostly done by people who review hundreds of resumes and conduct dozens of interviews a day. There are many drawbacks to this approach. Excessive workload, subjective assessment of candidates and insufficient testing of professional skills lead to the fact that in 21% of cases an underqualified employee receives the position. The result is losses, lost profits, and organizational problems — on average, they cost American companies $15,000 per job.

Recruiting is also on the waiting list for automation using artificial intelligence. New technologies will be used in this area as follows:

• To analyze resumes and cross-check them. AI can identify the slightest inaccuracies and compare data with information on social media and company websites.
• For interviews. The intellectual assistant serves as a kind of “polygraph”. It describes the candidate's emotions and warns him when he is very nervous.
• To find and attract talent. AI is able to find candidates before they even start looking for a job — it selects profiles on social networks like LinkedIn or Facebook. Ideal employees are shown targeted ads that make them think about moving to another campaign or at least remember the brand name.

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Recruiting platforms are already starting to appear on the Internet. However, today they prioritize one specific feature, such as analyzing resumes or generating texts for targeted ads. In the near future, we may see comprehensive solutions that will completely replace recruiters or significantly reduce the load on relevant business units.

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Recruiting and training employees

Even an ideal candidate needs several days, weeks, or even months to understand the specifics of the enterprise's business model and take on new responsibilities. At best, he is trained by a department head or senior employee. As a rule, they are already quite busy, so hiring new employees reduces their productivity. In the worst case, the training function is assigned to the outgoing employee — unmotivated and disinterested.

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Therefore, work is already underway to create training programs based on AI. In fact, they accompany the employee in all work processes, preparing the most detailed instructions, taking into account all possible know-how and tricks. Another technology that will be useful for training new employees is virtual reality. Wearing a VR headset, they can get through the day in their new role and see how their duties are performed. In some specialties, augmented reality, AR, is also used. It helps you see hints and advice not in an abstract job description, but right at the workplace.

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Review of official documents and compliance

The legal departments of large companies have dozens, if not hundreds, of employees. Many of them proofread hundreds of documents and look for possible risks. This is a tedious, monotonous job where there is no room for error — any mistakes can lead to millions in losses. Today, a lawyer is a highly qualified employee who spends more than 5 years studying and uses almost all of his free time studying relevant legislation or industry regulations. It is clear that the costs of maintaining a legal department will be very high in any company.

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In this case, an artificial intelligence function such as natural speech recognition (NLP) comes to the rescue. It allows you not only to select keywords from documents, but also to analyze their tone and find relationships with other concepts. This makes it relatively easy to draw parallels with regulations. In addition, artificial intelligence is able not only to “read” documents and break them down into components, but also to find cross-relationships with its databases, automatically identifying risks and assessing possible losses.

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When can we expect the next wave of automation?

Most experts It is believed that up to 75% of business processes will be automated by 2030, and up to 90% by 2050. It is quite possible that in 20-30 years a good idea will be enough to start a business — without huge start-up capital and tedious manual labor. Specialized investment funds will provide financing, and artificial intelligence will take on monotonous tasks.

But, as always, there will be those who will be the first to take advantage of new technologies and will be able to beat the competition. Do you want to be one of them and be one of the first to automate your business? Start:Duck specialists will help you with this. We provide advice on automating marketing, supply chain management and other business processes using artificial intelligence. Our experts will find the perfect solution for you. They will help you set up your software base so that you spend less time and effort on everyday work and can focus on creativity and making management decisions.