We decided to go back to basics to ask and answer why companies automate their operations. In a series of articles, we look at how to build a sustainable, winning case for business automation. 

Your business case for automation is an effective tool that can be used to effectively convince and persuade top decision makers and other stakeholders why automating a process, function or even an entire business makes sense.

This article looks at:

• Automation, AI and Digital-First are the Norm
• The Question to Ask is: Why Automate?
  • Building the Business Case for Automation
  • Key Considerations to Address
  • Steps to Build the Business Case for Automation
• STEP 1: Define the value automation can deliver
• In summary…
• How MODLR Can Help
  • MODLR Solutions
  • MODLR Industry-Specific Solutions

It is interesting that, in The CEO Crystal Ball: Predicting the Top Trends Shaping Business in 2025 the CEO Outlook magazine talks about six trends shaping business in the coming year; and two of them have to do with artificial intelligence (AI), automation and digital-first business models.

            “Artificial intelligence and automation aren’t just buzzwords anymore; they’re the lifeblood of the modern business. CEOs who once hesitated to invest in AI now find themselves playing catch-up. By 2025, AI will no longer be a differentiator; it will be the standard. The question is: how will CEOs use it to stay ahead?”

The article asks readers to imagine a “real-time workplace where data-driven decisions are made, and automation handles mundane tasks, freeing employees to focus on innovation.” 

Similarly, on the rise of digital-first business models:

            “As we move toward 2025, digital-first will no longer be an option—it will be the norm. CEOs who prioritize digital transformation today will be the ones who lead    tomorrow. The rise of e-commerce, digital platforms, and data-driven insights means businesses must be nimble, adaptive, and capable of shifting in real-time.”

For CEOs who want to grow their businesses and leaders of tomorrow, automation is an inescapable reality, together with AI and exploring the potential digital-first business models. 

Beyond the short term, what strategic medium and long term reasons justify automation? Will automation help your business become more resilient, more responsive to customer and market needs, more competitive and more profitable? Once you have the answer to that, by way of a well articulated business case for business automation, then you can move into finding out how to get there.

The business case for automation, whether of a single process, of a division, function or an entire business unit needs to be well-considered. It cannot be done in a day or a week. It requires careful analyses and takes into consideration both data and qualitative factors. More than anything, it should refine the thinking process of leaders, inspire champions and pave the way to data backed analysis. 

Helps refine the thinking process of leaders 

The business case for automation is more than just another document. When a startup entrepreneur writes up a simple business plan, the process itself helps refine his or her business idea and makes it SMART—specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time bound. Similarly, when drawing up the business case for automation, invest time on thinking and detailed analysis to ensure accuracy and practicality. 

Helps inspire champions of automation at the highest levels 

First things first. Automation requires acceptance and championing at the highest levels in a business. The case for business automation must address priorities of top decision makers, including the directors and the C-Suite. Public companies must also consider external stakeholders and their concerns. 

Makes the case for data-backed analysis using credible sources

The business case for automation—whether it is for a division, function or overall business—needs to be supported by data-backed analysis using credible sources. There will be questions about the dependability of data you have used in the analysis. Build the business case on firm ground. Then only will it have the persuasive punch needed to pass muster.

In building the business case for automation, you must consider both qualitative and quantitative aspects to fully address some of these common concerns:  

• Look at both short, medium and long term, strategic benefits
• How does automation impact key priorities of your business, such as profitability, customer satisfaction and service delivery guarantees?
• Risks of automation, both immediately and over the long term
• Are there alternatives to automation that are worthy of consideration? Are they better? If so, how and why? If not, how and why?
• Quantify the cost of doing nothing, of going with the status quo.

Take these steps to build a winning case for automation within your business. 

• Defining the value automation can deliver
• Exploring automation opportunities and prioritising projects
• Applying metrics to automation projects
• How to deal with obstacles, risks & challenges in automation projects
• Making a timeline for implementation with relevant milestones

Let us take each step and discuss. In this article we only cover the first step.

Begin by defining the value automation delivers to your business. Look beyond the numbers and graphs to highlight true long term value to the business in terms of operational and capital expenses.  

Viewing the strategic value of automation as a lever can strengthen your business case, and how it is perceived. Learn to see automation as a lever that can  be used to increase or enhance positive factors and at the same time to lower the negative impacts on the business. 

What positive factors will increase or improve after automation?

These include: 

• Revenue
• Growth
• Quality of products and service quality, with better delivery speeds
• Business agility, adaptability, flexibility 
• Potential to scale up operations with speed

What negative factors can be decreased or minimised post automation?

These include:

• Risk
• Order fulfilment time
• Operational costs
• Working capital
• Taxes and penalties
• Labour costs

Automation leads to increased revenues and business growth

• Streamlining processes reduce operational costs, allowing companies to allocate more resources towards their strategic business initiatives. 
• Enhanced customer satisfaction is made possible through faster, more consistent service delivery which leads to higher customer retention and repeat sales. 
• Empowers leaders with real-time insights for data-driven decision-making. This helps businesses identify new revenue and growth opportunities and to adapt quickly to changes in the business environment, including market changes.

Automation improves product quality

• Automation helps improve product quality by ensuring consistent precision in manufacturing and by reducing the human error element, minimising defects and variability. 
• Using automated quality control systems, like AI-driven visual inspections and real-time monitoring will help detect product flaws immediately. This enables rapid corrections to products as well as defective processes, saving time and resources, well before the products reach customers. 
• Enables maintaining high standards in repetitive processes. This results in being able to maintain a uniform quality across large volumes of products. This can boost overall product reliability and customer satisfaction.

Automation improves service quality and delivery

• Automation can help accelerate response times, ensure consistency, and reduce errors.
• Automated customer service tools, like chatbots and AI-driven support, will give instant and accurate answers to common customer questions, leading to better customer satisfaction and reduced wait times. 
• In service delivery, automated logistics systems can help optimise both routing of goods and inventory management. Companies using automation can enable faster, more reliable shipping and tracking, leading to enhanced customer experience and building trust in the brand.

Automation contributes to business agility, adaptability, and flexibility 

• Automation improves the agility, adaptability, and flexibility of a business by enabling decision makers arrive at faster, data-driven responses to market changes and to shifts in customer demand. 
• Automated systems make it possible to quickly scale operations both up and down, to adjust production volumes and to reallocate resources when needed. All of this makes it easier for a business to respond to shifting market conditions in terms of political, economic, social and  technological changes  that impact their business. 
• Real-time analytics and automated monitoring can give leaders insights that will help businesses spot developing trends early, which gives them an opportunity to proactively adjust and align with new business  opportunities.

Automation improves the scalability of business operations

• Automation of processes, functions or even entire business units can significantly enhance a business’ ability to scale up operations. Automation can handle high volumes of repetitive tasks quickly and accurately, which makes it possible for companies to expand without a resulting proportional increase in labour costs. 
• Automated business processes—such as with order fulfilment, customer support, data entry, and even business financial consolidations—can be quickly replicated and scaled up. The business can then meet the growing demand while also maintaining efficiency during the growth phase and beyond. 
• Leaders and teams are freed up from routine tasks to focus on strategic, value-adding activities while automated processes take care of consistent performance and quality, even across larger operational volumes.

Automation helps manage and mitigate business risks

• Automation can help manage and mitigate business risks by minimising human error, ensuring compliance, and by enhancing security with consistent monitoring and threat alerts. 
• Automated systems can help track and enforce regulatory requirements, thus minimising legal risks to a business. Real-time data analytics make it possible to detect financial or operational issues as they develop. 
• Automation in cybersecurity as well as quality control provides managers with proactive safeguards against potential breaches and product defects, both of which help improve overall reliability and resilience.

Automation improves order fulfilment time and accuracy

• Order fulfilment times can be improved by streamlining tasks including picking, packing, and shipping through robotics, automated inventory management systems, and by optimising routing algorithms for shipping. 
• Automated processes help eliminate delays that typically occur due to manual handling.
• Inventory data gets updated in real-time post automation, which reduces stockouts and makes for faster order processing. 
• Minimising human error also increases accuracy of order picking, packing, and labelling. The result is fewer mistakes and faster and more reliable deliveries to customers.

Automation reduces operational costs

• Automation can reduce operational costs significantly by eliminating the need for manual labour to perform repetitive tasks. This lowers labour expenses and boosts business  productivity. 
• Automation improves efficiency in many operational areas including inventory management, order processing, and data entry through reducing errors that lead to costly reworking and waste of time and resources. 
• Automation helps optimise resource use, including energy and production materials. Using predictive analytics in operations and for asset maintenance further lowers operating expenses.

Automation helps optimise working capital management 

Automation optimises working capital of a business by improving cash flow in a number of ways. 

• Faster invoicing and debtor analysis, efficient inventory management, and streamlining of procurement processes can all contribute to it.
• Automation of sales, production and delivery systems help reduce the customer lead time, the time between customer orders and delivery. Procurement automation reduces material lead times, while automated production optimises production lead times. Automation of order fulfilment and sales processes can ensure speedy invoicing and optimise delivery lead times. 
• Automation can help reduce excess inventory and prevent stockouts. Accurately forecasting demand minimises cash tied up in unsold goods. 
• Accounts receivable and payable processes can be automated to enable a business to collect payments faster and to manage outflows more effectively. These contribute to better liquidity and working capital management across the business value chain.

Automation can optimise tax liability 

• Companies that use automation to streamline their tax calculations, compliance, and reporting processes, will see reductions in errors while ensuring timely submissions. 
• Automated tax software keeps up with changing tax laws, and apply accurate rates and deductions to business transactions in real-time. Such automation can help businesses avoid costly tax penalties and unnecessary overpayments. 
• Automation also helps generate accurate financial records including business consolidations quickly, without delays. They can provide detailed audit trails which make it easier to identify and then claim eligible deductions and tax credits. All of the above helps optimise the tax liability of a business. 

Automation optimises labour management and costs

When automation is mentioned, the first thing that comes to mind, especially of the workforce, is job cuts and other negative impacts. However, automation can help both businesses and workers to become more productive and efficient. 

• Automating repetitive, time-consuming tasks allows a business to reduce the need for extensive manual labour. On another level, it enables employees freed from routine tasks—such as in marketing or finance functions—to focus on more rewarding, higher-value activities. 
• It can reduce overtime expenses as well, which employees that value work life balance would appreciate. 
• With automation, it is possible to minimise costly rework arising from errors and improve overall productivity.
• Automation of routine processes like data entry, inventory management or customer support, leads to consistent performance even with fewer staff members. A more efficient use of human resources ultimately leads to substantial savings in labour expenses, especially over time.

Automation helps mitigate or reduce business risk

The key business risks that automation can help minimise or mitigate are:

• Errors in operations and human error
  • Automated invoicing and payment processing helps prevent double billing or missed payments. 
  • Automating inventory tracking and management can help stockouts and excessive stock holding. This can optimise working capital management and help avoid sales losses.
  • Financial and accounting risks can be managed effectively by automating financial processes, including budgeting, reporting, and expense claims management. 
  • Automated accounting systems prevent bookkeeping errors, improve accuracy in reporting and minimise likelihood of financial discrepancies, thus minimising overall business risk. 
  • Risks from quality control and product defects in manufacturing can be minimised by automating quality control systems using robotic process automation (RPA) and AI-driven quality checks. These flag issues early in the production process and minimises the risk of defective products reaching customers. They help lower product returns and enhance brand reputation.
  • Risk of supply chain disruptions can be mitigated with predictive analytics and AI-based forecasting. This makes companies better able to proactively deal with potential supply chain risks including demand fluctuations and supplier delays so that they do not impact operations.
• Compliance and regulatory risks  automating compliance checks in financial services or healthcare sectors. They help flag transactions and practices that fail to meet regulatory standards. This can help avoid penalties and legal complications. 
• Cybersecurity threats  can be mitigated with tools like threat detection, response systems and monitoring because they can identify and address potential risks more efficiently and quickly compared to manual monitoring. 
• Customer service and reputation risks can be avoided by automating customer support with chatbots and AI-driven service platforms. They help deal with customer inquiries quickly and accurately, and improve customer loyalty,  satisfaction and brand reputation.  
• Employee productivity and turnover risks. Using automation tools can help reduce excessive workloads, especially in terms of repetitive or time consuming activities. This can improve both productivity and employee satisfaction, and help minimise burnout and employee turnover. 
• Decision-making and strategic risks. Business intelligence and data analytics tools empower leaders to make data-driven decisions, backed by real-time insights. They minimise the risk of non optimal strategic decisions that are based on outdated and incomplete information.
• Market and business risks. Automating data analytics enables managers to spot evolving trends and prepare to meet oncoming opportunities and challenges. A proactive stance based on foresight can enhance business competitiveness and make a business resilient.  

There are undeniable advantages to businesses in automation. But automation also comes with many potential challenges. 

In our next articles in this series, we look at the remaining steps necessary for building a business case for automation and how businesses can deal with potential challenges to automation effectively.

Businesses that work on the MODLR platform are able to integrate key business functions and processes into an integrated whole. MODLR offers a dynamic business reporting solution and a powerful business modelling platform, all in one. Integrating multiple functional systems on the MODLR platform enables you to get a company-wide view of the business which supports data driven strategic decision making. 

Our collaborative planning platform is enriched with a multi-dimensional data engine, with a D3 visualization engine. MODLR's natural language processing feature enables you to call up reports instantaneously with the spoken word. This is a huge advancement from struggling with spreadsheet visualisations. 

MODLR helps you forget the headaches of version control and disconnected planning that is an inherent weakness of  spreadsheet software. The errors and delays inherent in manual process handling can be eliminated by automating most financial and in-division business processes. MODLR platform comes with the assurance of data security and protection. 

MODLR Solutions for business include: 

Annual Budgeting | Rolling Forecasts | Cash Flow Forecasts  

Management Reporting | Management Scorecards | Variance Analysis 

Financial Close and Consolidation

Sales Planning | Sales Commission Reporting

Production Planning | Workforce planning

Scenario Planning | Value Driver Trees

MODLR’s collaborative planning platform and flexible business solutions can be used in any industry. We also have solutions that have been specifically adapted for:

Construction | Financial Services | Logistics | Manufacturing | Media & Entertainment
| Mining & Resources | Retail & FMCG | Technology | Venture Capital

We add more industry specialisations every year. Quite often, the new industry modules are born out of specific customer requests. If you want MODLR adapted to your industry, contact us.