55 Examples of Process Automation

John Spacey, updated on September 06, 2023

Process automation is any system that's designed to do work. This can include workflow whereby a system assigns tasks to humans and monitors this work. As such, process automation is an inversion of the traditional model where humans use technology for productivity. Automation can call upon humans to do work as required. The following are common examples of process automation capabilities.

Data extraction	Data validation
Data transformation	Data enrichment
Calculations	Transaction execution
Strategy formation	Work planning
Design tasks	Creating specifications
Analysis	Decision making
Alerts	Notifications
Communications	Estimates
Forecasts	Reporting
Dashboards	Audit trails
Logging	Workflow
Generating task lists	Task scheduling
Task assignment	Task prioritization
Task tracking	Task escalation
Document retrieval	Document processing
Document production	Data visualization
Integration with systems and APIs	Request submission
Scripted actions	Approval routing
Compliance checks	Rejection handling
Physical automation such as robotics	Maintenance
Repair	Production
Inventory management	Marketing automation
Sales automation	Capacity planning
Resource tracking	Settlement of transactions
Error handling	Task automation
Financial transactions	Creating schedules
Creating budgets	Monitoring work
Monitoring processes

Process automation can do many tasks traditionally done by an employee. The number of tasks that can be automated increases greatly with each passing year.

In most cases, processes aren't fully automated but include human steps. For example, it is common for automation to escalate exceptions for humans to manage.

Historically, automation was focused on machine automation for manufacturing. With time it has become equally common for administrative, marketing, supply chain management and other core business processes to be semi-automated. It is also common for self service user interfaces to automate processes such as customer service or sales.

Overview: Process Automation
Type	Information Technology
Definition (1)	Systems that are designed to do work.
Definition (2)	Business processes that keep human intervention to a minimum with technologies such as process choreography, automated decision making, business rule engines, machine automation and self service customer interfaces.
Potential Value	Cost reduction Quality improvements Service improvements Ability to measure every aspect of a business process for realtime visibility and optimization.
Related Concepts	Machine Automation Choreography Self Service