Is process automation the less glamorous relation to the highly fashionable digital transformation?
WE DON’T BELIEVE SO!
And, actually, nor do you. In our recent survey, the evaluation of the benefits of automation came in only a tiny degree below those of digital transformation (84% vs 80%).
And of course, both evaluations are high ratings. So if we’re convinced about the solid benefits of automation are there any remaining processes to be automated in maritime? Or has all the hard work been done already?
In our recent survey, the evaluation of the benefits of automation came in only a tiny degree below those of digital transformation (84% vs 80%).
84% of maritime professionals are convinced of the benefits of digital transformation projects they have seen in their companies
Far from it, say the respondents to our maritime survey: Their opinion is that only 46% of processes in their companies have already been automated. Combine these two (automation still to be done + high levels of benefits) and it’s no surprise that in a recent Gartner survey of 226 CFOs, they concluded: “Digital acceleration was the top spending priority for CFOs over the next 12 months, with 98% of respondents saying they will protect digital investments and of those, 66% stating they plan to increase their investments in the category. Automating back-office workflows is key to achieving efficiency gains across a number of areas.”
We’re delighted to be supporting this study from Thetius. We’ve been automating maritime processes since 2001, when we launched DA-Desk, which digitises and automates disbursement accounting, doing away with 100% of the paperwork and the vast majority of the tedious manual processes associated with DAs. Over twenty years on, now we have 8 maritime solutions all of which automate, digitise and transform processes in each of their business areas.
Process automation forms a key part of shipping’s digital transformation and can be applied to an array of processes such as data collection, key document processing, estimating time in port and port costs, the payment of crew, disbursement accounting, and many other tasks.
But…
80% also seem convinced of the benefits of automation
For example, PortLog digitises Statements of Facts, enabling them to be analysed with significant resulting financial benefits – for more information please read the case study on page 30. So, our take on the report is: don’t forget the humble business and process automation projects in your backlog. They may be humble but they are also relatively simple, easy-to-implement, low risk and high reward.
In your own maritime company, has everything that could be automated, been automated already?
Only 46% of processes in their company had been automated leaving…
54% of processes yet to be automated, a real opportunity
This is an extract from our latest maritime research report. Read the full report here: “Avoiding the Digital Divide”.
Read our our recent post on the best questions to ask when you choose a disbursement accounting automation partner.
