20+ Key Business Process Automation Stats You Need to Know

Process automation is everywhere. All businesses require efficiency and productivity, which results in reducing repetitive tasks and optimizing existing processes. This allows workers the freedom to focus on bringing real value to the table and pursue high-value endeavors.

Today, process automation is essential for an organization to stay competitive. And knowing the state of the industry is extremely important. We have compiled some of the most important statistics for 2024 to tell you where business process automation is headed. 

The Growing Popularity of Automation

A large number of businesses are moving towards automation because of the countless advantages it gives them. With fierce competition in the markets across the boards, you need an edge to maintain excellent performance standards. BPM can help with that’s why it’s so popular.

Here’s what’s happening in 2024:

• The business process automation market had grown to 8 billion US dollars in 2020. By 2026, this number will have risen to 19.6 billion US dollars.  AI consulting in logistics can significantly aid in optimizing business operations, achieving impressive outcomes similar to automation technologies. Companies that successfully integrate AI into their logistics see vast improvements not just in efficiency, but also in strategic planning and day-to-day management.
• About 80 percent of businesses are speeding up process automation, while 50 percent of them are planning to automate all repetitive tasks.
• It is expected that about 69 percent of all managerial work will be completely automated by 2024.
• A McKinsey report on the future of work estimates that the adoption of automation and AI in businesses will continue to increase
• 50 percent of business leaders believe that they can successfully automate up to 30 percent of their workload.

Learn More: Business Process Management

Automation in Productivity Enhancement

Eliminating repetitive tasks from a typical workday, reducing the chances of human error, and ensuring consistency is only the tip of the iceberg. All businesses that use business process automation agree that it significantly enhances the overall productivity of the organization. Here’s what they think:

• 73% of IT leaders ^[6] believe automation saves about 50% of the time. Similarly, 51% also add that automation can also reduce the overall costs by 10 to 50%.
• About 30%^[7] of business leaders report reduced labor costs due to process automation.
• Over half of all automation tools target efficiency. Moreover, 78%^[8] of business leaders believe that automation enhances the overall productivity of the organization.
• About 42%^[9] of business leaders agree that workflow automation saves time and frees up their employees to pursue other things rather than repetitive tasks. Another survey indicates that this sentiment is not limited to repetitive tasks only. About 85% of business leaders believe that automation allows employees to focus on goals that matter to the company.
• 50%^[10] of organizations believe that automation reduces or eliminates the chances of human error.

The Effect on Employment Opportunities

New technology always brings fear of being replaced. However, there is another side of the coin too. It also creates new opportunities and marketable skills. Here are the latest trends:

• The fear of automation is common. A recent survey revealed that about 37% of professionals believe^[11] that they’ll lose their jobs because of automation.
• By 2030, automated solutions can take away 20 million jobs from the manufacturing sector.^[12]
• The most at-risk industries in terms of job replacement are storage, logistics, and manufacturing.^[13]
• In the United States alone, about 25% of all jobs are disrupted^[14] because of automation.
• By the end of 2022, about 54% of the workforce will require upskilling^[15] to keep up with the industrial demands.

There are several positive aspects as well when it comes to the effect of automation on the job market. Here are a few facts that indicate the improvement in the job market because of business process automation:

• Automation has streamlined HR processes significantly^[16]. The highest RIO because of automation is in the HR department.
• About 61% of leaders believe that process automation^[17] makes it easier to pick the right talent for the job. 
• Automation can sustain industrial growth by 1.4% of global GDP every year^[18], resulting in more jobs for the right workers.
• About 33% of occupations^[19] available today didn’t exist 25 years ago.
• 70% of professionals see automation^[20] as a chance to get a better, high-paying job if they upskill themselves.

Automation in Sales and Marketing

Sales and marketing teams are leveraging the power of automation technology to enhance their performance metrics. By automating their conversion processes, lead capture, and deal closures, they're not just streamlining operations but also boosting efficacy. The proactive approach of automating the buyer's journey fosters better customer engagement and interaction, providing a personalized experience that propels business growth. These intriguing statistics serve as a testament to the strategic importance of sales and marketing automation in today's competitive business landscape.

• Sales departments report[21] about a 15 percent increase in productivity and a 12 percent decrease in marketing costs through automation.
• Sales automation improves the performance of B2B channels by an average of 10 percent every year.
• About 67 percent of marketers[23] rely on automation for consistent performance and demand generation.
• Conversions are estimated to increase by 77 percent by spending on marketing automation solutions.

Automation in manufacturing, healthcare, retail, finance, banking, Insurance, and cybersecurity

Automation is reshaping industries. It's boosting manufacturing efficiency, aiding financial data analysis and fraud detection, speeding up insurance claims, and enhancing threat detection in cybersecurity. The healthcare sector is leveraging automation for everything from patient scheduling to predictive diagnostics. Retailers are using it to personalize customer experiences and streamline inventory management.  Simply put, automation is a key driver for progress and efficiency today.

• More than 50 percent of CEOs of banking and financial organizations are focusing on simplifying their products and operations by adopting process automation
• Mckinsey expects automation tools to handle up to 25 percent of banking tasks.
• In cyber security, automation can improve detection to reduce the chances of security threats by a whopping 70 percent.
• 68 percent of global businesses seek ways to improve their cyber security through automation.
• A report indicates that automating 64 percent of manufacturing tasks can save billions of working hours for the industry.
• Retail Automation Market is about to rise from USD 16550 million in 2022 to USD 34530 million by 2030, with a CAGR of 9.8
• Automation in healthcare ranges from chatbots to new uses for generative AI, helping meet the demands of clinicians and patients. It's also being used to process the industry's 30 billion transactions per year, which cost an estimated $250 billion.

Final Thoughts

Automation is everywhere and it will continue to grow. The concept of business process automation is not limited to enterprises. It can be implemented across various teams, functions, and organizations irrespective of size or industry. 

A comprehensive work platform like Kissflow not only helps you automate your business processes but vastly improves the way you work. You can now do away with multiple solutions for multiple problems—do more and diverse work within a single platform. It is the ideal solution for organizations looking to ease the tensions between business and IT while significantly improving productivity, reducing human errors, and consistently driving customer retention.

Solve your workflow challenges with Kissflow and optimize your team's productivity.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What are the latest trends in business process automation?

Latest trends in business process automation include AI-powered decision-making, hyperautomation combining multiple technologies (RPA, AI, process mining), no-code platforms democratizing automation, process intelligence providing real-time insights rather than periodic analysis, and increased focus on sustainability metrics within process performance dashboards.

How does automation impact business efficiency?

Automation impacts business efficiency by eliminating manual handoffs that cause delays, standardizing execution for consistent outcomes, reducing errors from manual data entry, providing real-time visibility into process status, enabling 24/7 operations without fatigue, scaling to handle volume spikes without staffing changes, and freeing knowledge workers from routine tasks for higher-value activities.

What industries lead in automation adoption?

Industries leading in automation adoption include financial services (loan processing, claims handling), healthcare (patient scheduling, insurance verification), manufacturing (quality assurance, maintenance workflows), legal services (contract management, case processing), and government agencies (permit applications, citizen service requests).

What are real-world examples of BPA success?

Real-world examples of BPA success include a major insurance company reducing claims processing time by 70% using AI to extract information from submitted documents, a global bank cutting account opening time from days to minutes while improving compliance, a healthcare network reducing billing errors by 80% through automated validation, and a manufacturer decreasing production planning time by 60% through integrated systems.

How do businesses measure automation success?

Businesses measure automation success through both quantitative metrics (cycle time reduction, error rate decreases, processing volume increases, cost savings) and qualitative indicators (employee satisfaction, customer experience improvements, compliance enhancement). Leading organizations establish baseline measurements before implementation and track improvements over time, comparing results against strategic objectives beyond mere efficiency gains.