Automation: The Secret Weapon Against Rising Inflation

With the increased costs of production and reduced customer spending, inflation is often viewed as a huge headache for businesses. Inflation can present both challenges and opportunities for businesses, depending on how they adapt to it. If inflation forces companies to become more efficient or change their business models, it can be a positive catalyst for innovation.

So, how do organisations typically respond to inflation? The obvious answer is to raise prices. According to Gartner, price hikes are the number one tactic, with 51% of CEOs and Senior Business Executives saying it is their go-to strategy. 

But increasing prices isn’t the only weapon against inflation. Efficiency, driven by technology, can also be key. Whilst only 22% of CEOs say boosting efficiency and productivity is their top response to inflation, it should be a priority for all.

Smart businesses are using innovative, automated software to tackle the problem of inflation, because of the role automation plays in increasing efficiency and productivity. Anything that reduces costs and drives new revenue streams can be used to battle inflation. 

So, does automation reduce inflation?

Is Technology Deflationary or Inflationary? 

Technology is deflationary because it reduces the demand for labour and leads to automation, which makes businesses more efficient and eliminates a variety of jobs. Automation, through its ability to lower operating costs and increase efficiency, can slow or even counter inflation's effects.

This is a point recognised by CFOs, according to Gartner, for whom automation and price increases were given equal merit in combatting inflation. Additionally, 78% of CFOs said they will increase or maintain enterprise digital investments through 2023, even if inflation persists.

How Can Automation Reduce Costs in a Business?

In a nutshell, automation increases productivity. Automated intelligence frees employees from manual tasks and allows them to concentrate on strategy and innovation. For example, instead of wasting days pulling together spend data, automated spend management processes empower teams to focus on tasks that add more value to the bottom line.  

Manual tracking and auditing spend increases the risk of mistakes, repeated entries, or gaps in the data. By reducing these risks, significant business cost savings can be made.

More visible spend data leads to precise predictions and better decisions, too. With the right spend management software, you can make light work of previously laborious manual tasks, giving you complete control and visibility and more time to focus on growing your business, even in difficult times.

 

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SAP Concur Solutions: Examples of Intelligent Automation

An end-to-end unified spend management solution ensures everything that can be automated is automated, from receipt capture to mileage, all the way through to AP processes – providing you with a complete view of your finances. 

You streamline operations and modernise inefficient processes by reducing manual data entry and removing duplicated effort, helping you drive measurable transformation across the business.

• Expense: Automated and integrated expense management processes capture spending from multiple sources, enabling you to plan and make spending decisions based on accurate data, reduce errors and fraud, improve audits and reimburse employees more quickly.
• Invoice: Digitising your AP process improves policy compliance, prevents fraud and controls when suppliers are paid so you can manage the bottom line more effectively. Supplier relationships improve as you uncover opportunities to negotiate money-saving discounts with suppliers for early payments.
• Travel: With everything booked and managed from one travel management solution, and your travel policy and suppliers built in, you are better positioned to adhere to policy and make the economic case for business travel to stack up.

Organisations using SAP Concur solutions can enjoy:

• 628% three-year ROI
• 5.3 months to payback
• $777,000 annual savings on business travel and expenses 

Hybrid Working: A Cost-Cutting Exercise

Hybrid and flexible working is here to stay. Cloud automation offers access and visibility from any geographic location and device to support remote workers. This helps to reduce the business cost of office space and utilities. It also helps to attract and retain top talent, particularly millennials and younger employees who prefer flexible careers. 

What better way to beat inflation than to automate manual tasks while attracting highly skilled workers who can turn their attention to growing your business?

A Way Forward

In the current economic climate, and with the impact of inflation being felt everywhere, it can be difficult to know what measures to take to minimise potential problems. Businesses are looking to the long-term benefits of automation to permanently reduce the cost of doing business. 

When businesses get the right mix of people and automation, processes become more efficient and individuals are freed up to focus on driving the business forward. SAP Concur solutions automate and integrate your travel, expense and invoice processes into a single, connected experience accessible on any device, are easy to implement and can scale as you grow. 

For more information on how automating your spend management processes with SAP Concur solutions can help fight the challenges associated with inflation, visit Concur.co.uk. Also take a look at this eBook for 6 Ways to Grow Your Business with Spend Management Automation.