Introduction

Over the past month, we've surveyed to explore the state of process automation in sales and logistics. Our aim was to understand how companies are currently approaching digitalization and how this could inform the development of AI tools to improve efficiency.

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We reached out to professionals in sales and logistics through LinkedIn groups, asking for their perspectives on process automation in their workplaces. The response was positive, with ninety-two professionals sharing their experiences. This report shares the insights gathered from these responses, providing a snapshot of the current trends and challenges in process automation.

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The survey

In this survey, we included ten questions aimed at understanding several key aspects: the current level of digitalization in companies, challenges encountered in the process, and future plans regarding process automation. We also sought to gain insights into how orders are managed.

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For more details on the survey questions, please see here. The survey is still open, and we welcome additional participants who are involved in sales and logistics to contribute their experiences and perspectives.

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The results

Industry breakdown

The graph below presents the distribution of responses across industries. The transportation & logistics and manufacturing sectors, with a higher number of replies, provide more comprehensive insights. The Other category accounts for 16.3% of all responses, with one representative per industry (e.g., consulting, healthcare, biotech).

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State of process automation

Companies are at different stages of adopting process automation. About 39.1% indicate progress, while 27.2% are in the early discussion stages. Encouragingly, 18.5% of the responses reflect on their companies as digital superstars.

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Transportation & logistics and manufacturing show varied degrees of automation adoption. Transportation & logistics are more frequently identified as digital superstars (29.6%), whereas manufacturing is often making progress (48%) or not making much progress (40%).

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The IT Services sector tends to acknowledge the importance of process automation, while industries with only one response each offer limited but individual organizational perspectives.

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Digitalization strategies

An even distribution (39.1%) of companies is either actively integrating process automation into their digitalization strategies or have already made it an essential part. Still, 21.7% have not yet begun this integration.

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64.7% of companies recognizing themselves as digital superstars include process automation in their digitalization strategy. On the other hand, 76% of companies not making progress in process automation have not integrated or are currently working on incorporating it into their digitalization strategy. This state of affairs suggests that most companies prioritize strategy first, supported by the fact that only 11.8% without a digitalization strategy are already working on or with process automation.

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Industry-specific insights:

• Manufacturing and Transportation & Logistics: Both sectors show a similar pattern in their responses regarding the integration of digitalization strategies.
• IT Services: This sector significantly acknowledges the integral role of process automation in digitalization.
• ‍Other Industries: Varied responses from sectors like financial services, retail, and distribution indicate different stages of integrating process automation into digitalization efforts.

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Challenges in digitalization

The challenges in digitalization are primarily in streamlining processes (40.2%), managing change (31.5%), and adopting new technology (26.1%). The transportation & logistics industry places a slightly higher emphasis on adopting new technology (40.7%) compared to the overall trend while finding streamlining processes (48.1%) as the most challenging aspect, similar to the overall results. Manufacturing is significantly more focused on change management (40%) compared to the overall trend.

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Analysis of IT systems integration challenges reveals that resistance to change (23.9%) and balancing requirements (21.7%) are top challenges, along with technical difficulties like merging legacy systems (19.6%) and building new workflows (9.8%). Transportation & logistics faces more technical challenges while manufacturing struggles more with merging legacy and new systems.

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Conclusion

Our survey has shed light on the current landscape of process automation in various industries. Here's what we've learned so far:

1. Ongoing Journey: Process automation is still a work in progress for many companies. While some are making headway, a good number are in the early planning and implementation stages.
2. Strategy Before Action: Interestingly, most companies prefer to have a solid digitalization strategy in place before diving into the intricacies of process automation. This approach underscores the importance of strategic planning in successfully adopting new technologies.
3. Human Factor: The human aspect, such as managing resistance to change and the challenge of streamlining processes, stands out as significant hurdles in this digital transition.

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As we continue to gather more responses, we aim to provide a clearer and more detailed picture in our upcoming report, Process Automation in Sales and Logistics: Unveiling Industry Trends and Challenges - Survey Insights Vol. 2. Stay tuned for deeper insights and more grounded understandings of how different industries are navigating the complex world of digitalization.