5 Tools for Streamlining Company Processes

Most bosses are confident that their business is a well-oiled machine, but the best ones are also aware that there’s always room for improvement when it comes to boosting efficiency. A recent survey showed that employees spend the equivalent of their average annual holiday allowance on unnecessary admin tasks. As such, condensing a few steps to streamline your business’s processes and cut out needless steps can raise productivity, morale, and ultimately, your bottom line. 

Many apps and programs have hit the market in the last few years to help companies achieve this, whether through automating certain tasks or developing more efficient ways for staff to do their jobs. Read on for our pick of the five most useful business process management tools. 

SAP 

If your business is rooted in logistics, finding a way to make sure that everyone in the company can access the same data is vital in streamlining your workflow. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software integrates and automates a series of critical corporate processes—including the supply chain, human resources, finance and many other aspects of a business—using a single program. 

One of the most popular ERP programs is SAP, which stands for Systems, Applications and Products, and oversees inventory, ordering products and distribution in a single software package. Although it can be expensive to put into place, businesses will enjoy considerable savings in time and money when the software is implemented properly. Used by 91% of all Forbes Global 2000 companies, SAP is considered one of the best tools for businesses who want to streamline their supply chain processes. 

Hootsuite 

Social media is essential for businesses of all sizes, but SMEs are often its main beneficiaries, especially if their content is informative or gives users exclusive promotions. However, as with any other form of content, being able to plan your posts in advance will free up time needed to reply to comments or direct messages on an ad hoc basis. This time is especially precious when there are several social networks to manage, all of which serve different, vital purposes. 

That’s why apps like Hootsuite have become indispensable to socially-engaged brands. Used by 22% of companies, according to one recent survey, these so-called “social listening tools” can schedule posts and track the ways followers interact with them. This allows in-house social media teams to refine and improve how they use channels like Instagram and Facebook, helping you boost online engagement and, with that, sales. 

MailChimp 

MailChimp is effectively Hootsuite for emails. The software allows businesses to collate mailing lists and schedule mass emails such as newsletters, while also offering A/B testing to guarantee the best response rate. As with Hootsuite, its analytics feature lets companies track engagement and find ways to refine the way they use email. Most interestingly, MailChimp recently added a portfolio of original video and podcast content to its offerings, which the company’s Head Of Branding describes as a way to “provide real value for our customers”. 

ZenDesk 

Customer service is regularly regarded as the single most important thing for creating trust between customers and brands. Yet, particularly for small businesses who don’t have the staffing power, finding the time to respond to enquiries across all channels can be extremely difficult. ZenDesk makes the process more efficient, packing all points of enquiry—be it phone, email, or social media—into a single cloud-based suite. Common questions can be given automated responses, while more complex inquiries can be replied to through an integrated live chat function. 

Better Proposals 

Even if your business uses its own templates, creating new proposals can be a huge drain on time and resources. As these are essential in persuading new clients to use your business, getting them right is crucial. Better Proposals is one of an increasing number of proposal generation software packages, which streamlines the process by integrating the creation of the proposal itself with the ability to send and receive documents and payment. This gives companies a single, user-friendly hub where they can monitor their intake of new business.