Accelerating Process Automation Efficiency in Automotive
Your map to success. Discover how dealerships and manufacturers are staying ahead of the competition by digitalizing processes across every area of their business.
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- How process automation drives smart workflow practices
- Where to start: processes that fuel efficiency
- The top 5 automotive processes to automate
What's inside the eBook
An essential resource to stay in the race for operational efficiency and customer service.
- 01How process automation drives smart workflow practicesWhy digital transformation is now a necessity, not a nice-to-have.
- 02Automotive challenges and how to address themAt the dealership and at the manufacturer.
- 03Where to startAutomated automotive processes that fuel efficiency.
- 04The top 5 processes to automateAftersales, HR, sales and purchase ledger, health and safety, fleet.
Don't let the initial investment be a blocker. Once you digitalize 3 noteworthy processes with FlowForma Process Automation, you've already got your ROI.
How process automation drives smart workflow practices
Profitability is front and center for automotive leaders. Organizations are looking at where they can become leaner, and which levers are within their control, to stay in the race.
Complex, manual processes
Error-prone, labor-intensive processes absorb valuable time, often at senior level, that could go on strategic work.
Gaps in legacy systems
Point solutions fix one problem but miss many others, slowing progress across the business.
Paper and Excel reporting
Many companies feel digital transformation is happening at snail-speed rather than Formula 1.
Automotive challenges and how to address them
Forward-thinking dealerships and manufacturers are looking under the hood at what process automation can do to compete, build resilience and be more productive.
At the dealership
- Customer preference and buying patternsThe move from combustion engines to zero-emission vehicles is accelerating, with global EV sales growing year on year. Consistent processes for listing vehicles online and for aftersales are key.
- Five-star treatmentBuyers expect a seamless experience from website to showroom. Streamlined processes meet and raise those expectations.
- Skills shortagesEV growth adds to wider skills gaps. Dealerships that show digital maturity attract digitally savvy recruits.
- Shifting regulatory requirementsMore scrutiny of a dealership’s duty of care to finance customers makes a consistent, transparent digital record valuable.
At the manufacturer
- Supply and chip shortagesIntegrating with suppliers and spotting workflow bottlenecks in real time supports timely decisions and optimal production lines.
- Rising costs and uncertaintyEnergy costs, inflation and geopolitical tensions squeeze margins across every geography.
- New competitionNew entrants can be 20–30% cheaper than established European manufacturers, so productivity gains through digital processes are paramount.
Dealers earn the most trust. Deloitte research found consumers trust their selling or servicing dealer most, which makes sophisticated automated processes essential to attract and keep loyal customers.
Process automation this month, not next
Digital transformation doesn't have to mean a costly rip-and-replace. Smaller dealerships often lack a dedicated IT team, while larger dealerships and OEMs feel tied to expensive systems they lack the skills to use fully.
RPA fixes repetitive tasks that need no human input, but many automotive processes are people-driven. With no-code process automation, the people who own the process build it, in hours, days and weeks rather than months and years.
to automate a simple process with a no-code tool, built by the process owner.
- HR, sales, service and production teams build their own processes
- No coding skills, minimal reliance on IT
- Complex processes take longer, with no code still required
Where to start: processes that fuel efficiency
You know you need to be more efficient. Here's how to choose your first process.
- 01
Identify the pain
Find the under-performing processes keeping you up at night: the most manual, repetitive and time-consuming.
- 02
Pick the quickest win
Prioritize a simple but time-intensive process. Fixing it first wins stakeholder buy-in.
- 03
Replicate and scale
Use your first process as a blueprint. Templates can be reused across many workflows with small tweaks.
Don't try to boil the ocean
One automotive client started with pre-service recall checks, stock warranty recalls and quality checks, saving days for employees across multiple locations. Baby steps demonstrate success, then you scale at pace.
One win sparks the next
Once HR digitalizes onboarding, service teams map out their aftersales processes, and finance follows with invoices, approvals and expenses.
Automated processes that drive efficiency
Common paper-intensive tasks automotive businesses digitalize across every department, and more.
Service
- Pre-service recall checks
- Digitalizing job cards
- Customer onboarding
- Customer communications
Finance
- Invoice preparation
- Purchase ledger
- Resource approvals
- Car loan audit trail
HR
- Onboarding and offboarding
- Resource authorization
- Job applications and eligibility
- Training, appraisals and holiday requests
Sales
- Online car entry and removal
- Stock transfer
- Cost authorization
- Bonus on a car
Health and safety
- Daily checks of tools
- Building maintenance
- Wheel alignment checks
- Alarm and fire safety checks
And many more
See every automotive process in the eBook, and where each one saves time.
Get the eBookDon't get clamped by sitting in neutral
Time is money, skills are stretched and costs are soaring. Unautomated processes leave vulnerable spots in your business.
Inconsistent processes
Inconsistent procedures leave room for error and misinterpretation.
Poor planning
Inaccurate data and a lack of insight lead to poor decisions.
Non-compliance
Manual processes that are not completed, recorded or stored accurately.
Unnecessary overheads
Poor workflow management and onerous manual tasks add cost.
Lost revenue
Project overruns and bottlenecks you cannot see.
Staff attrition
Rudimentary procedures that pull people away from their key role.
The top 5 automotive processes to automate
Any process can be automated, but these are proving real winners in the race for efficiency.
- 1
Aftersales
The post-purchase journey is as important as the sale. Automate customer communications and recall checks: cross-reference VINs with manufacturer databases to find outstanding recalls before a routine service, then track completion with document generation and workflow.
- Recall identification and tracking
- New customer letters and emails
- Service notifications
- 2
HR processes
Remove the mundane, recurring tasks so HR experts can focus on higher-value work, with mandatory steps completed consistently.
- Onboarding and offboarding
- IT credentials and uniform requisitions
- Reference checks and eligibility
- Training, appraisals, holidays and expenses
- 3
Sales and purchase ledger
Consistent ledger processes are the backbone of forecasting and reporting. Digital versions simplify admin, remove errors and feed performance reports.
- Online car entry and removal in line with the showroom
- Stock transfer with full tracking
- Cost authorization with the right approval routing
- Bonus on a car, reported across sites
- 4
Health and safety
Digital checklists make fields mandatory, capture photos and keep an auditable record of every check and escalation, on desktop, mobile or tablet.
- Daily checks of tools
- Building maintenance
- Wheel alignment checks
- Alarm and fire safety checks
- 5
Fleet management
Fleet sales are a key slice of dealership profit. A high-level view of maintenance, repairs, service records and warranty recalls avoids downtime.
- Scheduled maintenance
- Repairs and service records
- Warranty recalls
FlowForma Process Automation for automotive
Dealerships and manufacturers use FlowForma to remove the pain points slowing them down, from legacy systems and IT skills gaps to paper-based work that frustrates new starters.
Dashboards pull data from the many systems a multi-brand dealership runs into one version of the truth, so leaders see the metrics they care about in real time.
Trusted by 300,000+ users, FlowForma addresses wide-scale business transformation, one process at a time.
SureStart
Our SureStart team accelerates your project and builds the most challenging processes to get your teams up and running.
Your teams take the wheel
Switch gears whenever you're ready. Business users build and own their processes with no code.
Automotive process automation: common questions
Why should automotive businesses automate processes now?
Dealerships and manufacturers face changing buying patterns, skills shortages, rising costs and new competition. No-code process automation removes manual, error-prone work, gives real-time data for decisions and improves customer and employee experience.
Which automotive processes should you automate first?
Start with a simple but time-intensive process that causes real pain, such as pre-service recall checks, onboarding or cost authorization. A quick win builds buy-in and becomes a template for other workflows.
Do you need IT developers to automate automotive processes?
No. With a no-code tool, process owners such as HR, sales, service and production managers can automate a simple process in as little as one hour, with minimal reliance on IT.
How is process automation different from RPA?
RPA handles repetitive tasks that need no human input. Many automotive processes are people-driven, with approvals, checks and handoffs, and those need a process automation tool.
What support does FlowForma offer automotive customers?
Customers can self-drive or take the chauffeur-driven route, where the FlowForma SureStart team builds the most challenging processes to get teams up and running, for as long as you need.
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