Digitalization, automation, and artificial intelligence promise companies faster workflows, lower costs, and better decisions. However, in operational practice, a different picture often emerges: new software is introduced, but existing working methods remain largely unchanged. Employees continue to maintain Excel lists, information is recorded multiple times, and decisions get stuck with individual people.
The result is not a genuine process improvement. Instead, an unclear workflow is merely mapped digitally.
This is a relevant issue, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). According to the KfW SME Digitalization Report 2025 published on April 23, 2026, 30 percent of medium-sized companies have recently carried out digitalization projects. At the same time, digitalization spending declined, and the digital divide between small and larger medium-sized enterprises remained significant. The report shows: Digitalization is by no means a self-running success. (KfW SME Digitalization Report 2025)
Companies therefore do not necessarily need a new system first. They first need clarity on how their work actually functions today.
How to recognize inefficient processes
Weaknesses in an organization usually do not arise suddenly. They develop over months or years. With every new client, product, or employee, additional tasks and individual solutions are added.
Typical warning signs are:
- Data is maintained in parallel across multiple systems or lists.
- Invoices, quotes, or orders regularly pile up.
- Information must be repeatedly requested via email.
- Different working methods exist for the same process.
- Approvals are given verbally or are not documented in a traceable manner.
- Only one specific person knows how an important workflow works.
- Queries between sales, administration, and accounting accumulate.
- Errors are corrected, but their root causes are not eliminated.
- Reports are available too late or only with significant effort.
- Management is burdened with operational individual cases.
Some of these points alone are not proof of fundamental disorganization. However, if several occur at the same time, a structured process analysis is worthwhile.
1. Record the actual workflow
The first step is to document not the desired process, but the real one.
In an order process, for example, the recording could begin with the receipt of a customer inquiry and only end with the receipt of payment and final filing. In between, there may be quoting, price calculation, approval, ordering, delivery, invoicing, and dunning.
For every processing step, five questions should be answered:
- Who performs the task?
- What information is required?
- Which system is used for the work?
- What result must be produced?
- Who takes over the process next?
This recording makes media discontinuities, waiting times, and unclear responsibilities visible. It often turns out that it is not the actual processing, but the waiting for information that causes the greatest loss of time.
2. Investigate causes instead of symptoms
When invoices are issued late, the solution initially seems simple: the accounting department should work faster. However, the actual cause may lie in the sales department, because performance records are missing or order changes were not documented.
A good process analysis therefore repeatedly asks: Why did this error occur?
A practical example:
A company notices that customers regularly receive incorrect delivery dates. The first reaction would be an additional check before the order confirmation is sent. However, analysis shows that sales and purchasing use different delivery time estimates. Another check would discover errors but cause additional work. A binding common data source is more sensible.
Process optimization therefore does not mean incorporating as many checks as possible. It aims to eliminate the causes of recurring errors.
3. Clearly define responsibilities
Many tasks are known to several departments, but no one feels ultimately responsible. Statements like "The administration usually takes care of that" are not sufficient for a stable process.
For every essential workflow, the following should be regulated:
- Who holds operational responsibility?
- Who is authorized to decide or approve?
- Who must supply information?
- Who is informed about the result?
- Who covers for absences?
- By when must the step be completed?
Responsibility should relate to a role and not exclusively to a specific person. This ensures the process remains functional even during vacations, illness, or staff changes.
4. Remove redundant work steps
Not every processing step that has grown over the years remains necessary. Some checks were introduced because of a past error, even though its cause has long since been fixed. Other lists continue to exist only because no one questions their use.
Four categories help with the evaluation:
- Value-adding: The step creates a recognizable benefit.
- Necessary: The step is required organizationally, contractually, or legally.
- Automatable: The step follows clear, repeatable rules.
- Dispensable: The step can be omitted without relevant disadvantage.
Only after unnecessary activities have been removed should there be a discussion about their digitalization. Automating a superfluous process does not make it any more meaningful.
5. Define a uniform target process
After the analysis, the future workflow is established. This target process should be described as simply as possible and as detailed as necessary.
This includes:
- a clear start and end point
- binding processing steps
- defined responsibilities
- required information and documents
- approval limits
- processing deadlines
- rules for exceptions
- a replacement process
- measurable quality criteria
It is important to involve the affected employees. They usually know the practical obstacles better than a purely strategic view can reveal. Furthermore, acceptance increases when new workflows are developed together.
6. Make improvements measurable
"Faster" or "more efficient" are not sufficient goals. Without a baseline, it is impossible to judge later whether the change was actually successful.Sensible key performance indicators (KPIs) can be:
- Time from service delivery to invoicing
- Average processing time of an order
- Number of necessary queries
- Proportion of incomplete processes
- Number of overdue receivables
- Error or complaint rate
- Number of manual data entries
- On-time delivery performance
- Cost per process
Not every company needs an extensive KPI system. Two or three consistently collected values are often more meaningful than a report with numerous KPIs from which no measures are derived.
7. Only now choose digitalization and automation
Once the target process is defined, it can be assessed which technical support makes sense.
Possible measures range from digital approval workflows and central document filing to automated reminders, system integrations, or AI-supported document recognition. The selection should be based on the specific bottleneck and not on which technology is currently particularly prominent.
A suitable pilot process should:
- recur frequently,
- be clearly demarcated,
- contain a recognizable bottleneck,
- have manageable risks, and
- enable measurable results within a few weeks.
After the test, experiences are evaluated, the workflow is adjusted, and only then are other areas included.
Practical example: From order to receipt of payment
A growing service company records good sales but has increasingly outstanding receivables. Initially, it is suspected that customers are paying later.
The process recording shows a different picture: performance records are collected decentrally, order changes reach the back office late, and invoices are sometimes not issued until several weeks after service delivery. The problem therefore does not begin with the customer, but in the internal flow of information.
The optimized workflow provides for fixed handover dates, uniform digital documentation, and clear responsibility for invoice approval. Additionally, a weekly control system is introduced for services not yet billed.
The example shows: Process optimization can improve liquidity without raising prices or generating additional sales.
Process optimization with ELB Services
ELB Services combines business consulting with practical commercial implementation. We do not just analyze organizational charts and theoretical process descriptions, but observe the actual cooperation between management, sales, back office, accounting, tax firms, and the systems in use.
Possible focal points include:
- Recording and evaluation of existing business processes
- Identification of media discontinuities and duplicate work
- Clarification of responsibilities and interfaces
- Development of practical target processes
- Definition of suitable KPIs
- Support with digitalization and automation
- Support during operational implementation
- Creation of a prioritized action plan
Legal or tax advisory for individual cases is not part of the service. For such questions, the responsible professional bodies are consulted.
Would you like to know which workflows are currently costing your company unnecessary time and liquidity?
Schedule a non-binding initial consultation with ELB Services. Together, we will identify the most important areas for action and develop an actionable improvement plan.
Further information: ELB Services