4 surprising ways to use intelligent document processing software in retail

Retail operations have a lot of moving parts that take thousands of hours each year to properly manage. These challenges become more complex as companies grow into multinational conglomerates. Now with consumer demand for e-commerce growing rapidly in the wake of the pandemic, traditional retailers are investing more in omnichannel commerce, further disrupting business as usual.

As McKinsey notes, to improve or even maintain profit margins in this market, automation is no longer something companies can casually adopt — it’s a requirement to remain competitive. Luckily, a new generation of AI-powered intelligent document processing software holds the key to improving efficiency in retail operations that  companies need to thrive.

What is intelligent document processing software? 

Intelligent document processing (IDP) uses artificial intelligence to streamline both simple and complex document-related tasks. The solutions in this category minimize or eliminate much of the manual work that goes into initial document classification and data entry.

AI can “read” incoming documents and automatically extract information into databases, so workers can route them to other departments for further processing. The most advanced examples of this solution enable full intelligent process automation, creating a seamless workflow between the IDP platform and other point solutions. This cohesion lays the ground for more advanced workflows and higher efficiency than previously attainable through just automation.

How does intelligent document processing software help retailers?

Automation is improving operations in every industry. In the retail industry, point solutions are already improving the checkout process, streamlining online ordering, and helping companies better track customer behavior. But companies can be even more innovative if they use versatile intelligent document processing software. The four biggest capabilities they’ll find helpful are these:

Deeper customer analytics

The prime function of intelligent document processing software is to refine every organization’s treasure trove of unstructured data into valuable, usable structured data. IDP can collect data from every document and provide data teams with a vehicle to analyze it.

The capability to extract raw information from any document enables workers to find trends and patterns that can build more in-depth customer profiles, inspire better marketing initiatives, and develop better pricing and sales strategies.

More efficient hiring processes

As retail jobs come to demand a higher level of skills from candidates, the time and cost of finding and onboarding new talent rises as well. The hiring cycle can involve dozens of documents and complex screening processes.

AI-powered intelligent document processing software helps users quickly transform onboarding forms, transcripts, identification documents, and more into usable data, and analyze it to make the best hiring decisions. HR departments can use IDP to easily analyze data about employee satisfaction, so companies can implement programs and policies that reduce employee turnover.

Data-powered shipping & logistics

With increased demand for omnichannel commerce, many companies are investing heavily in online shopping. The most efficient way to do so is through partnerships with third party shipping and logistics providers to handle fulfillment, which dramatically dilutes profits. Large companies are in a better position to handle fulfillment in-house but only if they can control costs enough to compete with third-party specialists.

Intelligent document processing software helps retailers manage data for inventory optimization, customer service issues, order workflows, and more. Best of all, it can integrate with outside systems to streamline data sharing between retailers and logistics providers, helping reduce costs even when third-party support is needed. 

Easier bank reconciliation processes 

Every day, retailers have to manually confirm the accuracy of payments between banks and stores. Timely reconciliation processes are critical to the functioning of the business, but can eat up a lot of resources. AI streamlines this demanding process by helping users perform these checks more efficiently. The tool can automatically approve transactions that don’t have discrepancies, and present only problematic transactions for manual review, dramatically reducing the number of documents each worker needs to look at. 

The future of intelligent process automation in retail 

Companies can pursue many paths to their digital revolution. Intelligent document processing software is one of the most important to implement, with application in nearly every area of a company. Automation Hero can create cumulative efficiency gains that have a dramatic impact on profitability, freeing up resources for even more expansion. Best of all, customers can layer it on top of their existing point solutions without any complicated changes to their operations. Schedule a demo today to see what Automation Hero can do for you.