How Digital Workflow Automation With Low Code Can Eliminate Operational Bottlenecks

Manual processes hinder operations—paper forms shuttle between departments, approvals take days to complete, and data is often re-entered repeatedly across disconnected systems. Despite ongoing digital transformation efforts, operational bottlenecks persist in most organizations, wasting employee time, causing human error, and preventing quick responses to market changes.

Low code digital workflow automation offers a solution: empowering business teams to digitize their processes while maintaining proper IT governance and security.

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Short on Time? Here's a Brief Overview

• Traditional automation approaches fail due to lengthy development cycles, rigid tools, and growing IT backlogs.
• Low code platforms enable up to 10x faster workflow automation without extensive programming.
• Business users can digitize their own processes while IT maintains governance, security, and system integration.
• Organizations see immediate benefits, including reduced manual tasks, fewer errors, and greater operational transparency.

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What Is Digital Workflow Automation?

Digital workflow automation transforms manual, paper-based processes into streamlined digital systems that automatically move work forward. Instead of employees manually routing information or updating spreadsheets, automated workflows handle these steps based on predefined rules.

For example, paper forms get replaced with digital versions that people fill out online. Then, instead of someone physically carrying that form to the next person, the system automatically sends it to whoever needs to see it next. The data from those forms is sent directly into your systems without requiring anyone to re-enter it.

Modern automation covers everything from simple approvals to complex cross-departmental workflows. Common examples include purchase requisitions, employee onboarding, contract reviews, and field service management.

Effective workflow automation eliminates bottlenecks by standardizing processes, ensuring consistent execution, and providing visibility into work status at any moment.

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Why Traditional Automation Often Falls Short

Organizations often find workflow automation a challenge for several reasons.

1. Development resource constraints

Custom-built solutions require extensive development resources and specialized skills. Even mid-sized automation projects can take months to implement, with costs exceeding initial estimates. Once built, these custom applications demand ongoing maintenance, further straining IT resources.

2. Inflexible off-the-shelf software

Pre-packaged software often proves too rigid for unique business processes. Organizations face an uncomfortable choice: either alter their processes to fit the software or invest in expensive customizations that may break with each vendor update.

3. Growing IT bottlenecks

According to Gartner research, application development teams can’t keep up with business demands for new applications. With limited developer resources and changing priorities, business-critical workflow improvements languish in backlogs for months or years.

Troublingly, frustrated business units often end up implementing unauthorized tools that create security risks and complicate your internal technology further.

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The Low Code Advantage: Automating Workflows Without the Wait

Low code platforms change the automation equation by providing visual development tools that reduce the technical skills needed to create workflow applications.

Visual process design

Low code platforms offer intuitive interfaces where processes can be modeled visually, similar to creating a flowchart, rather than needing to write code. This means that business analysts and process owners, who understand the workflows best, can now contribute directly to automation efforts.

Accelerated development

Low code development accelerates application delivery compared to traditional methods because people can build workflows by dragging and dropping pre-built components instead of writing thousands of lines of code from scratch. What might take months with conventional development can be accomplished in weeks or even days.

Rapid iteration

When requirements change, non-technical people can often make those changes themselves by simply adjusting the workflow in a visual editor, like rearranging a flowchart. There's no need to call in developers to rewrite complex code every time.

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Common Bottlenecks Solved With Low Code Automation

Low code workflow automation addresses operational bottlenecks across multiple business functions.

Financial process optimization

Finance departments can streamline purchase approvals, invoice processing, and expense management through automated workflows. CED, a European claims management specialist, implemented an Automatic Damage Settlement Platform using low code that cut claim handling time by 50%, eliminating a previously paper-heavy process.

HR process acceleration

Human Resources teams can eliminate onboarding delays by automating document collection, system provisioning, and training assignments. When new employees join, the workflow automatically triggers the right tasks for IT, facilities, and department managers.

Field service coordination

Field service operations often benefit from digital coordination of schedules, work orders, and status updates. Eneco, a Dutch energy company, developed a scheduling application called Splash that reduced failed service visits from 40% to just 2%-5% by automating appointment management and route planning.

Cross-functional workflow management

Complex workflows spanning multiple departments—like product launches, regulatory compliance reporting, or customer onboarding—benefit most dramatically from automation. With proper visibility and clear handoffs, these cross-functional processes no longer stall during team transitions.

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The Key Benefits of Low Code Workflow Automation

Organizations implementing low code workflow automation gain several advantages over manual processes.

1. Dramatic speed improvements

Process speed increases when automation eliminates waiting time between steps. Tasks that previously took days can be completed in hours or minutes. Purchase approvals that once required physical signatures now progress automatically based on simple rules, such as “anything under $1,000 receives automatic approval” or “expense reports are routed to the department manager first, then to finance.”

2. Enhanced operational visibility

Automated workflows provide process status visibility in real time. Managers identify bottlenecks as they emerge rather than discovering problems after deadlines pass. This visibility extends to compliance requirements, with every action automatically documented.

3. Reduced error rates

Manual data entry causes numerous mistakes, from transposed numbers to inconsistent formatting. Automated workflows enforce data quality through validation rules and eliminate redundant entry by sharing information across connected systems.

4. Improved employee experience

Employees spend less time on repetitive tasks and more time on meaningful work requiring human judgment. By automating routine activities, organizations free up talent to focus on innovation and customer experience.

5. Greater operational flexibility

Workflows become easier to modify in response to changing conditions. When new regulations require additional documentation or market shifts demand faster responses, low code platforms allow rapid process adaptation without lengthy development cycles.

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Governance & Integration: Making It Work at Scale

While low code platforms democratize application development, successful implementation requires proper governance and an integration strategy.

Balanced IT oversight

IT involvement remains essential for platform selection, security configuration, and system integration. Effective organizations establish clear guidelines about which processes business users can automate independently and which require IT oversight.

Seamless system integration

Modern low code platforms provide connectors to common enterprise applications like SAP, Salesforce, and Microsoft 365, along with support for standard protocols. Workflows can incorporate data from multiple systems without creating new silos.

Centers of excellence

Many organizations establish centers of excellence that bring together IT and other departments to share best practices, reusable components, and governance standards. These collaborative groups help scale automation efforts while maintaining appropriate controls.

As CLEVR's Team Lead, Robert Huisintveld points out, “Low code governance can help companies build and innovate faster while also ensuring that software is scalable and future-proof.”

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CLEVR's Approach: Fast, Scalable, and Business-Aligned Automation

CLEVR helps organizations implement effective workflow automation by combining technical expertise with practical business experience. Our work begins by understanding process challenges and identifying high-impact automation opportunities.

A process-first methodology ensures automation efforts deliver meaningful outcomes rather than simply digitizing existing inefficiencies. By mapping current workflows, identifying bottlenecks, and reimagining processes before implementation, organizations achieve transformative results.

CLEVR's expertise with low code platforms enables rapid development while maintaining enterprise-grade security, scalability, and integration capabilities. The technical foundation supports both simple departmental workflows and complex, cross-functional processes that span multiple systems.

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Automation That Works for Everyone

Organizations relying on manual workflows and disconnected systems struggle to match the speed and efficiency of their more automated competitors.

Low code workflow automation offers a balanced path forward—combining rapid implementation with necessary governance, security, and scalability.

For organizations with operational bottlenecks and outdated manual processes, low code platforms provide the balance of speed and control needed to move forward. The significant cost savings and efficiency gains make this particularly valuable for businesses in any industry looking to modernize their operations. 

Contact CLEVR to discuss how digital workflow automation can help eliminate your specific operational challenges.

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Research Methodology

This analysis draws on documented case studies from organizations across multiple industries that have implemented low code workflow automation. We reviewed published research from Gartner, Forrester, and McKinsey to identify common challenges and success factors. 

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