Process automation case study using the ROI-FIRST approach
Exit Permit Requests and Approvals
Industry
Business Associations - Chamber of Commerce
Date
Aug 14, 2026
Recommendation
⚠️ Not yet
Time saved
From 25 min to 4 min per permit
ROI Automation, recommendation and costs
COP
currency $:
Level of Automation | % Automation | Cases x Month | Time x Case (hours) |
|---|---|---|---|
High - digital request form with preloaded employee data, automatic routing to each person's immediate supervisor, one-click approval from an email notification, digital exit and return log at the security desk, and a real-time dashboard by type, area and person that replaces the monthly report. What remains human: the employee states where they are going and why, the supervisor decides whether to approve, the security desk confirms the actual exit and return, and the health and safety coordinator analyzes the absenteeism indicator. | 86.7 | 77 | 0.42 |
Personas Involucradas | Nivel de Cargo Promedio | Average Monthly Salary | Real Company Cost with Benefits |
|---|---|---|---|
5 | Mixed: Assistant/Operator - requester (Level 6, x1), Immediate Supervisor - approver (Level 4, x1), External Security Guard (Level 5, x1), Coordinator/Supervisor (Level 3, x2) | 3.075.000 | 4.714.898 |
Monthly Operational Cost | Annual Operational Cost | Estimated Monthly Savings |
|---|---|---|
796.787 | 9.561.449 | 691.069 |
Estimated Annual Savings | Year 1 Investment | Net Benefit Year 1 |
|---|---|---|
8.292.826 | 10.170.000 | -1.877.174 |
Cumulative Net Benefit 3 Years | FTE Equivalente Liberado |
|---|---|
-3.651.523 | 0.22 |
Power in Numbers
-18.5
ROI Year 1 (%)
14.7
Payback (months)
0.82
Cost/Benefit ratio
⚠️ Not yet
The process consumes 36.6 hours per month (0.22 FTE) across five roles, with an operating cost of COP $9,561,449 per year. With flow, 86.7% of that cost is automatable (weighted by role: 87% for the requester, 80% for the supervisor and the security desk, 100% for the monthly report, 83% for the absenteeism indicator). That means COP $8,292,826 in annual savings and 31.4 hours released per month. The year-1 investment is COP $10,170,000 (annual license plus design consulting), so this flow on its own does not pay for itself: ROI of -18.5% in year 1, -9.7% from year 2 with license only, a 14.7-month payback and a benefit/cost ratio of 0.82. The threshold is clear. The process pays for itself alone above 100 permits per month (about 4.5 per day) in year 1, or 92 per month to break even over 3 years. The more realistic route is the license's unlimited flows: a second flow under the same license that frees at least 6 hours per month of an analyst-level role (Level 4) closes the year-1 gap of COP $1,877,174, and the asset exit form detected in the same meeting is the natural candidate. The human side does say it will work: the area has asked several times to stop signing paper, approvals depend on physically finding the signer, and when someone asks where a colleague is, the answer sits in a drawer at the security desk. The recommendation is not to discard it but to automate it as part of a package, with the administrative coordinator designing the flow, supervising exceptions and using the dashboard to plan staff coverage. Figures assume an average of 3.5 permits per day and the salary midpoint for each level; the one-month pilot that was proposed would validate real times before deciding.
Signs of inefficiency detected
Printed form for every permit (3 to 4 per day, about 77 per month). Physical search for the supervisor to sign, with time lost when they are in meetings or out of the office. No visibility of permit status or of who is out; the answer depends on asking around. The security desk re-types every exit and return in a spreadsheet and keeps the paper. A coordinator spends 4 hours a month consolidating permit statistics by hand. The absenteeism indicator is fed manually every month (30 minutes). Repeated requests for reports by person and type of permit that require exporting to Excel. Parallel inefficiencies (not costed): a manual asset exit form when staff take equipment out for missions or coverage, manual follow-up of documents that require the legal representative's signature, and a monthly utilities consumption spreadsheet of about 20 bills.