10 Workflows You Can Automate in 90 Days (Without Rebuilding Your Stack)

The Moment Everyone Realized the Process Was Broken

In one mid-quarter review, an operations leader walked through their ticket queues and dashboards. The team was working hard, but:

• People were still copying data between systems.
• Managers were chasing updates in email threads.
• Standard approvals took days instead of hours.

Everyone agreed automation was a priority—but every potential project sounded big and slow. Six months later, very little had changed.

The problem was not a lack of ideas. It was a lack of 90-day, prove-it works projects.

This guide is about those projects.

Which workflows can we automate in the next 90 days, using the systems we already have?

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What You Will Get From This Guide

By the end, you will have:

• A list of 10 concrete workflows that are strong candidates for automation.
• A simple 90-day automation filter (Impact × Ease × Risk) to prioritize.
• A practical plan for what to do in the next 90 days, not just a wishlist.

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The 90-Day Automation Filter (Impact × Ease × Risk)

Before choosing tools, it helps to choose where to apply them.

Score each potential workflow on three dimensions (1–5 is enough):

• Impact – Hours saved, error reduction, faster cycle times, improved experience.
• Ease – Data availability, clarity of rules, number of systems involved.
• Risk – What happens if something goes wrong? How visible is this process?

Then look for workflows that are:

• Medium-to-high impact.
• Medium-to-high ease.
• Low-to-medium risk.

Those are your 90-day automation candidates.

Below are 10 workflows we frequently see in that zone.

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1. Routing Incoming Emails and Tickets

Every day, teams manually read and route incoming requests from customers, partners, or internal teams.

Automation can:

• Classify new requests based on content, customer type, and urgency.
• Route them to the right queue or team.
• Suggest priorities so agents and coordinators see the most important work first.

Impact: Less time triaging, fewer misrouted cases, faster response times.

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2. Creating and Updating Records Across Systems

When something happens—a shipment, a case closure, an order—someone usually needs to update multiple systems.

Automation can:

• Detect key events in one system.
• Create or update related records elsewhere.
• Use AI to read free-text notes and map them to the right fields.

Impact: Fewer copy-paste errors, more complete data, less admin work.

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3. Collecting Information from Forms and Attachments

Onboarding, applications, and intake processes often rely on PDFs, spreadsheets, or manual forms.

Automation can:

• Extract key details from documents.
• Validate for completeness and flag missing information.
• Push clean data into your systems of record.

Impact: Faster onboarding, fewer back-and-forth emails, better data quality.

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4. Standard Status Updates to Customers or Internal Teams

Most status updates follow a pattern ( "Here is what happened, here is where we are, here is what happens next").

Automation can:

• Draft status emails or messages based on the latest system data.
• Alert a human when a review is needed.

Impact: More consistent communication with much less manual typing.

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5. Approvals Within Clear Thresholds

Many approval workflows (discounts, credits, standard exceptions) are routine when they meet simple criteria.

Automation can:

• Auto-approve requests that meet pre-defined rules (for example, below a value threshold, low risk, standard terms).
• Escalate edge cases with full context for human review.

Impact: Faster cycle times without giving up control over exceptions.

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6. Assigning Work to the Right Person or Team

Assigning tasks manually can lead to uneven workload and missed SLAs.

Automation can:

• Assign tasks based on skills, workload, territory, or schedule.
• Reassign automatically when SLAs are at risk.

Impact: Better workload balance and improved on-time completion.

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7. Generating Summaries for Handovers

When work moves between teams, new owners often have to read through long histories.

Automation can:

• Summarize long case histories or project threads.
• Highlight key decisions, risks, and next steps.

Impact: Fewer misunderstandings and smoother handovers.

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8. Flagging Exceptions for Human Review

Teams cannot manually review every transaction or change.

Automation can:

• Monitor events and flag those that look unusual.
• Present reviewers with concise context and suggested actions.

Impact: More focused review time and lower risk of missing real issues.

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9. Closing the Loop on Routine Tasks

Tasks sometimes stay open even when all required steps are complete.

Automation can:

• Automatically close tasks once conditions are met.
• Trigger follow-up actions like satisfaction surveys or knowledge base updates.

Impact: Cleaner queues and better tracking without extra clicks.

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10. Generating Operational Reports and Dashboards

Reporting often requires people to pull data from multiple systems and clean it manually.

Automation can:

• Pull data on a schedule.
• Apply business rules and AI-driven checks to highlight trends and risks.

Impact: Less time building reports, more time interpreting and acting on them.

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Estimating Impact Before You Start

For each candidate workflow, estimate:

• Volume: How many items per week or month?
• Effort: How many minutes per item today?
• Error/Rework: How often do issues or rework occur?

Then model a conservative scenario where automation handles a portion of the work—for example:

• 30–50% reduction in manual effort.
• 20–40% reduction in rework.
• Faster turnaround on standard cases.

This is usually enough to build a strong business case without complex modelling.

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Your Next 90 Days

To turn this list into real change:

1. List candidate workflows. Use the 10 above as prompts and add your own.
2. Score each with the 90-day automation filter (Impact, Ease, Risk).
3. Pick 2–3 workflows with medium/high impact and ease, and low/medium risk.
4. Design a human-in-the-loop model so people stay in control.
5. Measure before and after (time spent, throughput, rework, SLA performance).

This approach keeps scope manageable while creating proof points for broader automation.

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Where Afaxon Fits

Afaxon helps operations and technology leaders:

• Identify high-impact workflows that can be automated in the next 90 days.
• Design human-in-the-loop intelligent automation that teams trust.
• Implement AI-powered workflows that plug into your existing systems.

If you'd like help assessing your automation opportunities or planning a 90-day roadmap, our team can work with you to prioritize use cases and deliver early wins that build momentum.