Introduction to Business Rules Engines

A business rules engine is a software solution that handles business rules. The structure of a common business rule would be, “If A, then B.”

These simple rules help run organizations of all sizes. So, when a rules engine analyzes a database, it outputs a true or false result.

Laws, best practices, and business goals can all be represented by business rules.

Some popular usages of business rules are:

• A carrier uses automated insurance underwriting capabilities to decide whether an applicant meets eligibility requirements.
• An e-commerce business grants free shipping to first-time customers and a 10% discount.

A rules engine or business rules management system automates repetitive and time-consuming tasks boost collaboration and reduce mistakes.

Rules Engines: Advantages

A business rules engine can have a groundbreaking impact on a business. They allow non-technical users to make changes to business rules without having to touch the hard code.

As a result, rules engines drastically reduce the amount of time it takes team members to make changes — from weeks to a few minutes.

Compliance

Organizations use rules engines to remain compliant by adding transparency to business processes and generating audit trails.

Companies that are not compliant can face harsh fines, penalties, and disruption that inevitably hurts the bottom line.

Use Cases Across Industries

Let’s take a more detailed look at how rules engines generate growth for businesses across different sectors.

The Insurance Industry

Insurers take different variables into account when determining whether to issue a policy. For instance, auto insurance providers examine the applicant’s accident history, experience, and car make when approving a policy.

Life insurance companies, on the other hand, review an applicant’s health, age, and medical history.

Therefore, insurance carriers need to create different products to effectively engage different customer segments.

Rules engines empower insurance agents to create policies and offer tailor-made products to consumers on the fly. A rules engine is a powerful tool that allows the agent to easily find, update, and manage rules.

Financial Services

Banks are dealing with smaller budgets, growing regulations, and a stronger pricing squeeze. At the same time, the competition for valuable customers is more intense than ever before.

It is in this context that banks and fintechs use rules engines to run efficiently and remain productive. Business rules engines help financial institutions to offer reasonably priced financial products while maintaining compliance. This is why new products are rolled out in a matter of hours or days instead of weeks.

Business rules engines have a proven track record of detecting fraud and money laundering. In fact, you can turn a rules engine into a fraud prevention solution. Fraud examiners use rules engines to quickly counter a fraud attack. For instance, if suspicious activity is traced back to a specific location, then the financial institution can instantly block all transactions origination from that location.

Retail

The retail industry has many moving parts. In order to remain competitive, retailers must monitor their supply chain while meeting customer demand.

Therefore, retailers make extensive changes to their business rules every day. For instance, the shipping price could change every few days due to fluctuating shipping fees. Businesses can’t afford to wait weeks to make updates to their system.

This is why retailers utilize rules engines to adapt to changing market conditions in real-time.

Summary

The right rules engine for your business depends on the complexity of rules and the particular business goals you need to generate growth.

Therefore, it comes as no surprise that rules engines benefit non-technical team members the most.

From performing customer screening to making regulatory policies and customer segments, business rules engines empower experts to create and handle business rules. This results in a well-organized organization that effortlessly generates new revenue streams.