There is a growing need for organizations to automate their business processes in order to improve efficiency and reduce costs. One way to do this is through robotics process automation (RPA). RPA can be used to automate repetitive, rules-based tasks that are currently being performed by your employees. This can free up employees to focus on more strategic and higher-value tasks and can help to improve your organization’s overall performance.
When considering RPA implementation, it is important to first identify the business processes that would most benefit from automation. Once you have recognized these processes, you will need to define the scope of the project and create a plan for how to implement RPA within your organization.
RPA Solutions for increased productivity and efficiency
Automating repetitive tasks can help to improve your organization’s overall efficiency by freeing up employees to focus on more strategic tasks. RPA can also help to improve process quality by reducing the potential for human error.
Scope of RPA implementation in your business:
If you’re a business owner or CTO (decision maker), you first need to understand how RPA can be used within your organization to improve efficiency. This means identifying the business processes that would most benefit from automation. Once you have recognized these processes, you need to define the scope of the project and create a plan for how to implement RPA into your business.
There are multiple jobs that need automation like,
- Data entry
- Data analysis
- Report generation
- Customer service
- Order processing
- Accounts payable/receivable
- Data sciences
RPA tools can be deployed quickly and easily, with little to no impact on current IT systems. All you have to do is get APM (Application Performance Management) solutions in place to make sure your RPA project is successful.
Best practices to follow while implementing RPA
There are a few best practices that you should follow while implementing RPA within your organization:
- Define the business process to be automated.
- Select the right RPA platform.
- Set up the RPA environment.
- Develop or purchase the necessary bots.
- Deploy and test the bots.
- Monitor and optimize bot performance over time.
- Ease of implementation.
To get started with RPA, you first need to identify which business processes can be automated. Look for processes that are rules-based and repetitive in nature.
No matter you have a private, public, or hybrid cloud server, RPA implementation can be implemented on-site or off-shore.
There are two types of bots that can be used for RPA:
Attended bots: These are bots that are used by humans to automate tasks.
Unattended bots: These are bots that run in the background to automate tasks.
Once you have selected the right platform and bots for your needs, you will need to set up the RPA environment. This includes installing the necessary software and bots on your servers. Once the environment is set up, you can then develop or purchase the necessary bots.
After the bots have been developed or purchased, you will need to deploy and test them. Once they have been deployed, you should monitor and optimize their performance over time.
Shortage of skilled resources:
One of the biggest challenges in implementing RPA is the lack of skilled resources. Finding employees who are both willing and able to learn the new technology can be difficult, and training existing employees can be time-consuming and expensive.
Challenge in automating end to end use cases:
Another common challenge is the difficulty in automating end-to-end business processes. This often requires different software applications to be integrated, which can be complicated and time-consuming.
1. Lack of required support from Business:
In order for RPA to be successful, it is important to have the full support of the business. This includes having clear goals and objectives for the implementation, as well as the necessary budget and resources. Without this support, it can be difficult to get the project off the ground.
2. Lack of proper team structure:
One of the challenges of RPA is that it requires a cross-functional team to be successful. This team should include members from IT, business, and engineering. However, often times these teams are not properly structured, which can lead to communication problems and a lack of coordination.
3. Vaguely defined Business continuity plans:
One of the challenges of RPA is that it can be difficult to define a clear business continuity plan. This is because RPA can be used to automate a variety of different processes, each with its own unique requirements. Without a clear plan, it can be difficult to know how to keep the business running in the event of an RPA failure.
Case studies of businesses that have implemented RPA successfully
RPA has been successfully implemented by many businesses, and there are a number of case studies that demonstrate its benefits.
Process of Invoicing:
Problem:
The company’s queue was clogged with dozens of invoices from several vendors. Over ten employees manually entered the data from these invoices into the SAP system, with the structure of these scanned/digital invoices varying significantly among the providers. Multiple stages of approvals slowed down the end-to-end process.
The solution:
Time-consuming, manual activities involved with invoice processing were automated with smart bots. Several types of semi-structured scanned and image-based documents are read by these Smart Bots, which then provide users with an intuitive interface and feed the resulting data into SAP. The implementation of the RPA solution has significantly sped up the invoice approval process, allowing it to be easily expanded as the demand for service grows.
Loan disbursement Process
Problem:
A major bank was having difficulty with its business loan application procedure, particularly because of difficulties with internet connectivity among remote employees. Those branches that were having trouble with their internet connection had to use a manual process to disburse loans, which was not only time-consuming but also resulted in errors.
Solutions:
RPA was used to develop a bot that could read loan applications from PDFs, extract the necessary data, and then input it into the bank’s core banking system. This allowed the bank to automate its loan disbursement process and improve its efficiency. This all was done by centralized processing, which resulted in faster loan approvals and fewer errors. It was incorporated into the bank’s existing IBM business process management system.
The bank also included a user-friendly interface that allowed remote bank employees to capture consumer data and important papers offline and then synchronize them with a centralized mobile application. The success of these initiatives resulted in a 78% reduction in time to completion for loan processing, as well as a 20% boost in revenue.
Conclusion:
RPA can be a powerful tool for businesses, but it is important to have the full support of the business in order to make it successful. Additionally, it is important to have a clear plan for how to keep the business running in the event of an RPA failure. There are many case studies of businesses that have been successful in implementing RPA, and these can be used as inspiration for how to make RPA work in your own business. Finally, incorporating a user-friendly interface can make it easier for employees to use RPA and improve its efficiency.