Process automation has matured into a significant solution over the past decade. Enterprises seeking efficiency have embraced custom workflows to streamline how they conduct business. Yet there are limits to what tasks this technology has been able to automate. Process automation can become ineffective or limited when the business process:
Enter Robotic Process Automation!
Robotic Process Automation, or RPA, automates tasks that require use of multiple independent applications. Simply put, RPA brings together the full potential of workflow, “screen-scraping,” data capture, and macros into one extremely powerful application.
Interest in RPA has grown because it solves for many limitations of the previous automation tools. RPA enables enterprises to continue to streamline. In fact, according to Gartner, Inc., RPA is now the fastest growing segment of the global enterprise software market.
Robots are software programs which run on an individual user’s machine and follow a process which previously required human actions to complete. They have the benefit of being centrally managed, easily distributed to users who need them and scheduled appropriately.
Furthermore, robots can run 24/7 autonomously on a virtual machine without the need for human interaction. This offers organizations the potential to create powerful robot farms that demonstrate significantly improved productivity.
Robot administrators benefit from centralized monitoring and reporting which provides oversight in action and enables issue resolution in an efficient and timely manner.
If an employee can use their computer to perform the tasks in a process by keyboard and mouse today, there is a good chance it can be automated using RPA. As an example, assume a company has a problem in its logistics chain and customers did not receive expected products. A logistical service manager seeking resolution may be required to perform many steps including:
A robot can do all of that and more. Integrating disparate systems which require manual checking not only reduces the risk of error, but significantly reduces time to decision making. Ultimately, the user will have to make the determination as to what happened and what went wrong, but the retrieval of the data can be automated. Most importantly, the service representative now has more time to spend reassuring the client while the remedy may take less time to deliver.
PSC has been helping clients automate business processes since our inception 30 years ago. Our experience with business process automation, automated document generation, workflow process automation and now RPA tools, uniquely position PSC to understand a client’s need to increase productivity in the workplace while reducing overhead and maximizing ROI.
Do you have business processes that can be automated with RPA? Give us a call and let us help you determine if this technology can help your business increase process efficiency.