RPA stands for an application of technology, directed by business logic and planned inputs, organized for automating business procedures. A scenario can be as basic as generating an automatic response to an email, or as large as installing thousands of bots each programmed to automate tasks in an ERP system.
Using an RPA system, a company can build software to annex and interpret applications for business processes like transaction processing, operating data, generating responses and connecting with other digital systems. It depends on the company's need and objectives which system they employ. However, a successful deployment requires accurate design, planning and authority to support the business.
Why RPA
For any organization, RPA has the aptitude to minimize staffing costs and man-made errors. David Schatsky, a managing director at Deloitte LP, cites a bank's experience: it restructured its claims process by installing 85 bots to run 13 different processes, dealing with 1.5 million requests a year. The bank said the model carried the competence of about 200 full-time employees, at about 30% reduced recruitment cost.
A bot is economical and easy to implement, requiring no custom software or detailed integration. Schatsky says such characteristics matter because companies often look for growth without adding expenditure or disagreement among workers. A survey around the time of writing found 70% of B2B buyers believed virtual sales calls were as effective as personal ones for complex products, and 80% of companies were fast-tracking their automation effort. Long-term success depends on redesigning work and processes to be suitable for automation.
The five factors
Analyze your objectives carefully
RPA may provide a quick win, but driving it in the long run is different. Dave Kuder of Deloitte Consulting LLP says RPA may prove unsuccessful if management fails to analyze its own expectations. Choose it with a vigilant mindset.
Business influence
RPA is usually upheld as a tool to boost return on investment or minimize cost. Kris Fitzgerald, CTO of NTT Data Services, argues more organizations should adopt it to improve customer experience: airlines hire many service agents yet customers still wait in the queue, and a virtual agent has no downtime and never calls in sick.
IT expertise is a must
Many organizations have bought RPA and implemented it without IT assistance. That does not work. Business heads must involve IT from the outset to be sure the right resources are chosen and implemented correctly.
Weak design and altered management cause chaos
Several implementations fail because design and change are weakly managed, says Sanjay Srivastava, Chief Digital Officer at Genpact. To get something positioned quickly, some organizations ignore the communication between bots and break a business process. Think about the operating model design before you implement, and map out how the bots are expected to work together.
Project management is supreme
A common problem is the collapse of a whole plan under one obstruction. At one Genpact client an employee altered the company password policy and nobody adjusted the bots, which resulted in loss of data. Organizations must cope with such alterations with an effective project management strategy, and a regular monitoring and alert system to avoid setbacks.
RPA takes over complete or partial business processes depending on where it is deployed. A good study of the system and consideration of organizational factors is required to implement it successfully.