All you need to know about Robotic Process Automation (RPA)

Content:

Introduction
What is Robotic Process Automation (RPA)?
How does Robotic Process Automation work?
What are some typical use cases for RPA?
What types of businesses and industries is RPA best suited for?
Why should I automate my processes?
What types of process automation exist?
What are the benefits of using RPA?
I want to implement RPA in my company - what are the first steps?

The skills shortage is now a major factor impacting business operations and limiting further growth. As a result, businesses need to seize every opportunity to use automation to free up valuable human resources.

Enter Robotic Process Automation (RPA). In this blog post, we have summarized some basic information about RPA.

What is Robotic Process Automation (RPA)?

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is a technology for automating business processes using software robots (bots). These bots can perform manual, repetitive tasks traditionally performed by humans, such as entering data, filling out forms, moving files, and performing complex calculations. RPA enables organizations to increase efficiency, reduce errors, and lower costs. This frees up employees to focus on more valuable and strategic tasks. This typically leads to higher employee satisfaction.

How does Robotic Process Automation work?

RPA bots mimic human actions such as clicking, typing, and reading screen content. They interact with user interfaces and work with different applications in the same way a human would. An IT bot is therefore a software application that performs automated tasks. These tasks can range from simple commands to complex, multi-step processes.

What are some typical use cases for RPA?

For a process to be mapped with RPA, it must meet the following criteria

The process must be rule-based, meaning it must be possible to describe the process in advance. Variants and exceptions are possible.

The process must be repeatable, i.e. it must always follow the same pattern. Automation only makes sense with a significant number of repetitions.
The input for the process must be available in digital form, e.g. as an email, Excel file, etc.

Typical use cases for RPA include

Data Entry and Validation: Automating the entry and validation of data into disparate systems.

Invoice Processing: Automate the invoice creation, verification, and posting process, -verification, and posting.

Customer Service: Automate the response to standardized customer inquiries and update customer databases.

Inventory Management: Automate tasks such as inventory monitoring and order initiation.

Reporting: Automate the creation and distribution of periodic reports.

What types of businesses and industries is RPA best suited for?

RPA can be used across all industries and is particularly suited to companies that deal with high volumes of repetitive and rule-based tasks.

Why should I automate my processes?

Process automation can lead to significant cost savings, improve accuracy, reduce processing time, and free employees from monotonous tasks so they can focus on more valuable work.

What types of process automation exist?

There are several types of process automation:

In partial automation, humans and bots work together, with the bot automating certain parts of the process and the human taking control when human judgment is required. This is called an "attended bot".

In the fully automated variant, the RPA bot takes over the entire process without human intervention. The bot is triggered by an agreed-upon starting point, such as an event like an incoming email, or by a set schedule.

What are the benefits of using RPA?

RPA offers numerous benefits, including cost savings, improved accuracy, greater speed and scalability, and the ability to free up human workers from routine tasks. In addition, RPA bots are built using low-code tools.

This means that a functional bot can be created and customized with little expertise. In addition, the affected systems in which the bot operates are not changed. The IT risks are therefore significantly lower than with programming that changes the systems involved.

I want to implement RPA in my company - what are the first steps?

Implementing RPA starts with identifying the right processes to automate, followed by selecting the right tool and vendor. Piloting smaller projects helps to gain experience and gradually expand the implementation.

abat offers the RPA Starter Package for this purpose. Further information on RPA can be found at Robotic Process Automation (RPA) | abat transform