Robotic Process Automation
What is RPA?
Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is the method of automating business operations through the use of robots (bots) to minimize human intervention. If this concept seems confusing, don’t worry— I’ll address your concerns as we progress through this blog.
Breaking Down RPA:
- Robotic: Involves the incorporation of machines that imitate human actions.
- Process: Encompasses a step-by-step impulse that can complete a task.
- Automation: Implies that human intervention is not required.
With this framework in mind, let’s delve deeper into the explanation of RPA.
The Democracy of Human Actions is what RPA embodies, enabling the execution of tasks without direct human intervention.
How Does RPA Work?
Now that we have a basic understanding of RPA, let’s explore how it works using a simple example. Imagine a scenario where a hiring team is evaluating candidates based on their test scores. The team traditionally entered these scores manually into an Excel sheet along with the candidates’ names and email IDs. Subsequently, email messages notifying candidates of their next interview round had to be sent manually.
With the implementation of RPA, this cumbersome process is streamlined. Data is extracted from the RPA Excel sheet, candidates’ scores are compared against a predetermined cutoff and automated email messages are sent for the next interview round with just a few clicks. This significantly reduces manual intervention and streamlines the entire process.
It’s crucial to recognize that RPA is a technology, not a programming language or tool. There are various tools available to implement this technology, and we will discuss them in the next section.
Why RPA?
In a business organization, numerous repetitive tasks are performed daily. RPA technology can replace mundane tasks carried out by individuals, following precisely the actions described by humans and completing tasks without requiring human intervention.
This brings efficiency to business processes, allowing human resources to focus on more strategic and impactful activities.
In summary, RPA is a transformative technology that optimizes business processes by automating routine tasks, enhancing efficiency, and reducing manual intervention.
In this manner, a user can redirect their time from repetitive tasks to more critical responsibilities. Consider data entry as an example: a data entry clerk routinely visits the same source daily, retrieves data, and populates an Excel sheet. This process involves a series of steps, including visiting a website, extracting data, and inputting it into the sheet. However, if a robot can be trained with simple commands to perform these tasks, why not leverage automation?
The robot adheres to these commands, executing the work swiftly and with greater accuracy. This scenario is just one of the myriad tasks that RPA can handle. Many organizations utilize RPA to automate routine business tasks comprehensively.
The benefits of RPA:
RPA offers numerous advantages, positioning itself as a high-level automation technology widely adopted by companies. Some key benefits include:
- Enhanced productivity: RPA minimizes arduous manual work.
- Improved efficiency: Companies employing RPA reduce errors and operate more effectively.
- Data security: Robotic Process Automation mitigates the risk of information leaks.
- Scalability: RPA provides a scalable solution, accommodating the permanent growth of your company.
- Customer service focus: With reduced repetition, employees can concentrate on delivering optimal customer service.
- Simplicity: RPA simplifies automation without intricate processes.
- Easy implementation: Implementing RPA doesn’t necessitate API development and requires minimal technical expertise.
- Cost-effectiveness: RPA represents a low investment with significant utility.
RPA Applications:
From small firms to multinational corporations, every company stands to benefit from RPA. Currently, RPA is extensively applied in sectors such as banking and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) due to the prevalence of repetitive tasks in these domains. Automation optimizes business operations in various sectors.
In Banking:
Automation is renowned for its horizontally sealed architecture, prioritizing bank-grade safety. It has earned recognition for its top-ranking security, particularly in comparison to other RPA providers globally.
In summary, RPA serves as a versatile and impactful solution, offering substantial benefits across industries and contributing to increased efficiency and reliability in routine business tasks.
Health Care:
The RPA tool, Automation Anywhere, manages patient data, facilitates doctors’ work reporting, automates billing processes, handles insurance data, monitors claiming status and qualifications, and streamlines medical billing systems. It offers an efficient solution for managing administrative burdens in healthcare.
Government:
As a secure digital workforce, automation plays a crucial role in handling subcontractor farms efficiently. It automates legacy system applications, verification processes, and daily reporting, contributing to streamlined government operations.
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Hiring Services:
In the hiring process, RPA tools automate various tasks, including those of People Swift, a company providing Human Resources Management System (HRMS) services. This includes automating email notifications and other essential HR tasks.
Sales:
Automation is utilized in sales to create invoices, manage customer information, and handle tasks such as deleting, updating, and editing customer data in Customer Relations Management (CRM) systems.
Operations:
In operations, automation is applied to create accounts, set up software, perform system integration, conduct testing, and other essential tasks, contributing to overall operational efficiency.
These examples represent just a fraction of the diverse applications of RPA across industries, from end to end in the automation spectrum.
Top Companies Using RPA:
Several prominent companies have embraced robotic process automation to optimize their operations. Some notable examples include:
- Volugrens, entrusted Blue Prism with modernizing their HR and Payroll system, resulting in a remarkable 73% improvement in Walgreen’s HR performance.
- Siemens, incorporating RPA into its digital strategy, witnessed increased production capacity, with 170 new procedures automated and 280,000 hours of labor saved within a year.
- World Hotels utilized Blue Prism to automate hotel audits and reporting, enhancing efficiency in hotel management.
- Coca-Cola’s Vice President of HR Services, Carla Youth, highlighted the time-saving and performance-improving benefits of Blue Prism, allowing human resources to focus on consumer-related issues.
- Major multinational corporations (MNCs) such as Koginzant, Exchange, Walmart, Devilite, IBM, Tata Consultancy Services, AT&T, and Tech Mahindra have also embraced RPA in their operations.
In summary, RPA has become a cornerstone in enhancing operational efficiency across various sectors, with numerous leading companies leveraging its capabilities for substantial improvements in productivity and performance.