“As governments leverage technological advancements such as AI, RPA and chatbots, it will make them more competitive – delivering a better deal for the taxpayers. Countries who fall behind on this, lose their competitive advantage”. (Avi Ben Ezra, CTO, SnatchBot)
A closer look at the benefits of Robotic Processing Automation (RPA)
To appreciate the importance of RPA, when integrated with an overall ecosystem, stakeholders should first grasp the basic functioning of RPA. This can be explained as follows:
The RPA system makes use of complex nonlinear processes but it should be remembered that automating processes which are too unpredictable, infrequent or overly variable can lead to an increase in cost and result in complexities. This can have an impact on the cost of associated robot algorithms and it can also have an effect an eventual deployment of systems. In many cases human intervention might still be required however a number of products does not provide semi-automated or assisted processes.
There are sometimes errors because some RPA’s is known to automatically execute those instructions which are located within business objects or scripts. It has been observed that errors can be repeated thousands of times before such problems are noticed. There is also the issue of hidden cost because it is known that some RPA solutions might require additional resources such as virtual machines or virtual desktop infrastructures. This will have an impact on the operating system or the virtualization cost which will apply to each separate bot. It has also been seen that expansion can often cost substantially more than was indicated by initial calculations.
Implementation in industries
RPA can have an impact on several segments of the industry such as IT tasks, customer management, transportation and financial services such as accounting and insurance. As far as IT services are concerned RPA will assist with the auto-creation of backups, the sending of exception reports and it will monitor network devices. When it comes to customer management RPA is an excellent routing tool and it will help with the handling of vendor disputes and inquiries and it will automate vendor submissions. RPA will collect customer data from available systems. RPA can also effectively check systems for new delivery offers as well as new price offers and you can also send alerts to customers. In the transportation sector, RPA can update asset locations. It will also be able to update the external and internal transportation management systems. RPA will also track updates on all shipments and will ensure that auto scheduling of shipments is done. As far as financial services relating to accounting and insurance is concerned RPA will monitor compliance reports. It will also help to effectively streamline basic data entry. RPA will update business and customer information and it will also check all order entry data. RPA will be able to automate all auditing of expense accounts and it is able to reverse charges and it will also resubmit failed payment request. RPA can also successfully order replacements for stolen or lost cards.
Managing some common challenges
Timing is very important when it comes to automation and both late and early automation can be harmful to your business. Planning is very important and it is critical to have an effective automation strategy. Many businesses have unrealistic expectations and even though RPA is very powerful it will not be able to cure a dysfunctional business. This is exactly why it is very important to analyze your business and to know exactly where it stands both operationally and financially. Management should have a clear picture of where it wants the business to go and exactly how or why RPA should be implemented to ensure that those objectives can be achieved within a reasonable timeframe. It should also be determined how RPA will impact the business and also how it will influence other available resources within that company. It is important to ensure that all employees understand the reasons for RPA implementation and why it is necessary to ensure better growth of that company. Employees should also understand how the business will benefit from RPA implementation.
Conclusion
Just like all other forms of artificial intelligence RPA has proven to be highly effective across a variety of industries. The benefits which RPA is able to provide is outstanding and it is able to provide significantly better results than those which is obtainable by making use of only human resources. A properly implemented RPA system can help to eliminate needless human errors. It allows for a better-organized company because it ensures better workflows and more effective operation across all departments within that business. Just like other forms of artificial intelligence such as information technology, chatbots, and automated systems, RPA has repeatedly proven itself to be a critical tool when it comes to business expansion and increased profits. In the majority of cases, RPA stimulates businesses and often results in increased employment opportunities. There is no reason to fear that RPA will lead to a reduction of available job opportunities.