Why Robotic Process Automation?
Everybody is talking about the benefits of Robotic Process Automation (RPA) but what are they? With Assistance of RPA some tasks don't have to be done by humans, which leaves them with more time to do other tasks, like being creative and enhancing the business in other ways, the RPA can't. For example customer satisfaction. The employees will also be able to add more value as they have more time. Both RPA and employees should work together.
Other benefits are:
- Decreased cycle times and improved throughput
- Flexibility and scalability
- Improved accuracy
- Detailed data capture
A Survey conducted by Deloitte in September 2017 shows that "awareness of robotics remains high. Even more organisations have investigated the RPA opportunity and/or built a proof of concept. They are convinced robotics will deliver a significant productivity increase and that it is applicable for a significant portion of their activities."
"RPA can also add value in the technical field of software integration. The tools can read the data produced by one application and enter it into another one, achieving an integration effect without developing costly interfaces or changing existing software. This leads to efficiency effects in the information technology department and provides business users the required integration to enhance process performance.
In the meantime, RPA solutions are offered by a continuously growing number of vendors. The Gartner Group, for example, mentions 15 vendors in their RPA market guide. RPA software is offered often at an aggressive pricing or even for free. Also implementation cost start at a relatively low level. All this makes RPA look like a pragmatic and powerful solution. As a consequence more and more public and private organizations use or plan to use RPA." Read the whole Article by Dr. Mathias Kirchmer.
How does RPA influence BPM?
We’ve been discussing the imperative value of collaborative BPM for years and it’s certainly no longer a new concept. Yet many BPM initiatives that start off with the best intentions begin to stagnate when the project becomes the exclusive domain of highly-trained process experts working in isolation. For BPM to reflect the digital world, process initiatives need to expand their focus away from process design. Adoption of process thinking across departments and throughout your team is more important than process design perfection. Therefore, tapping into the wealth of knowledge and experience already available to you within your workforce is the real key to achieving success. The best way to win people over to a new, targeted and compliant approach is to involve them in creating the solution. Process stakeholders are the most capable of recognizing bottlenecks and issues in the processes they carry out on a daily basis – they are also unlikely to resist changes and improvements that they have suggested themselves.
Despite the obvious importance of process modeling and simulation, aspects such as automation and workflow should also be intrinsic to fit-for-purpose business software applications in the digital world. BPM practice needs to go beyond modeling and also embrace the operationalization of business processes in modern digital workplaces, by automating tasks and carrying out operational processes in a target-driven and measurable way. Read more.
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What is Artificial Intelligence?
Did what we have seen in many films over the past years become the reality? Have machines evolved?
Artificial Intelligence (AI) are machines which are able to solve problem, as well as learning new information and behavior by interacting with humans and the environment.There are many ways we are in contact with Artificial Intelligence on a daily basis Siri on our IPhone and Alexa by Amazon are only two examples on how much it has already changed our lives. But very importantly A.I. has reached businesses where it can complement our human skills, help improve processes and make us more effective. Click here to see more examples of Artificial Intelligence in our Everyday life.
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"Recently my iMod – an iPod with internal electronics replaced with Hi-Fi components – stopped working. (Yes I am a Hi-Fi nerd but the sound quality is fantastic). As it was expensive and had been modified in the US I wasn’t too comfortable giving it to just anybody to fix. So I asked around and the iPod Surgery was recommended.
I went to their site which seemed pretty self-explanatory. I found the model of my iPod and selected “Not sure what is wrong with it” and “Please send me pre-paid box”. I paid my money via credit card on the website and received an email from a chirpy, enthusiast chap called Nano Norm telling me the pack was on its way. A few days later the packaging arrived, complete with instructions and a postal bag.
So far, so good. All achieved without talking to anyone. I sent off the iPod and waited.
I then got another email from Nano Norm telling me my iMod had arrived but was “resting to get its strength up before the surgery tomorrow”.
Over the next couple of days I got updates on my iMod. Apparently he’d “pulled through” but needed a new battery and I authorized this online. The next day I heard that “the little fella is right as rain, but is resting before he travels back to you”.
Now we both know that Nano Norm is a jpeg and silicon-based and so is my iMod, and that I am carbon-based life form. But throughout the process we’ve all seemed to get along and communicate pretty well. Nano Norm kept me up to date every step of the way – with good humor. [...]
My iMod has arrived back with me and I am very happy. Which got me thinking. Why is Nano Norm so good at customer service? What are his philosophies and how do they differ from those who offer poor customer service? So I asked to interview him, and here is the transcript.
Ian: What’s your customer service philosophy?
Nano Norm: Well, we are called iPod Surgery, so we thought we’d treat every iPod and iPhone as though they were coming into surgery. Loved ones (owners) are naturally concerned about the surgery, so we need to keep them informed.
Ian: So how do you achieve this?
Nano Norm: The entire end to end process needs to be understood so that nothing falls through the gaps. We looked at every possible route through the process and anticipated the problems. And also we identified when I’d need help for exceptions. Sounds daunting, but it is critically important and it doesn’t actually take that long. That gave us the customer touch points.
Ian: Sounds easy to do, so why do others fail?"
Click here to read the whole article and interview.
RPA and Culture change
"In the [...] BTOES Research Report about the state of Operational Excellence it becomes clear: Intelligent robots and processes are starting to take over our offices and replace more and more human office workers. The number one technology solution organizations plan to invest in is Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and Artificial Intelligence (AI). But what does that mean? Do robots really take over the control of our operations? [...]
The use of RPA basically transfers the application of robots from the industrial manufacturing environment to the office and service area. Just like industry robots automate routine manufacturing and assembly steps RPA robots automate the human work with data and information. Robots have not “taken over” manufacturing – although they have been present there for a long time. They provide efficiency and often quality impacts, if used the right way. But, they also need to be used in the right context and have to be “trained” and maintained appropriately. They don’t just work on their own. They require appropriate human help. [...]
Intelligent robots have started their work in our offices. However, they don’t take the office over but help to minimize routine work for the human workforce who can concentrate on more challenging tasks requiring a higher qualification. The implementation of RPA and the following ongoing process improvement requires new skills combined with modern business process management capabilities. At the end, intelligent humans make intelligent robots work – to deliver best results for an organization." Read the whole article to learn about Dr. Mathias Kirchmer's approach to this conclusion.
Top Case Studies
Robotic Process Automation and Machine Learning with IBM Watson
We are pleased to provide our community with a Case Study from IBM on their developing Artificial Intelligence, IBM Watson.
IBM Watson is currently one of the most advanced forms of Artificial Intelligence in the Healthcare Tech industry. A question answering computer system, capable of answering questions posed in natural language, Watson was developed in the DeepQA project by a research team.
Since 2014, with senior leadership commitment from IBM Global Business Services and IBM Research, cognitive automation solutions have been deploying over thousands IBM client accounts across the world, over 40,000 IBM practioners now are leveraging automation innovations in IBM services delivery, the team have achieved >40% efficiency and productivity gains across their global workforce as measured in quantified labor hours saved and marked increases in key operational metrics.
To download this case study on IBM Watson click here.
To find case studies on Related Topics click here.
To see Blueprism's case study archive click here.
The 7 Best Robotic Process Automation Books
Robotic Process Automation
The Rise of the Robots: Technology and the Threat of Mass Unemployment
Implementation of Robot Systems: An introduction to robotics, automation, and successful systems integration in manufacturing
