New thinking about automation
Intelligent automation is about more than eliminating manual tasks. Choosing the right automation is crucial to reap the full benefits of RPA, and heave a clear understating of limitations and the role it plays in achieving process excellence. RPA alone is not a strategy indeed. It is a tool to be used as part of a holistic approach in process excellence.
Used in isolation, RPA is not a complete solution for process improvement. In fact, analysts say that 30-50% of RPA initiatives fail to achieve their goals. To achieve lasting impact, and deliver real business value, RPA is best used as part of a broader set of tools in a holistic process excellence strategy.
RPA is an emerging technology designed to automate the repetitive, high-volume-but-low-value tasks that employees do on their desktops like form-filling, copypasting, etc. by getting software robots to do them instead.
Rather than thinking about RPA as a first step, the most successful companies start by setting goals for process improvement — such as increasing working capital, reducing order processing costs, improving purchasing compliance, or improving on-time delivery. Then they deploy RPA as one of the tools to help them get there.
Intelligent automation is about more than eliminating manual tasks. It’s about connecting your desired outcomes to the right actions and ensuring those actions are taken at the right time. But how can you know in real time which steps are sending you off-course and which actions bring you closer to your goal? And how can you ensure your operational team members always take the next-best action?
To answer those questions, it is recommended to do a gap analysis in your processes and understand how through process automation to achieve a much smoother and more controlled “process-first” approach to automation, and enable customers to efficiently and effectively transform business operations.
In conclusion, it is important to highlight that according to Global Automated Intelligence Survey, two thirds of business leaders used automation to respond to the impact of COVID-19. Meanwhile, many organizations accelerated deployment of automation tools.