Robotic Process Automation and Its Impact on Business Processes

Robotic Process Automation, also known as RPA is a technological advancement that imitates human interaction with software to execute repeatable, high-volume tasks. The RPA technology offers software programs or bots that can log into applications to perform tasks like entering, calculating, and copying data between workflows and applications as needed.

The purpose of RPA is to automate the mundane business processes in several industries such as IT, banking, healthcare, and human resources. These processes are executed in a faster and more efficient manner when performed by a bot. Moreover, low-code development can also be utilized to build RPA automation scripts.

How does RPA work?

These bots are created by recording keystrokes and clicks alongside user interaction with an app. When a glitch appears, a user can easily watch how the bot connects with the app to identify the steps required to fix it.

These recordings are basically a template for creating powerful bots that are adaptable in terms of layout, screen size, or workflows. Advanced RPA tools opt for machine vision to understand the layout and icons on the screen and regulate accordingly.

RPA and its applications

RPA is adopted in several industries, especially those that involve repetitive mundane tasks like banking, insurance, finance, telecommunications, and healthcare. Let’s review some examples:

• Finance: RPA is an optimum solution in finance for automating governance, processing invoices, reconciling accounts, exchanging payments, managing audit requests, and automating account openings and closings.
• Supply chain management: Organizations opt for RPA for automating tasks like procurement, data entry, order processing, predictive maintenance, etc. It also plays a great role in tracking inventory levels and shipments.
• Telecommunications: To configure new services and related billing systems for new accounts, telecommunications companies choose RPA. RPA can also be used to pull data from multiple sources in case of equipment outages.
• Banking: Banks choose RPA to close accounts, process credit cards, automate onboarding, and for fraud detection purposes.
• IT: In IT, RPA plays a great role in the data collection process, data transformations, regulatory compliance, and data onboarding & offboarding.
• Human resources (HR):?Operations like recruiting, employee onboarding, expense management, training, employee data management, and information updating are facilitated by RPA.

• Healthcare: RPA in healthcare is leveraged to automate account management, appointment scheduling, administer claims, and regulatory compliance. It is also useful in managing electronic records and data.
• Customer service:?RPA plays a great role in improving g customer service by automating routine tasks such as verifying e-signatures and information for automatic rejections and approvals, uploading scanned documents, and automating contact center duties.

Impact on Business Operations

Cost Efficiency

Adoption of RPA can significantly reduce operational costs by 25%-50%. The human workforce has a fixed number of hours and leaves, whereas RPA bots operate 24/7 without any intervention or interruption, avoiding absences and improving productivity.

Improved Analytics

Businesses have the ability to examine and store data via RPA tools. This enables them to gather actionable insights with minimal to no errors. This step improves the decision-making process, resulting in enhanced productivity and growth by providing a clear picture of the market and highlighting areas for improvement.

Increased Accuracy

Higher accuracy is ensured as robots strictly follow the programmed protocols, resulting in 100% accuracy. This consistency and reliability reduce human error and improve organizational capabilities.

Data Security

The chances of data leaks between platforms are reduced due to efficient management by RPA. The need for manual touches is also reduced to process any sensitive information. Strict data regulations are followed in this case, further strengthening the security.

Better Communication

RPA allows the employees to focus on more creative tasks by automating the process of routine updating and tracking updates. It makes sure that all business processes are executed in a timely manner, along with keeping on-field workers informed about any latest details.

Improved Customer Experience

With the help of AI-powered natural language processing, RPA plays a critical role in enhancing customer service. It has the ability to generate automated reports to understand and respond to customer needs effectively, making overall customer satisfaction better.

Better Service

RPA completes the tasks at a better speed than humans and that too without errors. This results in faster service delivery, less supervision and corrections, or increased customer satisfaction.

Several industries have adopted RPA as the main component of their processes. This shift has led to an improvement in employee productivity and creativity as all routine mundane activities are transferred to the RPA bots. However, detailed planning, designing, and strong governance are critical to for successful implementation of RPA. Businesses can utilize the benefits of RPA by pairing this innovation with other technologies such as ML, NLP, AI, and speech recognition.