The Role of Automation in The Manufacturing Industry

The manufacturing sector has been assembling, testing, and packaging goods with physical robots for decades. The industry nevertheless struggles to maintain back-office procedures quickly and easily, despite the assistance of these robots on the assembly line. This is mainly because of an inexperienced workforce, labour-intensive procedures, out-of-date supply chain management systems, and constantly shifting regulatory requirements.

Manufacturing businesses are using AI, BPA, RPA, and IDP (intelligent document processing) as process automation solutions to get over these obstacles.

By combining these technologies, end-to-end process automation can be greatly aided. This tactic is being used by many businesses to simplify difficult back-office tasks like processing payments, generating reports, and corresponding with vendors.

Let us look at the role these technologies play in the manufacturing sector.

While all forms of automation are useful instruments in the manufacturing process, RPA is the most advanced kind. Robotic process automation is ideally suited to support increased productivity and efficiency in manufacturing.

What is RPA?

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is a technology that automates and streamlines rule-based and repetitive work in a variety of business processes using software robots. RPA solutions are already being used by businesses in a variety of industries to enhance operations by relieving staff of repetitive and time-consuming duties while increasing productivity and efficiency.

RPA essentially entails writing a set of instructions that direct the software robots to carry out particular activities. Similar to a person, these robots are fast and accurate at navigating through a variety of applications, systems, and data sources. As we go more into the kinds of jobs and services that RPA can be used for, please continue reading.

What are the benefits of RPA in Manufacturing?

Industrial automation enabled by physical robots has been observed in the manufacturing sector. Yet, disruptive technologies are required in the manufacturing sector, such as robotic process automation, to enable companies to concentrate more on core competencies and new product development rather than routine, crucial but uninteresting daily duties.

Robotic Process Automation facilitates the automation of rule-based procedures to improve the accuracy and speed of process execution. Moreover, implementing RPA solutions is simple and doesn't require any coding knowledge. RPA eliminates the need for expensive and time-consuming software development by integrating with old systems in a seamless manner.

Within weeks of implementing a certain set of processes, companies can begin a pilot project and see observable and quantifiable outcomes.

The following are some advantages of robotic process automation in the manufacturing sector:

• Reduction of operating costs by up to 40%
• Greater process control
• Enhanced productivity of the workforce
• Much reduced downtime and improved quality

RPA Use Cases & Examples in Manufacturing Industry

Purchase Order Creation

Creating purchase orders by hand can be a demanding task for firms that handle several product categories. The complete PO creation process can be automated with RPA's assistance, providing 100% correct and quick outcomes.

Bots can pull information from standalone systems, ask department managers via email for permission, and handle PO creation requests.

Inventory Management

To make sure that demand can be satisfied, inventory levels must be monitored in real time. Inventory tracking, stock-level alerts, and product replenishment when levels fall below a predetermined threshold can all be automated. All of this can be accomplished with very little help from humans.

An additional benefit of using RPA is that it automatically creates a thorough audit trail. Additionally, real-time dashboards and reports offer details on internal operations and company trends that may point to bottlenecks. With the help of these insights, supply chain disruptions can be eliminated in order to optimize and enhance processes.

Vendor Communication

It takes a lot of physical labour to communicate with vendors, customers, and internal staff on a daily basis. For example, a customer service representative may need to locate the email exchange, follow the shipment status in the ERP system, notify the customer, and close the case in order to respond to a query regarding the status of items shipped.

The entire process—opening the email, reading the content, downloading attachments, accessing the ERP portal, finding out the shipment status, responding to the customer, and going on to the next customer email—can be taken over by RPA.

With the exception of unforeseen circumstances, the entire procedure doesn't require human interaction. By eliminating up to 65% of the manual labour, this kind of automation allows staff members to respond to more consumer inquiries in less time.