Update your ERP or quick fix with automation?

An ERP or Enterprise Resource Planning system is a tool used to integrate an organisation’s disparate process into one system and may combine elements of Finance, Procurement, HR and Operations.

ERP systems are a vital tool for any organisation and represent a major investment. Although the features and application of any given ERP will differ, few are 100% bespoke to their client and so more often that not, business processes actually have to work to, or work around the system.

When these processes change due to regulation, technology or business needs it often becomes apparent that the ERP system is no longer fit for purpose. A difficult choice is presented; work around the current system or buy a new ERP and start from scratch. For many organisations the cost of the ERP is such that they would rather burden their staff with repetitive tasks than invest.

Another common scenario is where an organisation may have multiple ERPs and disparate systems and feel that they have to standardise first before implementing RPA. If anything, the reverse is true.

How can RPA support?

The advantage of using Robotic Process Automation is that it can work across multiple systems, for example gathering information from multiple sources and inputting it into another system. RPA is commonly used as a stopgap for organisations who have problems with their current ERP but don’t have a strong enough business case to implement a new system.

Case study

Proservartner worked alongside a global food producer who was having trouble managing their pallet tracking process. The company's process for managing pallets relied on a detailed, manual exchange of data between the production system, ERP system and the logistics supplier. For each of the twenty pallets used per day, employees spent 120 seconds using two applications on desktop and web to enter the correct information for their records.

We were able to implement a bot which could communicate between the production system, the ERP system and the web portal of a logistics supplier. Human workers sent information to the bot, which looked up the pallet numbers and registered them in the web portal before transferring the rental time to the client.

This automation resulted in savings through direct entries into the target system and we were able to reduce processing time by 75% with no errors.

To find out more quick wins for RPA download our 44 page whitepaper: https://www.proservartner.co.uk/intelligent-automation-rpa