A technology that frees talented employees from taking on repetitive tasks , without errors and without rework. A solution that operates in sending and receiving emails. A tool that extracts information from other systems and supplies the internal system. RPA is all that and more.
RPA, Robotic Process Automation , is an automation technology that can be implemented in any business area or vertical. After all, every company has a manual workload that falls on some employees and does not add value to them. In this post, we will talk more about the tool and where it has been implemented. Good reading!
How does RPA work?
Let’s start with the acronym RPA: Robotic Process Automation , or robotic process automation. As its name implies, it is a technological solution dedicated to automating processes , which eliminates the need to perform repetitive tasks and allows professionals to focus on core business activities.
In practice, the automation promoted by an RPA system is carried out by software — and, as we are talking about a robotic process, we can also say that a robot takes care of the activities. It performs the digital tasks it was programmed for and can even integrate with other tools.
A practical example of RPA application is software that captures the tax documents of a given company, generated by the Treasury Department, and imports them automatically into an ERP, an integrated management program.
This is just one example that shows the tool’s potential , as it is capable of automating corporate processes in any sector. Thus, the contractor will be able to process transactions, manipulate and store data, communicate with other systems or even send messages via email.
In this sense, RPA can be triggered either by sending a simple thank-you email to buyers of goods or even being employed in more complex tasks, such as implementing bots to automate tasks in a complex system, such as the case of CRMs.
What is important to understand is that the adoption of an RPA solution definitely marks the entry of any business into digital maturity and the commitment to new technologies. Along with other tools, such as Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning , the company achieves more expressive results.
The consultancy also shows that the RPA market reached 1.9 billion dollars in 2021. One of the factors that explain this growth is the global pandemic of COVID-19, which required social distancing measures and, consequently, greater investment in work remote and in innovation and technology.
However, the pandemic is not the only factor that explains the increase in robotic process automation, since technology still meets a global need: the search for reduced operating costs , rework and correction of errors caused by human error.
What are the main applications in a business?
RPA fits in every field, from financial institutions to the accounts payable industry. Accordingly, it has been successfully implemented in the following areas;
- attendance;
- HR;
- task tracking;
- report generation;
- accounting;
- logistics;
- among others.
It stands out mainly in sectors more related to document management, with extremely repetitive routines. Thus, we can highlight some jobs that robots reproduce perfectly:
- report generation;
- treasury activities;
- bills to pay and receive;
- sectors that work with the creation of orders;
- registration in databases;
- activities involving the reading of invoices and payment slips.
This is explained by the adaptation of robots in any business vertical and also by the ability to perform multiple actions at the same time, in a different way. They have also been implemented in integration with customer relationship management systems, the so-called CRMs .
As these systems are used in several companies, from different segments, integration with RPA is able to optimize results and ensure greater profitability. The reason that explains the good connection between robots and CRMs is that companies’ data communication and integration processes are full of repetitive and mass tasks.
Versatility
Another factor to highlight is the versatility of RPA. This system not only fills in fields and authorizes simple tasks, but is also capable of performing a wide range of actions. Among them are:
- sending notifications;
- consumer billing;
- order processing;
- digital activity monitoring;
- complex financial calculations;
- management and updating of the resume bank;
- updating internal customer and employee profiles;
- registration, modification, validation and analysis of information;
- deletion of fraudulent accounts from the company’s systems and platforms.
One of the great advantages of RPA is the possibility of offering a technology that is versatile enough to be adopted by any company, regardless of its segment. Through it, a banking institution can open and close accounts, as well as requests for quotations and proposals.
A company that wants to bolster its technology department can implement RPA to test and monitor IT processes. The billing sector can use the tool to provide automated services to customers.
In retail, there are a number of activities that can be automated , ranging from store planning, inventory and supply management, as well as business and sales analysis. RPA is even present in the analysis of behavior and customer loyalty in a business.
What are the benefits of RPA?
The first benefit of RPA, as we saw earlier, is the transfer of repetitive work to robots. Thus, employees are able to focus on activities more related to the company’s core business, in addition to projects dedicated to fostering a culture of innovation .
This is important not only to achieve good results and profitability, but also to retain talent and maintain a high level of employee satisfaction. After all, people will feel demotivated if there is a large amount of manual and repetitive work.
Thus, RPA takes on all of this essential but unexciting workload, which frees up employees to use their talent and creativity to differentiate the company in the market, in relation to its consumers.
As if that were not enough, RPA presents a high speed in the execution of activities , which cannot be replicated by humans. Like any computer system, it is less prone to failure as it is not subject to work environment distractions or interruptions.
RPA guarantees a system that works 24 hours a day and 7 hours a week, if necessary. Does your company need to stay up all night with a certain automated job? Robots are perfectly equipped to achieve this goal.
In this context, the company also obtains cost reduction. After all, let’s think about the expenses that all this extra hour would require in relation to the company, to pay for the hours worked by people. With RPA, this is not the case.
Scalability
Another important gain of implementing RPA is scalability . If the volume of repetitive work in the company is large, it is possible to trigger more robots. In the scenario where there is a drop in activity, the company is also able to “turn off” the systems working in parallel.
These options show that management becomes more efficient, since it is much easier to access or disable bots than hiring and firing people on a team — which generates extra expenses with hiring, firing, training and other issues.
Process optimization
In any context of automation, the company contracting an RPA solution obtains improved results in processes and shorter project life cycles.
The automation promoted by RPA is also faster compared to systems that assume the entire process from scratch, which are more expensive and demand a lot of organizational effort.
RPA has streamlined processes in virtually every business sector. It is present in banks, but also in insurance companies, utilities and telecommunications. Because it is powerful software, RPA implements and manages robots capable of triggering responses and taking actions.
Streamlining workflows
Rationalization, in the corporate context, is the ability to cut waste and simplify processes , in order to achieve maximum efficiency without superfluous expenses. That’s what the company that bets on RPA gets from robots.
Talented professionals who are not being used in challenging tasks, which make the company a reference in the market, are being wasted. To combat this, nothing better than streamlining workflows to leverage your skills and increase overall productivity.
RPA ensures greater dynamism in the routine of companies. This ensures the acceleration of the digital transformation process it is undergoing, in addition to promoting a greater return on investment (ROI) for various segments.
The company that bets on technology and the integration of tools obtains total control of the business and becomes more analytical. It manages to monitor activities accurately and reduce bureaucracy in everyday life. All through pre-programmed robots, dedicated to optimizing processes and contributing to the improvement of the digital journey.
This rationalization is also passed on to the end customer. An example is the implementation of RPA in chatbots : this automation means that human intervention is increasingly reduced, which guarantees more agility and convenience to the consumer when it comes to clarifying doubts.
As we saw in the article, RPA is much more than a simple process automation tool. Companies that are interested in cutting operational waste should seek partners to implement the solution in their work routine.
The versatility of RPA, Robotic Process Automation, proves that this technology fits into any sector, helping companies to cut resources, stimulate their employees and, consequently, obtain more innovation and productivity in their business verticals.
