Robots aren’t replacing everyone, but the misconception is understandable given the constant barrage of warnings from robotization experts and press. The reality is that in many environments, robotic process automation is about the efficient allocation of the people doing the work, not about reducing the number of people who are working.
The accounts payable department is a prime example, where transactional tasks comprise most of the staffs’ time, yet management prioritizes other work.
By introducing robotics, or Robotic Process Automaton (RPA) into this scenario, companies are able to automate labor intensive, repetitive tasks such as checking prices and quantities, data entry, and exception handling, thereby freeing AP staff to focus on more strategic, proactive work, which may substantially impact the bottom line.
Here’s an example: If you automate repetitive tasks like master data look-up and matching supplier invoices against related purchase orders, you free up AP staff to ensure compliance with terms and conditions. Better and more proactive oversight provides insight into your supplier relationships that can lead to better terms during negotiations, and potentially allow you to take advantage of early payment discounts.
In addition to freeing up cycles, RPA-enabled processes are easily scaled, highly auditable and consistent, and have extremely low error rates — and, companies with legacy systems are able to achieve cost savings without having to change existing technology infrastructure or process design.
RPA is forecasted to grow significantly in the next few years, and many organizations are already taking advantage of the ROI RPA brings. At avvaneo, we are implementing optimal RPA for FPA solutions for clients, whether they are dipping their proverbial toes in the RPA water or are already swimming and want to go further.
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