Automating company processes: first start improving existing technologies

If it would be up to technology, robots would take over all company processes. Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is one of the technologies wanting to emerge everywhere, trying to convince companies to be adopted. In a nutshell, Robotic Process Automation can be described as a category of software tools enabling complex digital processes to be automated. This is done by operating them in the same way a human user would operate them, making use of the user interface and following a number of predefined rules. Although that may sound as something which could solve all world problems, it is very important not to exaggerate things here.

In fact, the combination of RPA and company processes is far for being a perfect one if the main objective is to improve the process instead of automating its current state. It is therefore very important to point out that RPA actually does not redesign anything. It merely operates at the task level and not the end-to-end process level. For these reasons, it’s necessary to first start improving existing technologies before automating company processes via RPA.

Focus on existing technologies

RPA can, however, be matched with other important changes in the business process. It’s important to realise that its objective should be one that goes beyond basic labour arbitrage savings meant to improve the process. Business trying to find new ways to automate their company processes should instead focus on their existing ones. RPA may sound very appealing and although striving for innovation should always be encouraged, it is wise to slow down its integration. Most companies only focus on the outcome and forget about everything between the initial input and the final result. As a result, these companies could see some small savings, but will more likely miss out on bigger opportunities that could in fact enhance complete processes, as well as improve quality, reduce costs, and lower production times.

First things first

Existing company processes are known to be very complex, often including unnecessary steps that would need to be removed before RPA is eventually integrated. As RPA means that company rules should be codified, things turn out somewhat complex from the very first moment. We all know that company rules often have not been tested for a long time, making it difficult to implement them in a modern environment. Simplifying the information environment is therefore a major challenge that should not be underestimated. RPA is known to involve a lot of back-and-forth access to different information systems. In an ideal situation, however, RPA would extract all the required info from one single system which is the main challenge for every business wanting to make the most out of RPA. Although it is undeniable that RPA can lead to significant saving of both time and money, it is crucial to known that all internal technologies should be improved before thinking RPA. First things first.