Industrial Use of RPA

Completing repetitive tasks can be difficult for employees to maintain for sustained periods of time. The robotic process automation (RPA) industry is booming! Many businesses are implementing software to help with daily tasks to put employees in a better position to complete more engaging and challenging tasks. According to Gartner, the use of RPA increased nearly 20% in 2021 to almost $2 billion worth of revenue. RPA implementation is expanding exponentially for those that need IT solutions to their problems. Now is the best time to invest and put RPA into action to build up your business’s technological processes. But what is RPA and how does it work?

What Is Robotic Process Automation?

Robotic process automation (RPA) refers to the use of software to replicate and replace human executionof a process automated by a business. RPA can be used to automate routine tasks that previously required human interaction. RPA has the power to increase organizational efficiency by taking advantage of technology and its ability to work faster, without breaks, and complete multiple tasks at one time.

Though RPA doesn’t refer to physical robots, there are software “bots” in the software that complete assigned tasks error-free, at a high volume, and quickly. A business might consider RPA when a mundane task like copying-and-pasting data needs to be performed continuously. RPA comes with several benefits, including becoming more efficient and cost-effective.

What Are 5 Advantages of RPA?

Using robotic process automation is extremely advantageous for companies, allowing them to increase their productivity and error-free output. The goal of RPA is not to replace workers but  to automate tasks that weigh employees down. Of course, each industrial business has different needs and specific RPA use cases. However, five general benefits of RPA across industries are:

1. Increased efficiency with lower cost. Boosting productivity can be expensive when hiring and training employees. With  RPA, costs stay low while output expands. 
2. Reduction in errors through logic-based results. RPA software provides a detailed audit trail, allowing companies to understand exactly what was done, when and by whom.
3. Improved employee engagement with interesting tasks. Employees may devote more time to meaningful work since RPA bots handle the repetitive and sometimes monotonous duties inside the company.
4. Boosted customer satisfaction with an all-around better experience. RPAs can decrease waiting times for customers and help them get answers without needing to talk with a person.
5. Standardization across the board. Because of programming, RPAs will complete a task the same way each time, unlike employees who often tweak tasks to their own processes.

With the advantages RPA provides, your business can implement software to increase the quality of work produced and encourage employees to be more engaged with their jobs. Of course, it doesn’t take out the need for customer service entirely but is intended to develop streamlined processes and allocate employees’ attention to high-level tasks. Foulk Consulting offers services to help you select the right RPA software for your business for cost-effective production and maintenance.

What Are the Different Applications of RPA?

Because the advantages are so great, you might be wondering when to use RPA. Each industry will have different use cases, but in most instances, the applications of RPA can be applied no matter the business. Some RPA use cases in manufacturing, banking, and other industries include:

1. Everyday business processes such as invoices and data migration.
2. Commercial functions like sales and customer relationship management.
3. Support functions like IT, HR, or finance.
4. Robotic process applications for personal use such as digital assistants (like Alexa, Siri, and Google).

Robotic process automation can be applied to many aspects of a business and help relieve some pressure off of everyday tasks and communication with customers. By building an RPA for your business, you’ll be able to manage your data and operations better. But what kinds of things can you do within these applications?

What Kinds of Tasks Can Be Automated in RPA?

Many logic-based tasks can be performed by robotic process automation software. This means that industries needing inventory or customer service management can implement RPA to transfer employees from less monotonous tasks to more engaging and complicated endeavors. Below are examples of tasks that can be automated in several different industries:

Industrial Manufacturing

• Supply chain management: invoice processing and logistics optimization
• Production: bill of materials (BOM)
• Stock optimization: inventory management and reporting
• Data management: processing and migrating data
• Order fulfillment: completing and shipping orders on time
• Proof of delivery: receipts that prove successful delivery to customers

Banking

• Financial products: loan processing and validation, trade finance, and card management
• Customer service: funds transfers, account closure, ID verification, and responding to customers
• Data processing and verification: checks and balances, financial reconciliation, and digitization
• Audit and compliance: audits, quality assurance, monitoring regulatory compliance

Sales

• Sales and marketing strategy: market trends and advertising campaigns
• Lead identification and qualification: collecting and assessing for quality leads
• Pricing: collect and compare pricing information
• Order management: orders, inventory, invoices, and payments 

Healthcare

• Patient scheduling: faster scheduling without involving employees
• Claim management: faster processing without human errors
• Regulatory compliance: keep track of files for audits
• Data: entry, migration, and extraction

Education

• Course registration: notifications, prerequisites, and scheduling conflicts
• Enrollment management: process student information and check for completion
• Attendance: easily manage attendance in the classroom
• Meeting scheduling: streamline student meetings with admins and professors
• Processing transcripts: put all academic information in one document by pulling grades and courses

Retail

• Register/Cashier: reporting customer data for real-time transactions
• Invoice: reduce the time of manual invoice entry
• Returns: process customer returns and refunds
• Inventory management: manage inventory data including a number of products on hand and location

With RPA software, your business can ensure your tasks are completed efficiently and error-free. Foulk Consulting provides IT services to help align your technology needs with your business’s transformation journey. We can help you build up your RPA systems to take advantage of automation.

What Industries Benefit from Automation? 

RPA may assist the vast majority of modern industries and is not bound to any business in particular. Industrial manufacturing would benefit from optimized logistics and processing. Retailers would benefit from running registers and maintaining inventory. The main benefit comes from implementing the software to the company’s advantage in that it doesn’t waste resources or money. RPA is cheaper than labor and can be maintenanced out-of-house with an IT service provider like Foulk Consulting. With that in mind, RPA will simply benefit any industry needing automated processes to complete designated tasks.

Which Industry Uses RPA the Most?

According to Shared Services & Outsourcing Network (SSON), the banking industry has by far the highest RPA use at 51%. Several other industries, including manufacturing, technology, and retail at 7%. As we discussed previously, the banking industry can use automation for most processes within their systems, which is reflected in the RPA use statistics. Other industries are increasing their demand for RPA and banking is not at the top of the list of RPA adoption growth.

Is RPA Still in Demand?

Yes! Robotic process automation is growing in demand and implementation each year. In fact, Gartner’s research indicated RPA industry growth reached 63% in 2018 at $846 million and has continued to grow into 2022 to nearly $2 billion. Not only that, but according to Acceleration Economic’s State of RPA Survey Report 2021-2022, industrial manufacturing has the highest adoption rate at 35% growth. Technology adoption of RPA is 31% and healthcare is 10%. Other industries like retail, finance, and education are all under 10%. 

However, it is clear that RPA is in high demand across all industries and being used by businesses to maximize productivity and reduce costs. Considering expenses, with such a high demand for RPA implementation, nearly 85% of RPA usage comes from small, medium, and mid-market businesses, with 46% seeing cost savings as a benefit.

Does RPA Require Coding Experience?

While it does take a software engineer to create RPA software, it does not take coding experience to operate. RPA software are designed to be used by those without a coding background. This means that an employee can oversee RPA without experience developing software. However, it will be easier to maintain and operate any RPA processes with knowledge of coding languages. This is where hiring an outside IT consultant might be beneficial to your RPA maintenance. An IT consultant will help you navigate through your needs and concerns to select the best RPA for your business. They’ll ensure that everything is running properly so you don’t have to worry about errors being introduced. Maintaining a RPA is critical to smooth business operations and Foulk Consulting can help you meet that goal.

Foulk Consulting: IT Solutions for Automation

Foulk Consulting will help you with your IT operational management to ensure your technology is managed and maintained to keep your business running smoothly. We can assist you in developing, testing, and releasing software more quickly and reliably. Let us bring your business to the next level with an RPA solution. Visit our website today to learn more about how we can help you.