August 12 2022

37 min read time

Everything You Need To Know About RPA

RPA is changing the game for industries worldwide. But how does using robots to streamline processes work in practice, what can be automated, which scenarios are perfect for RPA implementation, and how much does it finally cost? (and how much you can save?). Read the guide and find out.

Michał Rejman

CMO at Flobotics

RPA: Why is it worth your money (and our time)?

“Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!”

This revelation by the Red Queen may have perplexed teenage Alice in Through the Looking Glass, but for modern executives, these words sound painfully familiar. As the culture of speed permeates every industry, today’s businesses move at a feverish pace. They take advantage of just-in-time production, fast turnaround cycles, real-time decision-making, and instant user interactions to resonate with their customers and build a competitive edge.

For many companies, speed and agility are the most valuable assets. The faster information, decisions, and interactions, the shorter the time to meet market demand and turn a profit. However, certain processes are massive stumbling blocks to the sustainable efficiency of these ambitious businesses. There’s a definite number of tasks a human worker can perform within a specific time limit; low productivity directly impacts a company’s bottom line.

What is Robotic Process Automation?

If you’ve never heard about Robotic Process Automation, the term may seem a bit intimidating. Indeed, the technological setup underlying RPA solutions is quite elaborate. It can involve voice or image recognition, predictive analytics, cognitive decision-making, self-healing, and much more.

From the business perspective, the good news is that the concept of robot-enabled automation is rather simple to grasp. It all boils down to delegating high volume, monotonous work to bots for optimized business processes, and reduced operational costs.

Any business process that is

● repeatable

● rules-based

● high-volume

can be optimized with Robotic Process Automation.

Here is a short video to better explain the concept:

YouTube video player 1

RPA technology consists of bots, or software robots, that mimic a human to perform repetitive, high volume tasks faster and with greater accuracy. For example, the bots can read and input text, assign item categories, retrieve data, perform queries, and maintain records. (Scroll down to the section ‘RPA for industries’ for specific examples).

Of course, there’s slightly more to RPA than this. But at this point, this simple definition will suffice. One more thing that’s worth realizing upfront is the distinction between attended vs. unattended automation:

Attended automation – As the name suggests, attended automation needs guidance and cannot function on its own. Attended bots require collaboration with humans, assisting users and employees with tasks, and interacting with them to provide support. They are typically used in front-office activities to boost productivity, eliminate human error, increase compliance, and speed up task execution.

Example: Call center automation robots that assist agents, e.g., by prompting them on the next step of the script or finding answers to a customer inquiry.

Unattended automation – By analogy, unattended automation is fully autonomous and runs regardless of human assistance. Unattended bots are pre-programmed to work independently, following a rules-based process. They can be triggered by specific events to take action or scheduled on a timer (see also RPA & AI: What’s the difference?). This type of robotic process automation excels at batch back-office activities.

Example: RPA bots that can extract data from multiple sources, such as invoices, bills, or bank statements, and compare them for accuracy, approve, reject, or send for further processing.

Benefits of Robotic Process Automation solutions

Whether running on a desktop or a server, RPA provides companies of all sizes with numerous benefits, from improved productivity, better quality and accuracy, to lower processing costs. What’s more, it brings a level of advancement to automation that is much more evolved than the previously available technologies.

At the same time, robotic process automation is easier to use and faster to deploy than, e.g., sophisticated AI algorithms; therefore, quite often, it becomes a quick, low-risk starting point for streamlining work and optimizing profits through digitization. These factors account for an intensifying interest in RPA solutions.

“While we see RPA as a huge driver of improved performance and efficiency, the impact correlates back to accuracy and customer experience.” Prakash Mall, Senior Director at RPA, Target

The advantages of RPA for business are as follows:

1. Increased speed and productivity

By removing repetitive effort and reducing the overall processing time for basic jobs, RPA significantly increases the productivity output per employee.

2. Improved processes

Process optimization is the foremost goal of RPA. By applying automation, companies can streamline their workflows, eliminate errors and disruptions, and complete projects fast.

3. Reduced operating costs

Deployed with a minimal upfront investment, low-maintenance automation bots bring immediate ROI and enable reduced operational costs — all of that leads to significant savings.

4. Fewer errors

Robotic automation solutions are 100% accurate, which leaves your data clean and well-organized, productivity intact, and service quality — flawless.

5. Empowered workforce

As they reduce routine grunt work, software bots take the burden of tedious tasks off your employees’ shoulders and empower them to unleash their full potential.