How RPA Can Transform Supply Chain Management

how rpa can transform supply chain management

Supply chain management (SME) refers to the path of a commercial product from its inception (or creation) to sale. Every business with a SME component has a compelling interest to minimize cost and time when offering a product for sale in the marketplace. To obtain a competitive edge, some companies have begun to implement Robotic Process Automation in supply chain as an effective way of reducing cost and time.

Specifically, RPA in the realm of SME has the potential of automatically extracting sales order data from all order types and eliminate data entry errors by automating major order processing steps and managing complex roles.

RPA technologies are still relatively new and many SME companies have no idea of its benefits. Thus, if you are unaware or are even vaguely aware of how RPA in supply chain can transform the supply chain, this blog is for you.

RPA History

RPA is the new buzzword in the IT sector. Regarded as one of the most powerful technologies that promises to change the future, integration of RPA in business is changing the manner from which organizations are streamlining the processes.

Previously, implementing RPA technologies was specific to IT companies, but over the past decade, its landscape has grown to include the retail sector, healthcare organizations, and supply chain management.

Robotic process automation is a modern technology that allows companies to automate complex and repetitive tasks. Software bots are programmed to carry out specific tasks to streamline the activities that take up the major chunk of the time of human workforce and reduce manual errors.

According to Gartner, the use of RPA in the U.S. increased 19.5% from 2021 to 2022. This is evidence that the popularity of RPA is growing with each passing year, in every sector, and is expected to catalyze in 2023.

Now that you have an idea about RPA, let’s discuss the key benefits of robotic process automation in supply chain.

Benefits of RPA

RPA is implemented in SME to help automate complex processes, eliminate errors, increase proficiency, and reduce the turnaround time. Since supply chain is an industry that is fueled by speed and accuracy, RPA is a technology that can deliver the same.

With the RPA the supply chain can increase operational efficiency and increase productivity thereby giving them an added advantage over the clients.

Apart from streamlining the processes, there are various advantages of integrating RPA in supply chain. Here are some of the key benefits

  1. RPA can help you cut back on the manual work as it can automatically undertake these tasks increasing the efficacy.
  2. One-time RPA implementation can help in cost cutting as more automation means less workforce which ultimately leads to fewer people required for the job. Thus, lesser payouts.
  3. There is a slight chance of error in data management as everything is undertaken by the automation software. Whereas there are always chances of error in human-led jobs, a well-programmed robot doesn’t leave room for any mistakes.

Well, advantages are obvious, but understanding the use cases is an important part of discussion of RPA in supply chain. Let’s zero in on the significant use cases

Use Cases of RPA in Supply Chain

Here is a rundown of the most important RPA use cases for the supply chain and associated factors:

1. Order Management

This is a priority task of any supply chain. Depending on the size of the company, thousands of requests must be processed and checked everyday before delivery and receipt processing. However, doing this physically can engage a lot of workforce, which will eventually lead to people shifting their focus from the important tasks.

However, by integrating RPA in supply chain, the entire order management process can be automated. RPA can also be developed and implemented to identify errors and warn authorized personnel when necessary. The RPA bots are so efficient that the errors only happen for only a fraction of orders.

2. Stock & Inventory management

Since it is a supply chain, there are always stocks to check and inventory to manage. Traditionally, these stocks have been checked by people, which has led to common human errors and a waste of productive man hours.

Since the entire process requires a lot of information, robotic process automation in supply chain and operations can screen the inventory, stock, amount of the items, send a warning and even request new items when required. Thus, maintaining the inventory at all times.

By monitoring the stock from time to time, these robots can improve the entire stock management process.

3. Receipt management

Data and orders yield receipts that require high-volume management and entry, making it perfect for automation. Intelligent automation software can easily process receipt reports from providers making the entire receipt management process fast and error-free.

4. Customer and People Management

The entire supply chain deals with numerous people at every point. These people are not only customers as end users but are also the people working in the internal processes of the supply chain, including suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, and vendors.

Since customers and personnel management is an important part of every business and industry, there must be a process that deals with the account of automation, messages and notices can be sent to them during the entire process.

As for the process pertaining only to the customers, RPA can manage everything right from the time the request is processed, delivered, or canceled.

To summarize, robotic process automation in supply chain can operate smoothly while providing a superior client experience in the supply chain and operation industries.

5. Data Management

There is high-volume data coming in from various channels in the supply chain. Due to the large amount of information and data that the firms handle, the data management duties can be time-consuming and boring. Processes like these are ideal for automation.

RPA routines the tasks like data validation, data entry, management and reviewing freeing up the resources to be more productive and undertake the jobs that require human intervention.

6. Planning Supply and Demand

One of the core jobs of supply chain is planning the supply and demand. These jobs are exceptionally vast and require a large number of human laborers, which leads to common human errors. The planning requires going through the reports at large for getting information from the market, providers, clients, and the organization.

Using RPA in the supply chain can carry out these tasks quicker and without errors. When integrated with the help of professional RPA solutions providers, the automation software can do tasks like reporting which will offer organized information that is easily accessible.

7. Produce Important Process Data

If you own the supply chain, you must be in charge of all the data. These intelligent automation robots can help you gather precise information regarding process efficacy, loopholes, gaps in the process, and knowledge regarding areas that need repair.

These gaps can be bridged using the automation software resources, and deliver the capabilities that can only be brought by intelligent automation.

8. Easy Automation

Automation is the need of the hour. May it be for the start-up businesses, medium sized businesses, or even the large ones, intelligent automation has the capability to drive excellent growth. While on the other hand, legacy systems may be a hindrance in the growth that is needed to outperform the competitors in this digitally driven world. Infact, according to Kommandotech, 57% of organizations want to use automation to boost employee productivity and performance.

What’s the best part? You don’t really have to replace your legacy system to implement RPA technologies, as those built on no-code platforms can work efficiently the same way. In fact, because legacy software has been designed to emulate human user activities like clicks, it is usually easier to educate robots to utilize it.

9. Quick Financing

One of the most famous and looked-upon forms of automation in a company may be RPA in accounting and finance. Robots have the potential to reduce pressure since departments require reliable data and are familiar with the difficulties associated with maintaining accounting procedures in high-volume firms.

Future of Robotic Process Automation in Supply Chain

The RPA solutions and applications will frequently include aspects of intelligent automation including artificial intelligence and machine learning. Since these are the technologies of the future, it is obvious that they are here to stay and so is RPA. When it comes to RPA in the supply chain, the usage is only set to grow as the supply chain will continuously want to improve their operations.

In this future, the objective is to reduce human decision-making altogether.

However, some would consider it as an ill-effect of automation as it may lead to lesser work force requirement, while others say that RPA will help them work in a better way. In a study by KommandoTech, almost 70% of employees agree that automation will allow them to qualify for higher-paying jobs.

Based on the conflicting facts, we can say that this technology suits the future requirements brought by digitization.

The supply chain runs on highly complex and high-volume data. Apart from the data, there are multiple monotonous tasks that can be automated and are currently taking up the workforce allowing the human labor force to focus on more important tasks for the organization. If you are considering joining the bandwagon of automation, now is an excellent time to consider the same and leverage the benefits of RPA in supply chain.

SVAM International Inc.

With the subject matter experts at SVAM International, you can integrate intelligent automation solutions into your business and enjoy the benefits of automation. We can help you define the RPA integration strategies, and the right RPA tool, and train the employees with RPA to ensure streamlined and smooth processes.

SVAM is on the way to use RPA in tandem with AI to increase the potential abilities of automation. In the future, we aim to deliver maximum performance with the intelligent automation solutions.

Implementation of RPA processes is vital and decides how the RPA will work in the future with the systems. If the implementation is not proper, there are chances that the automation might fail. Thus, the implementation must be done properly and by following the correct protocol.

1. Identification of a process

Determining the procedures that will gain from RPA implementation. This means looking at the current processes and figuring out which ones are time consuming, have chances of error and are repetitive enough to be automated.

2. Possibility and Method

Once the processes are identified, it’s also important to determine whether the selected processes are feasible enough to automate, fit to the technical demands and have complexity just precisely to fit to the automation.

3. Planning and Strategizing

After the process determination and possible assessment, it is time to create a strategy for carrying out the process. This includes determining the project’s goals, timing, budget, and resource as well as its scope.

4. Choosing Equipment and Technology

With such a variety of tools on the market, it is crucial to select those most appropriate that best meets the demands and specifications of the organization.

5. Training in Accordance with Flexibility

Automation is a fairly new technology and requires training. Thus, once implemented, employees are taught on proper usage of RPA in supply chain. This will ensure fail-proof ways of working with automation.

6. Testing and Deployment

Before the robotic process automation in supply chain is rolled out, the developed solution is tested to ensure intended performance.

7. Monitoring and Observability

Once the solution has been put into place, it is crucial to monitor it and make any necessary tweaks to make sure it functions well to suit your company. Additionally, it’s critical to regularly update the software to retain its efficacy.

The Bottomline

The supply chain runs on highly complex and high-volume data. Apart from the data, there are multiple monotonous tasks that can be automated and are currently taking up the workforce allowing the human labor force to focus on more important tasks for the organization. If you are considering joining the bandwagon of automation, now is an excellent time to consider the same and leverage the benefits of RPA in the supply chain.

To know more about our RPA services and solutions, get in touch with us today.

how is rpa different from other enterprise automation tools

Robotic process automation and traditional automation lie on different sides of the bank. Both of these help achieve efficiency in delivering results within time. This kind of mechanism reduces human intervention and performs predefined activities according to the instructions. Both softwares are considered the biggest boost to the infrastructure and efficiency of programming functions. Not just this, RPA in HR is proving to be one of the most effective implications of automation.

By employing the right RPA tools, it becomes possible for the individual to automate the maximum activity in the management functions. But there is a huge amount of difference between the two concepts. The functioning of these two kinds of software can be differentiated based on the given information.

Differences Between The Two Kinds of Software

The various grounds of the meanings have been mentioned as follows:

Meaning and Function

Robotic process automation is a kind of software that helps to automate a high volume of repetitive tasks in a minimum amount of time. These kinds of tools allow the design of software robots to make them capable of automatically executing different types of tasks over time. All the RPA business processes can function effectively over time and when it comes to managing complete operations like bringing the RPA into the supply chain, the benefits are immense.

It is a kind of predefined activity that has finally executed different types of tasks and transactions for delivering effective results within time. Accordingly, the same result can be achieved without any human interaction. It is the utility that is obtained with the help of this process.

Traditional automation and enterprise automation are a kind of combination of different applications that help to achieve automatic integration at a database level. But the speed at which the given results can be obtained is very less, due to which it is a conventional method of automation only.

Requirements

Robotic process automation does not require any modification to the existing infrastructure and can be effectively adapted across any platform. But on the other hand, specific customization can be required in traditional and enterprise automation cases. RPA services companies do not require any adjustments, but enterprise automation requires adjustments to the existing structure to enhance the performance’s efficacy. For instance, if you wish to bring in robotic process automation in HR for your organization, you do not have to disturb any other process. But with the ERP, you have to alter the existing structure or the systems.

Functions

Robotic process automation helps to automate repetitive and different types of rule-based tasks. This kind of software performs the different actions performed by human beings to increase the efficiency of the programming. The entire programming is determined according to a flowchart without any change in the language codification.

But on the other hand, enterprise automation does not perform all the functions that human beings can perform without instructions. Even the pre-defined instructions cannot be followed properly. In such a situation, it is essential to note that interface automation may not be a good process in the long run and requires a lot of programming to achieve a given objective. On the other hand, implementing RPA in areas like robotic process automation in the supply chain can be done easily.

Kickstarting The Process of Automation

All the activities related to RPA for small businesses can be easily performed without knowing any programming. It is a quick implementation method that requires less time to get the desired results compared to the enterprise automated software, which usually takes a lot of time in this process. It usually takes a lot of months to get implemented because designing and integrating instructions are difficult tasks in this kind of software.

Alignment of Work

The robotic automation process helps to delegate the work to thousands of machines which makes it significantly different from ERP. It is essential to gain the desired programming functionality so that the same function can be performed in less time compared to the other situation of interface automation, which usually takes a lot of time to get scalability.

A kind of parallel execution is required in this process. It has got the capability of performing the best functions related to customized management. But in the long run, only robotic programming automation can be configured to meet the needs of the user immediately compared to interface automation, which usually has a lot of limitations related to the functioning of API and other complex technology employed.

Conclusion

The aforesaid is one of the most useful and effective ways with the help of which automation can be used in any organization. Understanding the differences between RPA and other enterprise automation tools helps to choose the required services from SVAM International.

This is helpful in the long run to get the required services over time. It brings the maximum amount of efficiency that deals with the timely completion of tasks and effective programming of functions. Get in touch with us today to know more about our RPA and ERP services.

Automation is only set to catalyse in 2023. The buzz around ChatGPT and the AI is an evidence that the only way ahead for your business is automating it. Along with the AI is also a powerful technology, RPA that is creating a hype amidst big and medium sized companies.

Robotic process automation is software (robots or bots) that performs various tasks to help automate the process and reduce expenses. The robotic process automation (RPA) market is growing exponentially worldwide.

Robotic process automation use cases are exploding in various industries and in businesses areas like using in RPA in the HR department, for calculating finances, creating innumerable new opportunities. The onset of 2023 brought the evolution of RPA trends. The time has come to reap the benefits of investing in digital transformations.

RPA is a result-driven technology entering the phase of maturity and delivering results. It is time to automate the tedious processes and spend time on more crucial things. Here, in the blog, we will uncover the latest trends in RPA that will dominate in 2023.

RPA Trends That Will Attract Your Attention in 2023

The key reasons businesses are adopting and implementing RPA (Robotic Process Automation) are its ability to transform the company, save time, labour, and money. It can speed up the processes, reduce errors and increase productivity. The impact of the pandemic has boosted the implementation of RPA.

Robotic Process Automation in Supply Chain

With the increased RPA capabilities integrating it with other technologies in supply chain will increase the overall performance and productivity. There are remarkable outcomes to look forward to with the integration of RPA in supply chain along with other tools and technologies.

RPA Will take Over Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)

The ERP and traditional systems in businesses encounter the problem of catching up with the frequency of the digital transformation. Manual data entry into ERP is a tedious task. ERP will undergo a massive change, with RPA playing a crucial role. With RPA, employees can automate repetitive tasks and business processes. In some cases, they can record the processes through automatic code generation and create a software bot.

RPA Will Pave Way for More Innovation

The companies and businesses that initially adopt RPA will gain a competitive edge. The companies that create and design frameworks to execute the system will make the most of the automation programs. This approach of the organizations will pave the way for more innovations.

RPA and Artificial Intelligence to Empower Processes

When RPA and artificial intelligence come together, they empower process automation and impactful digital transformations. Organizations can reach extreme possibilities by combining the RPA with AI to deal with anything. Cognitive bots learn from the data and make decisions, thus becoming a vital part of your team.

Small and Medium Enterprises Adopting RPA

The impact of the Covid 19 pandemic made the SMEs realize the importance of automating processes. They have understood how crucial it is to adopt automation to take competitive advantage and bounce back from a sudden disaster. Now they are adopting RPA at a much faster rate than expected. They are on the way to working more efficiently by automating their processes.

RPA in Human Resources

Robotic Process Automation in HR departments of companies to automate repetitive, mundane tasks through the use of software bots. In the human resources department, RPA can be used to automate a variety of tasks such as data entry management, employee recruitment, administration benefits, employee onboarding and more.

Conclusion

The advancements made by the RPA industry are shining brighter. That is why it is expected that 2023 will prove to be a game-changer for RPA specially in the business and supply chains. Robotic process automation is adding new possibilities in the business world. Automation will be the core necessity of every organization in the coming years and a must-have technology.

SVAM International Inc. has helped clients automate their process with intelligent automation solutions that can help us bridge the gap between AI and business growth. Get the RPA solutions that promise productivity at par with the expectations.

One of the most important processes in any organization is the accounts payable process. The accounts payable department is responsible for maintaining the cash flow of the organization, preventing any risks and fraud, and keeping vendor relationships healthy.

While it is largely an area of extensive manual work, advancement in Artificial intelligence (AI) and Robotic Process Automation (RPA) has made it possible for businesses to automate and streamline the process. The advancement of robotic process automation in the supply chain has made it possible for companies to keep track of systems and tasks.

This is crucial for time-extensive procedures that can hamper the efficiency of the entire organization.

A report by Kofax states that automation in this process can reduce costs by 81% and improve overall efficiency by 73%. This article discusses the impact of automation on the Accounts Payable process.

Understanding the Accounts Payable Process

  • The team designated to procure a product or service will create a purchase order, which is a contract between the business and the third-party vendor.
  • The order details the basic information about the purchase.
  • The team then examines the shipment to compare it to the original purchase order so a receipt report can be generated.
  • The vendor shares the invoice that shows what they have delivered and at what price. The invoice is then verified/approved by 2 or 3 signature authorities in the organization.

The overall time and cost involved in these steps are why the process requires automation. The manual entries and approval of invoices take up a lot of time, and the variety of formats that invoices come in often causes a lot of issues for the Accounts Payable team as well. In such situations, AI and RPA can largely reduce these time delays and speed up the process significantly.

Apart from the accounts team and departments, the tasks carried out manually by the HR team in the offices are also automated by the RPA. Integrating RPA in HR can help in bringing down manual tasks and ensure efficiency and speed.

The Effect of AI and RPA

On average, it takes anywhere from 4 to 16 days to complete an accounts payable cycle, while manually invoicing and approving payments costs about $23. RPA and AI can help in streamlining these workflows as they can replicate human tasks within a digital environment, which in turn, reduces the cycle time significantly.

In fact, in terms of money, processing one invoice through the use of RPA and intelligent systems only costs $4. In addition to bringing considerable cost and time savings, there are a plethora of other very significant benefits that automation and artificial intelligence can get to the entire accounts payable department.

Here Are Some Of The Significant Benefits:

  • Scanning and converting invoices from different formats to capture the data. This includes physical copies, scan copies, PDFs, emails, and faxes.
  • Classify and sort invoices automatically
  • Check for duplicate invoices and send alerts to relevant departments
  • Validate invoice data
  • Route invoices for fast approvals
  • Automated actions and reminders for payments
  • Reporting and analytics
  • Reduced human error
  • Improved process control for better compliance
  • Enhanced process transparency
  • Improved relations with vendors and increased customer satisfaction
  • Accuracy of data

Your Accounts Payable process needs to be robust and secure in all aspects, which is why it needs the boost of AI and RPA in the system. It can transform how you see your AP process by making it a quick, agile, and efficient process that is less laborious and costs you a fraction. Just like RPA in the supply chain, RPA can automate and fasten everything while minimizing errors to a great extent.

You can get the power of automation through the leading RPA and AI services provider, SVAM International. We have dedicated teams in the US, India, and Mexico alongside a global pool of talent to address all your needs at all times of the day. Book your consultation now.