According to a 2017 global technology research company Information Services Group study, 72% of companies will use robotic process automation (RPA) to reduce costs, increase productivity, and improve compliance. The ISG study also shows that automation technology allows for a 43% decrease in the resources required for order-cash processes, 34% in invoicing, and 32% in vendor and talent management.
These are huge gains for any company, but they are especially important for companies that manage complex supply chains. Unfortunately, the adoption of automation in the supply chain was slow until recently. However, with the advancement of automation technology, many companies worldwide are turning to RPA to improve their supply-side efficiency and give them a competitive edge with customers on demand.
How does the most recent technology trend impact supply chain management? What are the potential uses and logistical benefits of software robots? What are the prospects for software robots? To answer all these questions, let’s look at automation in the supply chain.
RPA in Supply Chain Management
Companies in many industries have relied on various technologies to optimize their supply chains, including manufacturing, retail, healthcare, and others. However, until now, RPA and other automation technologies have not been widely adopted in supply chains.
RPA software robots had a slow start. They were not intelligent enough to manage the complex, skill-based interactions required for complex supply chains dependent on human intervention. However, automation technology is making great strides in supply chain management. Software robots can now act as human employees by incorporating cognitive and knowledge-based capabilities into RPA. Let’s take a look, which process RPA automate in supply chain management:
#1 – Email Automation
Maintaining a positive relationship with customers, suppliers, shipping agents, and manufacturers in any supply chain is crucial. To build trust and credibility, the organization must always be available for communication in critical situations, such as delays in delivery or difficulty in fulfilling orders. Currently, the majority of this task must be done manually. Companies can automate the entire process of communication with RPA supply chain management.
RPA automates email responses to orders that have been placed, shipped, completed halfway, delayed or received. It allows everyone in the supply chain to receive real-time notifications. Bots can read emails, recognize the intended meaning, and then take the appropriate actions. It not only saves time but also eliminates human error.
#2- Planning Supply and Demand
Supply and demand planning was not easy before the advent of RPA. Employees must gather information from many sources such as customers, suppliers, market information and sales and present it in a standard format.
RPA technology allows organizations to automate demand and supply planning. RPA technology can also be used to collect and format the information needed from different sources, analyze data exceptions, perform data cleansing, and convert data into a plan. Once the robots are automated, humans can no longer handle robot exceptions or run simulations. They also need to hold supply and demand meetings to develop a plan.
#3 – Supplier Selection and Procurement
When selecting suppliers and purchasing them, organizations must use a manual process. It involved preparing an RFQ (Request For Quotation), communicating to suppliers, reviewing supplier documents and evaluating a supplier’s credit before completing supplier selection.
A company can automate its procurement and sourcing processes by implementing RPA. The initial phase of the work requires minimal human intervention, including defining a project and creating lists of potential suppliers. Participants in negotiations and site visits are also limited. Supply chain companies can cut cycle times by 25-50% and processing times by 15%-45% once fully automated.
#4 – Order Processing and Payments
There are 3 steps to process an order in a business:
- You can choose a product or service that you are interested in
- Start a payment
- Confirmation of an order
Even though automation has made it possible to automate many transactions, some businesses still prefer paper. It can lead to inefficient and wasteful time. RPA allows for automated order processing and payment processing. It allows for the updating of transaction data in the company database. Payment gateways can manage withholdings, and software solutions can send confirmation notifications to users.
#5: Message Regarding the Status of Sending
Customers frequently ask logistics service centres about the status of their parcels. This is the manual process:
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- A customer service representative must open every email
- To find the shipment record in the ERP system, open it
- Next, record the shipment
- They send updated shipping status information to customers
Once RPA is implemented, you can automate all of the processes from opening emails, processing customer requests, logging in to the ERP system and communicating the exact delivery status to the customer.
#6: Robotization of document processing
Industry leaders are adopting RPA. However, some companies haven’t switched to an electronic workflow. It leads to slow order processing, insufficient transparency in the supply chain and poor decision-making.
Document processing Robotization removes the repetitive work and allows for transparent communication between counterparties. These include reconciling, creating invoices, or collecting statistics about sales and inventory balances.
Automation is a result.
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- Lowers labour and personnel costs
- Shipments can be left unattended
- Optimizes supply chain efficiency and reduces logistic errors
- This software allows you to manage your warehouse efficiently and forecast shipments.
Takeaway
RPA is an excellent solution for supply chain management to scale up business quickly. It automates most of the back-end processes, increasing efficiency and speed of delivery. It allows team members to focus on providing superior customer service.
Read more: 6 Essential Skills that Every Robotic Process Automation Developer Should Have
