Top 10 robotic process automation benefits, barriers, and adoption trends

A significant increase in productivity is one of the main business benefits seen by companies investing in robotic process automation solutions. According to Protiviti's study, the share of the surveyed companies reporting moderate, large, or very large productivity growth ranged from 23% in energy utilities to 50% in the tech-media-telecommunications industries.

Similar achievements can be found in some of the case studies by UiPath, our partner and leader in RPA implementation. For example, a Swiss HR service provider automated 90% of customers' payroll change request processing and data entry into corporate systems via software robots. This initiative reduced processing times by 85%, while manual effort dropped to 25%. UiPath also reported that a global IT company sped up their onboarding process by about 10 times: when handled manually, setting up new hires took half an hour, while RPA bots can do the same in 3 minutes.

Typical clerical activities can be repetitive and frustrating, mainly when performed manually on a large scale. This also makes them particularly error-prone if managed by humans. On the other hand, bots are accurate and tireless; they can handle the same task thousands of times. Therefore, they are considered highly diligent assistants.

An example of RPA bots' precision, particularly useful in delicate activities such as those related to accounting, can be found in the automation of P&L financial reporting. According to UiPath's experience, 100% accuracy can be easily achieved by letting robots merge multiple individual reports into the final P&L financial statement that summarizes the revenues and expenses incurred by a company over a given period.

A significant consequence of bots' superior accuracy over humans is the improved capability to handle audit and regulatory compliance, especially regarding data management and fiscal legislation. This is the most invaluable RPA benefit in the financial, insurance, and banking spheres. For example, the use of RPA in finance and accounting minimizes the risk of errors in tax reporting, invoicing, and payments, which could result in fines or even lawsuits from customers and public authorities. At the same time, RPA systems in logistics help harmonize procedures and documentation and thus streamline eSourcing.

That's why some top financial institutions have already deployed robots to streamline their business processes. In this regard, the Ernst & Young branch in Shanghai developed an RPA solution for one of its customers, intending to automate VAT reporting activities. After seeing the results achieved via robots, which shortened VAT reporting times from 1,400 hours to 280 hours per year and substantially eliminated human errors, the customer opted for further automation of many other fiscal functions.

Streamlining business workflows with RPA tools is more than just cutting costs. For instance, employees can devote more attention to customer care and human relations by delegating the most tedious and time-consuming tasks to robots. Or they can offer much more timely support to customers in need while avoiding potential errors and delays that could compromise customer experience.

Many applications of RPA proved to have a positive effect on customer satisfaction. For example, AI-driven bots can gather sales data to offer the best promotions and products based on customer preferences. They can also speed up service desk ticket resolution by automating up to 40-80% of the entire workflow, based on McKinsey's findings. Not to mention call center times, which may be cut by 50% (from an average of six to three minutes), as in the case of PZU, Poland's major insurance company, as reported by UiPath in their case study.

One of the primary concerns about implementing RPA systems is data safety. Bots handle loads of sensitive data and transfer it across systems performing various processes. Naved Rashid, Associate Principal Analyst at Gartner, said: “There are two main risks associated with RPA — data leakage and fraud.” However, well-configured RPA solutions with proper security measures can contribute to greater data security.

Robotic automation reduces the number of human touches, therefore lowering the risk of human errors. In addition, the reduction of manual data processing and human interactions, in general, can prevent fraud and other illegal actions.

Improved analytics is one of the most explicit gains of RPA implementation. Robotized systems gather and process vast amounts of data, which can help to make more data-driven and informed decisions. Therefore, enhanced analytics enables organizations to streamline their business processes and improve the quality of products or services.

On the way to its digital transformation, Xerox used UiPath’s RPA platform and deployed 600 robots to streamline numerous business processes. Robots gave the company advanced analytics capabilities, providing on-demand reports to account and service delivery managers about equipment in the field and enabling them to communicate effectively with customers about renewals, billing, and invoicing. In the long run, it helped to improve customer experience, loyalty, and engagement.

RPA bots do not always need complicated configurations. A duly implemented robotic automaton solution is straightforward and user-friendly. It also does not require a lengthy employee education and training period before use.

Besides, robotic process automation technologies could seamlessly integrate into the organization’s existing digital environment. Therefore, the RPA technology can bring significant business value with no big infrastructure changes, usually without the need to adopt other platforms.

Business owners and customers aren't the only ones enjoying the benefits of robotic process automation. RPA can automate daily operations and a variety of dehumanizing tasks that previously made many workers feel more robot-like than robots themselves. The allocation of these tasks to RPA enables human employees to develop and leverage their cognitive skills, including strategy, problem-solving, and creativity.

According to Forrester Consulting's The Impact Of RPA On Employee Experience study, 66% of managers surveyed reported that RPA adoption allowed their employees to interact more with each other. Furthermore, 60% stated that robots helped workers focus on more meaningful and strategic tasks.

Robotic process automation solutions – rule-based robots or intelligent process automation (IPA) systems where RPA bots are enhanced with AI (read more about the IPA vs. RPA) – are a potential first step towards corporate digitalization. This technology has proved particularly useful in opening the doors of digital transformation to numerous companies, including those without significant capital. After all, RPA robots are highly scalable and interact easily with legacy systems on the front-end side without altering or replacing previous settings. 

According to Pega's report, 63% of the 500 decision-makers surveyed said RPA is essential to their company's digital transformation. Moreover, 23% even declared that it's the most crucial component.