RPA Use Cases with Real-life Examples

Robotic Process Automation services, or RPA, is one of the fastest growing technologies that are changing the manner of doing business across industries. RPA involves the use of “software robots” which rely on rule-based processes to automate repetitive tasks which were manually processed by humans. RPA is capable of undertaking the same processes at high speeds and greater accuracy, which would be impossible to replicate without the use of software. Read this post to learn the most impactful RPA Use Cases & Examples in real-world business operations.

RPA has gained immense popularity over the past several years. Small startups to Fortune 500 companies have realized the potential of using these services to increase their overall operational efficiency. According to market research firms, the RPA market is estimated to reach $20 billion by the end of 2025.

Organizations that are considering implementation of Robotic Process Automation Services must fully understand how automation can address business challenges and improve operational efficiency.

What Are Robotic Process Automation Services Use Cases?

In simple terms, a use case in this regard pertains to automated tasks or processes that can be performed using RPA technology. Generally, these uses cases exhibit certain unique features and characteristics that make them popular:

• Rule-based processes: Allotted tasks adhere to a clear, predefined set of rules and logic that can be programmed into a bot.
• High volume and repetitive nature: The automated tasks are performed frequently and in greater volume simultaneously.
• Structured data: The information is organized in a predictable format which allows software bots to read, extract and process the data easily.
• Low exception rate: Almost all the processes follow a standard pattern thereby negating the need of special handling.
• Well-defined inputs and outputs: Each and every process has a well-defined start and end point.

Robotic Process Automation Use Cases Across Industries

Here are some real-life examples of robotic process automation services used across industries:

Banking & Financial Services

Robotic Process Automation Services was initially implemented by the banking and financial sector. The operations involve numerous repetitive tasks making automation the ideal service to implement in this sector.

• • Loan Processing and Approval: Traditionally, loan applications processing was a time-consuming and demanding process. It involved manual verification of papers, credit checks, income verification, regulatory compliance checks and more. The possibility of error and discrepancies was high due to the volume of data involved.

Real-life example: The Loan Store (TSL) adopted RPA to automate most of its services. This included mortgage lending, loan processing, document preparation, underwriting and servicing. Post implementation of RPA, the company witnessed a startling 100% increase in its productivity. Moreover, it achieved 40% cost savings and improved straight-through processing by over 80%. The turnaround time for mortgage loan reduced as much as 25% thereby allowing the company to process loans much faster than before while confirming to quality and compliance standards. TSL was able to scale its operations without increasing its manpower thereby proving RPA as a game changer in the competitive market by improving operational efficiency in banking and financial services.

• • Invoice Processing and Payment Reconciliation: Financial institutions need to process thousands of invoices and payments daily. Due to the manual and labor-intensive process, the likelihood of committing errors resulting in cash flow disruption is high.

Real-life example: A popular financial service company saw a 67% reduction in processing time and 83% reduction in manual effort after automating its invoice processing workflow. Tasks that involved employees to post payment, sort documents and extract information are now seamlessly executed by bots with 100% accuracy. The company processed over 1600 insurance payments with complete accuracy per day when compared to traditional processing that required 50 call center agents to make around 2000 calls daily.

Healthcare and Insurance

The healthcare and insurance sector routinely handles an overwhelming quantity of patient data and claims. Most of the processes are repetitive and rule based, making RPA implementation the best option to address the problem.

• • Claims Processing and Management Insurance claims processing is a process that is time consuming and prone to errors. Each claim needs to undergo scrutiny for accuracy, eligibility and document validation before payment approvals. This process necessitates multiple data entries and data handling.

Real-life example: A leading pet insurance company was able to handle 200,000 claims per month by automating its claim processing system. Prior to the implementation of RPA, the company relied on outsourcing to process the claims on time. Since the upgrade, the company was successful in minimizing its dependence on third-party business service providers and considerably decreased the claim processing time. The automation promoted business efficiency without having to endure high operational costs. Another noteworthy implementation of RPA involved a healthcare provider that was able to reduce claim submission time by 70%. In a matter of 2 weeks of adopting the solution, the company streamlined its complete business process by automating data extraction, data review and claim submission tasks.

• • Medical Billing and Payment Processing The healthcare sector associates with multiple insurance providers, and as such it needs to manage and maintain a complex billing service complying with the carrier’s reimbursement criteria and relevant regulations. Errors in medical billing can cause cash flow issues and delayed payment.

Real-life example: A health care provider automated their billing and payment processing by automating the tasks. This reduced the administrative workload of its skilled staff. The company now saves more than 37,000 hours annually. Not only has cash flow management improved but, the clinical staff can now focus on giving more attention to patient care with lesser administrative burden.

Manufacturing and Supply Chain

Manufacturing industries operate with a complex supply chain model because they deal with multiple vendors. This includes inventory update and shipment tracking.

• • Order Entry and Inventory Management
    Manufacturers receive orders from various modes and channels such as emails, web forms, EDI systems, and phone calls. Manual data entry makes the whole process susceptible to errors and discrepancies resulting in delayed shipment.

Real-life example: A major manufacturing company successfully automated more than 20 business processes with the help of RPA. The bots were deployed in a span of 10 days thereby resulting in an annual savings of over $90,000. Invoice reconciliation, shipment tracking process was also automated thereby saving 40% reduction in shipping costs. This example demonstrates how RPA can be quickly initiated in the workflow process of a company thereby delivering immediate, positive results.

• • Vendor and Supplier Management
    Payment processing, performance tracking, regular updates are some of the processes involved in managing vendor relationships. All these administrative tasks can be easily automated to increase accuracy by minimizing manual effort.

Real-life example: A supply chain operation was able to achieve optimal efficiency by leveraging RPA. The automated cross-functional processes included order report preparation, delivery expense reporting, accounts payable and receivable operations, and invoice processing. The company was able to achieve 35% annual growth without recruiting additional workforce. The automation solution also handled batch order updates, commodity data validation, and supplier performance monitoring making the company a leader among its competitors.

Human Resources

HR departments handle a large scale of administrative processes that include onboarding, payroll processing, leave management, and more. RPA is best utilized in these departments as these tasks are rule based and repetitive.

• • Employee Onboarding
    There are many steps involved in employee onboarding ranging from background verification, IT access provisioning, benefits enrollment, payroll setup, and policy acknowledgment. For big companies, the process can be time-consuming as it involves coordination from different departments and so the possibilities of delay and inconsistencies are far greater.

Real-life example: Finastra, a financial software company, utilized RPA to streamline employee onboarding process. Earlier, it took 8 to 12 weeks to complete the onboarding process for new employees. Thanks to RPA bots handling various processes simultaneously, including documentation preparation and system access provisioning, the onboarding process became significantly consistent and faster.

• • Leave and Absence Management
    Employee leaves, absence and payroll adjustments requires close coordination between HR department, payroll section and management. There is an increased scope for errors if the process is manual. It could adversely affect employee pay and records.

Real-life example: Walgreens, a leading pharmacy chain, used RPA for automating leave-of-absence and workers compensation process. Initially, the company was manually tracking 2000 employee leaves per day. This required extensive data management between databases and claims service providers. But, with automated workflow management the leaves were automatically recorded in real-time and data exchanges were seamless without the need of any manual intervention. The automation increased the HR service efficiency by 73% thereby reducing the workload and helping the department focus more on employee development.

Information Technology and Operations

In IT departments, there are times when large volumes of routine work can be overwhelming to the staff. Ticket routing, access provisioning, system monitoring, and incident management are some examples of heavy workload. Automating these complex processes not only improves response time but also enhances service quality.

• • IT Service Desk and Incident Management
    IT service desks are tasked to handle thousands of support tickets on a daily basis. Many of these tickets need to be properly categorized and resolved in a systematic timeframe. This can be easily accomplished using RPA services without the need of human involvement.

Real-life example: Post Nord continuously tested and monitored 20 vital end-to-end logistics processes overnight by automation. The company was able to detect software glitches immediately and resolve the issues quickly. Thanks to automation, the time taken to identify and rectify the issues was significantly reduced which further led to improved system reliability and user experience.

Customer Service

Customer service support handles inquiries billing questions, refunds among various other tasks. Many of these processes can be automated using RPA with additional support using AI-powered chatbots.

• • Customer Data Retrieval and Account Management
    Customer care representatives need to address issues quickly by accessing customer data which may include account history, billing data, and transaction records to effectively assist customers. RPA services make data extraction fast and accurate.

Real-life example: CXP, a contact center outsourcer, took a decisive step by implementing RPA combined with AI chatbots to automate customer data extraction and FAQ responses. The results far surpassed the expectations of the company. The average call times were reduced by 35% and more importantly, increased trust pilot customer satisfaction ratings by 52%. This clearly demonstrates that automation enhances customer experience with faster resolutions.

Key Benefits of RPA Implementation

• Cost reduction: By automating routine tasks, most companies can achieve 30-60% reduction in processing costs.
• Increased productivity: Automation helps staff to complete large volumes of assigned work in less time without fatigue or loss of concentration.
• Improved accuracy: RPA bots are able to complete processes with 99% accuracy.
• Faster processing: Repetitive tasks with large volumes that took hours or days to complete manually can now be completed in minutes using RPA.
• Better scalability: Organizations are better equipped to handle increased transaction volumes without the need of proportionally increasing headcount.
• Enhanced compliance: Bots follow rules consistently thereby ensuring regulatory compliance and audit trails.
• Improved employee satisfaction: RPA handles tedious tasks without the need of human interference so that staff can focus better on other areas for improvement

Conclusion

Robotic Process Automation Services is no longer a theoretical concept. From financial services to healthcare, manufacturing to human resources, companies of all sizes are discovering the transformation in their business operations brought about by RPA services. Today, the use cases continue to expand and bring about new possibilities through advancement in technology. The real-life examples throw a glimpse into how successfully implemented RPA gives quality and value to businesses.

Most companies that have become familiar and gained experience using RPA have now begun to induct artificial intelligence in their operations to transform their business and rise to all new heights. With proper implementation and organizational support, business process automation solutions can prove to be an invaluable asset to new startups and emerging businesses.