INTELLIGENT AUTOMATION: Helping

the Future of WorkforceALLAN C. TAN

55.5

47.3

33 32

24

IQ LevelMachine vs Human

Source: Business Insider

Dawn of the Age of Artificial Intelligence

• Automation of manual repetitive and rules

based task with the goal of saving on

cost, time and improving quality.

• Also known as RPA – Robotic Process

Automation.

• In short, it’s the latest buzzword!

What is Intelligent Automation?

How it works?

Benefits of RPA

•Quintiles IMS saved at least P25M from automation.

•ANZ is running more than 1,900 bots saving 40% of their labor cost

•Dell EMC saved more than $2M annually within 2 months

•Walgreens, NASA, EY, Ford, and many other MNCs are investing millions into RPA.

The Benefit Is Real

• Global Shared and Support Services

• Administrative functions (e.g. HR, Accounting)

• Business Processes Outsourcing

• Banking and Financial Services & Insurance (BFSI)

• Utilities

• Healthcare

• Travel & Hospitality

TOP RPA Targets

• BPO employs more than 1.3M Filipinos with revenue of $25B about 8% of GDP.

• Philippines is #1 in voice BPO and #2 in non-voice BPO in the world.

• Forrester estimates 25% of jobs will be impacted by 2019.

BPO is BIG in PH

• RPA is still at its infancy

•Most companies are exploring and learning

•Only 19% of companies have implemented RPA

• Level 1 RPA has a lot of ground to cover

Current State of RPA

Current RPA Tools

• Assisted vs. Unassisted

• Record and Play

• Workflow Builder

• Input Forms

• Supports:• Desktop Applications

• Web Browsers

• Citrix

• Desktop/Office Tools

• Mainframe

• Central Command Center

Common Features of RPA Tools

• RPA can perform tasks very fast… making turnaround time much shorter.

• BlueCross needs to process 70K transactions in 14 days for compliance - only solution is RPA.

• Robots do not make mistakes. Thus, improves quality and customer satisfaction.

• Helps in seasonal work… no need to hire/fire people.

RPA is not only Cost Savings…

Finance and Banking

• New account verification

• Customer account management

• Financial claims processing

• Form filing

• Change of address

• Loan application processing

• Currency exchange processing

Common Use Cases

HR• Employee on boarding• Leave of absence

management

Finance / Accounting• Invoice processing• Bank reconciliation• Master data management• ERP logging from another

system

Pharmaceutical• FDA audit requirements

Common Use Cases

RPA Implementation

Start with a Pilot

1. Look for time consuming & tedious

tasks.

2. Explain objectives and ask for

support.

3. Pick task with significant cost savings

and department support.

4. Execute RPA and show proof of cost

savings.

Planning for RPA

1. Get support from management. Show

proof.

2. Prepare stakeholders and end-users.

3. Build advocates from end-users.

4. Involve IT and production team.

Look for Use Cases

1. Look for quick wins.

2. Identify effort and cost savings.

3. Start with supportive departments /

managers.

Monitor Results

1. Keep track of actual cost savings.

2. Keep track of productivity gains.

3. Establish a library of utilities /

automation scripts for reuse.

Expand

1. Look for RPA ambassadors.

2. Expand to other departments.

3. Repeat the cycle.

4. Expansion will be a natural occurrence

if you are successful.

Practical Tips and Advise

• RPA is for enterprise. So, there needs a strong

governance and compliance to company

standards.

• Prepare the employees; • Paint the busy and stressful picture and how RPA can

help them.• Don’t talk about reduction, but reallocation and clear

tasks.

• Ensure process is clearly established before automation.

• If there is resistance, go where RPA is wanted. Others will follow later.

Practical Tips and Advise• Ensure cross-functional interaction (e.g.

coordinate with SAP team as automation may be supported by SAP)

• Who will sponsor? VP or SVP of Global Shared Service, CEO or COO

• RPA is a tactical solution, not strategic. It will be replaced later.

• There are many stakeholders - IT, Security, Governance, Production. Talk to all of them to get their support.

• Need IT Support, also need to consider security on Infrastructure.

Practical Tips and Advise• Treat bots as employees, with

access rights. • Clarify security access rights of the

bots (e.g. system accounts, user accounts, etc.)

• Implementation is not SDLC, but agile due to fast turn-around (days).

• Re: IP - workflow is owned by client. Bots is owned by vendor.

• Unassisted bot has clear cost savings.

Overcoming Automation• Automation will come regardless…• People should prepare, upskill and enjoy more

fulfilling work.• Automation is an assistant to improve productivity

of people, not replace people.• We should be leading the automation revolution,

or we will be obsolete.