INSIGHTS
- Productivity of RPA is expected to be equivalent to the output of between 110 million and 140 million workers.
- RPAs can automate up to 45% of tedious and repetitive business activities thus allowing employees to focus more on activities that have positive and long-lasting impacts on the success of the business thus saving about $2 trillion in global workforce costs.
- An RPA software robot is a cheaper alternative because it costs about one-third the price of an offshore full-time employee (FTE) and one one-fifth the price of an onshore worker.
OVERVIEW
This research shows that robotic process automation (RPA) can save companies a significant amount of money while considerably increasing overall efficiency in various departments. Although after extensive research we could not find data that directly provide high-level estimates on real project examples on potential savings for industrial companies that have introduced RPA in their overhead process, we have used the available data to pull together key findings. Below, we outline our research methodology explaining why we could not find some requested information in the requested format and why the requested information is unavailable to the public domain. We also provide a deep dive into our findings including the overall financial and efficiency benefits and impacts of RPA on the global industry as whole.
METHODOLOGY
We started our research with searching in news, press releases, articles, reports, and company blogs for high-level estimates on real project examples on potential savings for companies that have introduced RPA in their overhead process. First, we scoured statistical platforms such as Statista, Mintel, MarketsandMarkets, Forrester, Gartner, and Grand View Research but we could not find pre-compiled market reports from industrial companies and packaging companies. However, we managed to find data on the generic impacts of RPA on the global industry/workforce.
Then we scanned for any industry reports by consulting companies such as McKinsey, BCG, Deloitte, PwC and also looked at sources such as the NY Times, WSJ, Forbes, Inc.com, PRNewswire, etc., but we could not garner relevant information. Next, we thoroughly explored the official websites and blogs of the companies that develop and vend RPA. Although some general statistics were found, they do not disclose the names of the client who implemented RPA.
Lastly, we checked if any industrial companies and packaging companies in the western region has shared data on its implementation of RPA. But all the companies we found do not disclose their work strategy publicly. Also, we extended the search to older data to find relevant information that answers the request, but the data was not available.
All the reports and sources garnered discuss the impact of RPA on the global industry. We, however, chose to include data on the effects of RPA on back office operations as well as quoted examples of RPA's success stories for companies in the manufacturing, communications and IT industries.
ASSUMPTIONS/LOGIC
Based on the lack of information found from our extensive sourcing detailed in the Methodology section, we have concluded that the requested information is not readily to the public domain available, likely as a result of the following factors:
- The companies that develop and vend RPAs do not disclose the names of their clients probably because of the existence of confidentiality agreements between the developers and the clients.
- The industrial and packaging companies in the western regions using RPA systems have not disclosed their (RPAs) effects publicly because they prefer to keep their work strategy confidential from their competitors.
FINDINGS
The impacts of RPA on the global industry are as follows:
- McKinsey & Company suggests RPAs can automate up to 45% of tedious and repetitive business activities thus allowing employees to focus more on activities that have positive and long-lasting impacts on the success of the business.
- According to the Institute for Robotic Process Automation, an RPA software robot is a cheaper alternative because it costs about one-third the price of an offshore full-time employee (FTE) and one one-fifth the price of an onshore worker.
- According to Deloitte, an RPA software robot is capable of addressing and resolving a company's intricacies of complicated processes because of its ability to perform a list of more than 600 actions in a given sequence.
- Based on a recent report by Transparency Market Research, RPA is expected to see a compounded annual growth rate of about 60.5% worldwide (especially in North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific) through 2020. The growth can be attributed to the deployment of RPA by BPOs on behalf of their own customers as well as a growing number of applications within the IT industry.
- Another report by McKinsey & Company estimates that the additional labor productivity of RPA is expected to be equivalent to the output of between 110 million and 140 million workers.
- A report by PwC supports the claim that 45% of work activities can be automated, and adds that the resulting automation would save about $2 trillion in global workforce costs.
- A report published by Deloitte states that the tangible benefits of implementing RPA include a 45% increase in ability of employees to focus on customers and a 40% reduction of average process execution time.
FURTHER FINDINGS
Additional information related to the effects of RPA on back office operations shows that a North American company with 150,000 employees faced difficulties in the back office that limited its ability to reduce costs and provide exceptional services despite using physical robots in its manufacturing assembly line. RPA enabled them to automate crucial back office processes, as well as identify and improve deficiencies within these operations.
According to Blue Prism, a UK mobile communications provider, Telefónica O2, deployed more than 160 robots to automate tasks that would otherwise require up to 500,000 instances of human interaction and, as a result, yielded a three-year return on investment of over 650%.
A report by Deloitte says that a cost reduction of 30% per process is typical. Cognizant, an American IT services corporation, reports that it saved 44% of the costs related to processing insurance claims by handing the task off to a software robot.
USA-based Global Manufacturing Company saw a 100% increase in efficiency by automating its vendor management system using RPA. The report claims that he RPA system managed to extract data from Service Now web forms and to validate VAT, IBAN, USPS, ABN as well as duplicate checks in SAP FIP following rules specific to 28 countries (European and Non European).
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, digitization of a company's operations using RPA creates the potential to not only reduce costs, but also to promote internal efficiency and enhance external communications with both suppliers and customers. Although data on RPA implementation in industrial and packaging companies is unavailable, you can use the quoted examples as exemplars since most companies (regardless of industry) have identical structures and modes of operation.