Automation is the cost reduction strategy of the 21st century. Most blogs you’ll read about automation will talk about how it will reduce administration costs by automating manual processes, reduce errors, and so on – but what isn’t spoken about as frequently are the ways in which automation technologies can enable long-term growth.
This is especially the case for Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and AI, so in this article, we’ll look at the ways in which investing in RPA can actively help generate revenues within your business, creating a positive ROI from automation and streamlining.
Cost savings are an important element of ROI generation from RPA. The equation is simple: if you cut your operating overheads, your profit margins increase, so RPA has the potential to generate significant additional revenues and improved ROI simply by reducing the labour costs associated with manual processing, and by improving consistency by eliminating data entry and programming errors.
With a tailored RPA solution, you may only need a lesser administrative workforce to do the same task, so your costs are immediately reduced and you can focus your effort on areas that require human judgement and skill.
It also shouldn’t be underestimated how RPA can help improve customer satisfaction levels by enabling your employees to focus on the non-standard tasks that computers can’t perform – such as addressing customer enquiries and problem resolution, rather than manually entering data or responding to routine enquiries. In short, RPA and AI allow you to genuinely use your human resources to react quickly to market conditions and human opportunities while leaving the computer processing tasks to the computer programs.
But enough about savings. What about the ways in which robotic process automation can be deployed to actively create revenues and income streams in your business?
The answer to this question depends very much on your business model, your sector, and the ways in which RPA can be tailored to your requirements, but an RPA application can be implemented to take on almost any rules-based task or process. The process utilises software robots, or bots, to learn and mimic a wide range of responsive tasks.
For example, if you’re in the logistics business and need to make a shipment for a customer, you may need to request quotes from 10 different shipping providers to get the best deal. A sales rep would have to approach each supplier individually, wait for the quotes, manually respond, and then get back to the customer with the best deal. This could easily take a full day of back-and-forth communication by email or phone.
Using an RPA process, the bot can contact the shipping providers on your behalf, assess the quotes, choose the best one, and respond to your customer – achieving in minutes what might have taken hours.
This is just one example of how RPA can help streamline customer service operations by automating the handling of customer enquiries, allowing businesses to respond more quickly to customers and deliver service more efficiently, improving customer satisfaction and loyalty and leading to increased sales.
The same RPA application could also be used for data entry and sales administration, such as entering the order into the CRM, updating customer communication information, and creating a purchase order or invoice, all whilst you're increasing customer loyalty amid a growing and competitive market.
RPA applications can also help businesses identify new opportunities for growth by analysing large amounts of data quickly and accurately to get meaningful insights. By leveraging data-driven insights, businesses can be better equipped to make informed decisions that lead to increased revenues.
Robotic process automation is an extremely powerful tool that can help businesses create revenue in a wide variety of ways – whether by automating manual processes, improving data management, streamlining customer service and sales operations, and more. To find out more about how our RPA solutions can help maximise your growth potential and profitability, get in touch by calling today at 01625 786953 or send us a message to book a live demo.
Image Source: Canva