Robotic Process Automation

At Deloitte, we have deployed RPA software, at scale (to the equivalent of the manual effort of 100s of people), within clients’ organisations, and within our own internal support processes. We have found it useful to consider robotics (and related cognitive tools) in terms of what they can actually do for a business.

We call these the ‘7 Robotic Skills’ - explore the graphic below. 

RPA tools are best suited for processes with repeatable, predictable interactions with IT applications. These processes typically lack the scale or value to warrant automation via core systems transformation or if core systems transformation is not due to be implemented soon. RPA tools can improve the efficiency of these processes and the effectiveness of services without changing the underlining systems.

RPA software ‘robots’ perform routine business processes by mimicking the way that people interact with applications through a user interface and following simple rules to make decisions. Entire end-to-end processes can be performed by software robots with very little human interaction, typically to manage exceptions.

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In September 2017, Deloitte invited organisations globally to take part in an online survey on their use of RPA. We received responses from over 400 individuals across many industries with combined value of £1,500 billion. This year’s Deloitte RPA survey, shows that awareness of robotics remains high. Even more organisations have investigated the RPA opportunity and/or built a proof of concept. They are convinced robotics will deliver a significant productivity increase and that it is applicable for a significant portion of their activities. Find out more.

The benefits of RPA solutions go beyond cost reduction and include:

• Decreased cycle times and improved throughput
• Flexibility and scalability
• Improved accuracy
• Improved employee morale – enables them to add more value
• Allows time to innovate and focus on customer satisfaction
• Detailed data capture