INFOGRAPHIC REPORT

© sharedserviceslink.com Ltd and Redwood 2016. No copy or visual can be used in part, as a phrase or in whole without the written permission of sharedserviceslink.com Ltd. The concept of this product belongs to sharedserviceslink.com Ltd and cannot be re-created by a third party for the purpose of an event, article, report or any other written product, without written consent made available by sharedserviceslink.com Ltd.

Automation has been widely embraced by shared services for high volume, repeatable tasks and processes.

Now we are starting to see robotics and Robotic Process Automation (RPA) on the rise. Shared services

are using robots for activities that are rules-based, have logical flows and in situations where a robot can be “trained” to complete tasks.

Adoption of robotics is not yet widespread, but it is growing. To better understand how shared services are using robotics, sharedserviceslink and Redwood conducted a survey with over 100 global shared services professionals. 60% of respondents were from Fortune 2,000 companies.

Read on for our findings.

Looking ahead:How do you plan on driving further automation in the next 12 months?

What is your experience using robotics at your company?

Robots in action

Automation...intelligence...tool...software...?

Understanding robotics

Leveraging current ERP / Investing in ERP capability

Using Robotic Process Automation

Using tools developed in-house

Using cloud computing

Using SaaS automation tools

Not planning further automation

Realize the power of robotics in Shared Services Get the Knowledge DR

72%

67%

38%

36%

6%

32%

Not sure about return on investment

We don’t have the technical expertise to implement them

RPA will lead to job loss in general

Concerns that robots could be hacked

It will take a long time to get them set up

No concerns

We may lose control of our processes

RPA will lead to my job loss

I don’t trust robots

Automate manual data entry tasks

Automate processes so they can operate for the most part

without intervention

Document and maintain an audit trail

Interact with approvers and supervisors

Perform manual accounting tasks without having to code

them ourselves

Understand basic finance processes

Replace human activity that can be performed by

robots end-to-end

Robotics is on the rise The ERP remains the main tool people are leveraging to automate. 72% of respondents are either leveraging their current ERP – or investing in an upgrade or expansion of it – to automate further. However, two thirds (67%) plan on using robotic process automation to drive further automation in the next 12 months.

There is growing interest in robotics. While only 27% are currently using robotics, 35% of respondents are actively looking into it.

What do we mean by robotics? We asked our respondents what robotics means to them, and the definitions and understanding of robotics vary wildly.

What benefits have you seen from robotics?

The benefits of robotics

Summary of Responses

Take a process-centric approach rather than user-centric approach

How to realize the power of robotics

About

The majority of respondents have seen significant benefits from robotics. The No. 1 benefit is improved process efficiency.

44% say there would be more time for value-adding activities 33% say they would enjoy improved efficiency12% say they would provide a better quality service5% say it would improve their corporate culture Other respondents commented on improved controls, better data and improved visibility

Robotics is not yet widespread, but is growing. Only 27% use it currently, but 67% plan on using robotic automation within the next year.

Our respondents' understanding of robotics varies, particularly regarding the more advanced capabilities.

About half of respondents don’t believe it’s possible to automate more than 60% of finance processes.

Interest in robotics in general is high, but uncertainty about the return on investment and having the technical expertise to implement RPA seems to be the biggest concern for those looking to implement it.

Robotics is changing traditional business models, and further altering economies of scale that have traditionally been driven by outsourcing. They will disrupt shared services to an extent, so it’s important to find ways to help realize the power in your organization.

Here are three tips for success:

77%feel that the most valuable function of robotics would be to

automate manual data entry, replace human activity throughout the end-to-end process, and automate processes that, for the most part, could take place without human intervention.

While many see robotics as an opportunity to replace manual tasks, there may be more value in looking at how to apply robotics to the processes as a whole. This means robotising a process from end-to-end as well as the application and system tasks, rather than just isolated pockets of human activity.

While no one wants their job to be replaced by a robot, nearly everyone would like to see some parts of their processes automated.

97% of people recognize that robots can automate manual entry tasks.

Only half think that robots can understand finance processes (52%) or replace human activity end-to-end (51%).

Less than half of respondents actually think it is possible to automate more than 60% of the Record-to-Report, Order-to-Cash and Procure-to-Pay processes in their organization, even if they had the right resources.

What do you expect robots can do for your organization?

The variations in understanding impacts what respondents believed can be achieved with automation:

The biggest concerns are the uncertainty on return on investment and ability to implement the technology.

38%

Exploratory research

35%

Actively looking at

using robotics

8%

Using robotics in other

departments

8%

Using robotics my department

11%

Using robotics at an

enterprise- wide level

27%use robotics currently

“Some sort of automation tool?”

“Human-free processing”

“Automation with AI”

“More time to focus on more value added activities, which in the end would directly impact on our customers’ experience.”

“Would be much smaller, more higher-value, better equipped to do cost analysis.”

“We could use our skilled staff to do more higher-level and insightful activities.”“Smaller team,

increased salaries. Higher value.”

97%

83%

6%

11%

83%

5%

12%

68%

14%

18%

64%

13%

23%

52%

22%

26%

51%

23%

26%

1%

2%

I think robots can do thisI don’t think robots can do thisNot sure

Do you have any objections or reservations about using robotics?

Robots have a wide range of capabilities, and have changed dramatically over the last few years. However, general understanding of the capabilities of robotics varies.

42%

36%

31%

Improved process efficiency

Improved accuracy of data

Improved productivity of FTEs

Reduced costs

Improved auditability

Improved scalability

Reduced risk

Improved visibility of processes

30%

24%

18%

16%

4%

3%

84%

Which of the following do you think would be the most valuable?

When asked what the benefits would be “if manual tasks within the finance team were a thing of the past”, the following responses emerge:

Robots that automate manual data entry tasks

Robots that replace human activity throughout the

end-to-end process

Robots that automate processes so they can operate for the

most part without intervention

Robots that understand basic finance processes

Robots that document and maintain an audit trail

Robots that can perform manual accounting tasks without having

to code them ourselves

Robots that interact with approvers and supervisors

75%

75%

69%

66%

66%

63%

53%

37%

21%

19%

11%

5%

4%

3%

“We would be more effective and lean”

1

Work robotics into your current ERP or applications

72% of our respondents are using their ERP to drive automation in the next year. The ERP is the backbone of the enterprise and the master system of record – organizations are right to start here on their automation journey.

Rather than mimic users, by logging into systems of record, robotics directly integrates with and orchestrates the ERP systems directly. This will allow you to scale robotization without the need to manage infrastructure outside the ERP, maintain process integrity and deliver the most transparent and comprehensive audit trail.

Redwood Software replaces slow error prone manual tasks across business processes with Enterprise Process Robotics™. These class-leading robotic software solutions drive the highest level of efficiency possible and help you achieve the greatest process standardization, compliance and control. Here’s how we differ.

Comprehensive robotisationWhen we talk robotization we don’t just mean a ‘set of activities’ that are a subset of a larger process, we robotize the entire process. E.g. invoice processing is a set of activities, whereas we refer to entire business processes as Record to Report, Order to Cash and Procure to Pay. And our robots go deeper and wider across processes to maximize value.

Digital communication with ERPRather than communicate with applications at the user interface level (UI) in an ‘analogue’ way and mimicking users, our robots communicate directly with your core ERP and other business systems at the server level (API) in a ‘digital’ way. These digital robots are activated by other robots, work autonomously and simultaneously to deliver the highest productivity gains and ultimate reduction in labor costs possible.

Scalability without the costOur robots can scale from just a couple to many thousands. However, with our robots, you don’t have to add extra desktops and costs to manage more volumes as you would normally do when scaling up using traditional RPA.

Significant FTE capacity releaseSince we apply robotics to entire processes end-to-end, it means we’re able to enact the highest degree of FTE capacity release in the industry.

Highest automation levelsBecause we comprehensively robotize entire processes, we automate 70-100% of manually repetitive tasks. This is the highest level in the industry, and a figure that we guarantee.

Process intimacy and “know-how”Our robots understand how to handle each process step, as they already have complete knowledge of Finance, Supply Chain and HR processes from the outset. All we need to feed them are your business parameters.

Greater process standardization, compliance & controlBy interacting directly with your ERP and business applications across an entire process, our robots uniquely document, track and validate these processes to deliver the most comprehensive audit trail possible.

2

Take multiple factors into your business case

The major reservations about robotics revolve around concern for the Return on Investment and the technical expertise required to implement robotics.

By looking at robotics processes end-to-end, rather than piecemeal, and by integrating directly with the ERP (or other master systems of record), you realize the highest degree of automation levels and FTE capacity release. This approach allows you to make the strongest business case for robotics. Also, right from the start, look for solutions where robots possess deep process IP knowledge, and make sure that you work with vendors with process experts who can help you translate business requirements into fully functioning robots, with the minimum of deployment overhead.

Also beyond FTE capacity release, build in the various benefits that robotics can help with, including:

• A sustained reduction of risk

• Re-appropriation of high value skill to innovation and value-adding activities

• Improved accuracy, reduced errors and improvements in quality, visibility and process harmonization

• Improvements to corporate culture as staff can work on more interesting and challenging work

• Scalability and flexibility

3

tasks enabling

faster

business

software

task

repetitive

repeatableautomatically

value

automatic

manual

transactions

efficiencyautomationtools

workflowintervention

data

ruleautomated

activitiesprocesses

cognitivesystems

human

© sharedserviceslink.com Ltd and Redwood 2016. No copy or visual can be used in part, as a phrase or in whole without the written permission of sharedserviceslink.com Ltd. The concept of this product belongs to sharedserviceslink.com Ltd and cannot be re-created by a third party for the purpose of an event, article, report or any other written product, without written consent made available by sharedserviceslink.com Ltd.