Robotic Process Automation: Statistics, Benefits, Use Cases

Repetitive tasks are tedious. And the amount of time workers spend on completing them is truly bewildering. Some people can spend up to one-third of their working hours on tasks that can easily be automated. There are plenty of ways to introduce automation in your processes, yet one of the most efficient ones is Robotic Process Automation (or RPA). This approach is also gaining popularity thanks to a constantly growing usage of AI in business.

As the landscape of business automation continues to change, RPA is going to play a significant role in optimizing operations and improving productivity. In this article, we’ll talk more about why your business may need RPA and how exactly you can implement it.

What is RPA exactly?

In simple terms, Robotic Process Automation is a software technology that helps businesses automate their processes with the help of virtual assistants and bots. Your team can delegate routine and time-consuming tasks to them while focusing on more important matters.

Usually, RPA can be implemented in three ways, depending on how exactly you want to work with this technology:

• Attended RPA: This form of RPA bots works together with humans and helps human workers with repetitive tasks. Their work depends on certain triggers to start specific automated tasks which can be useful in industries like customer service and sales.

• Unattended RPA doesn’t need humans to work. They run on their own based on pre-programmed triggers and inputs. Unattended RPA is usually used in processes like data entry and application integrations.

• Hybrid RPA is the most adaptive approach where humans and independent bots can work together to complete the necessary tasks.

RPA statistics

Here are some interesting statistics about RPA that will help you better understand the industry and decide whether this technology is what you’re looking for.

• The global RPA market is expected to grow from $18.18 billion in 2024 to $64.47 billion by 2032.

• North America has the largest RPA market share of 38.30%.

• An RPA bot costs approximately 1/3 of an offshore employee and 1/5 of an onshore employee.

• RPA is the second top technology in procurement.

• Almost 59% of C-level executives are going to increase spending on automation and AI.

Why is RPA getting popular?

Well, there are plenty of benefits that make RPA a popular choice for business automation. Bots can easily automate your workflow and enhance the efficiency of your team. A lot of tasks can be easily assigned to bots without any loss in accuracy or functionality.

More apparent reasons include:

• Cost-efficiency: As we already mentioned, introducing RPA can significantly reduce your spendings on the team you’re automating.

• Easy scalability: For some RPA solutions, you literally need one click to scale your automation resources up or down. If you have 1,000

• Increased productivity: Since your team will have less time to spend on repetitive and routine tasks, they can shift their focus on high-priority work that is more important for your business.

• Eliminating human error: With all advantages of a human mind, we are not perfect and we can make mistakes. Not that AI bots won’t do it, but their accuracy is 

• Data-driven insights: With the help of RPA’s detailed logs, you can analyse all interactions your clients have with your business, identify bottlenecks, and adjust your strategy accordingly.

Use cases: RPA in banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI)

Now, let’s move to the main part: How exactly you can use RPA in your company depending on your industry. We are going to start with fintech. As digitalization continues to expand in the financial landscape, RPA can truly reshape the way financial operations work.

• Workflow hyperautomation

Hyperautomation combines RPA with advanced AI and machine learning to optimize end-to-end financial processes. Such a combination allows for seamless integration and automation across various functions. It also reduces manual intervention and boosts your team’s operational efficiency.

• Intelligent document processing

RPA-based intelligent document processing automates the extraction, classification, and analysis of data from various financial documents. Automation of these processes will improve accuracy, reduce processing time, and optimize document management.

• Fraud detection

RPA can level up your fraud detection by monitoring transactions in real-time, identifying irregular patterns, and flagging potential malicious activities. These actions will add a lot to your business’ security posture and make your users trust you more.

• Cognitive automation and NLP

The integration of cognitive automation and natural language processing (NLP) into RPA solutions can help with handling unstructured data like contracts, legal documents, and customer communications. This can help financial institutions get valuable insights and facilitate complex tasks.

Use cases: RPA in healthcare

With RPA, medical institutions (hospitals, clinics, research facilities) can speed up their workflows and improve patient experiences. Modern healthcare gets more complex day by day, so RPA is a great solution for increasing efficiency without compromising high-quality patient care. Here are the most common use cases of RPA in healthcare: 

• Claims processing

RPA can streamline the claims processing workflow by automating data extraction from medical documents. It allows for a faster and smoother verification process so claims are handled with better accuracy.

• Appointment scheduling

The easiest task for RPA to automate is appointment scheduling. Whether it’s a call center or a web service, bots can help you with all channels. This use case can also include updating patient records, sending reminders, and managing appointment calendars for healthcare providers.

• Patient registration

Bots can better collect and validate patient information from online forms. It will reduce manual data entry and provide accurate records in the hospital's system. Such improvements will speed up the check-in process which is good for both patients and medical professionals.

• Telehealth support

RPA can come in handy in telehealth workflows. For example, AI-based bots can schedule virtual consultations and automate all follow-up communications.

Use cases: RPA in logistics and supply chain

Logistics is another industry that can be upgraded with RPA. This technology can make operations more agile and responsive to changes. RPA can reduce human error in tasks like inventory management and order processing. Here’s how:

• Order processing

RPA can automate order processing tasks, from order entry to verification to updating inventory systems. It’s a fast and secure way to organize the order fulfillment process.

• Shipment tracking

RPA can track and monitor shipments in real-time so your customers can have access to the accurate status updates of their orders. Also, it will enhance the overall visibility and transparency in the supply chain.

• Invoicing

With the help of RPA, you can automate almost all parts of your invoicing process. It includes tasks like data extraction, validation against purchase orders, and payment processing. Automation can provide better speed and accuracy for invoice management across systems.

Use cases: RPA in retail

RPA is a really popular approach for the retail industry. Here are some key applications:

• Price monitoring

Retailers can use RPA to track competitor pricing and automatically adjust their own prices to stay, well, competitive. It can also help with dynamic pricing based on demand and stock levels.

• Product listing

For e-commerce, RPA can automate the classification and listing of products and services. It will help with consistency in descriptions, images, and pricing across all channels and platforms retailers use to communicate with customers.

• Customer support automation

Of course, RPA can enhance customer support. Retailers use RPA for handling inquiries, processing refunds, and managing loyalty program requests via chatbots or automated email responses.

Conclusion

Robotic process automation is one of the most efficient ways to introduce automation to your business. As organizations within the industries we mentioned continue to adopt RPA solutions, its influence will likely expand further into other sectors. If you want to give it a try and start automating your business, drop us a line and we will help you get even better results.