In various sectors, Robotic Process Automation (RPA) adoption and its applications are increasing quickly. Organizations are now investing in this advanced technology to streamline various administration and support processes connected to ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) systems. With their adaptability to both modern and legacy systems, RPA bots are worthwhile solutions to scale operations with an improved capacity of existing resources. 

The digital transformation is altering versions of conventional ERP systems across sectors, lessening limitations, and bridging the gaps between ERP and legacy applications. Besides, integrating RPA and ERP systems acts as an optimal way to drive Return On Investment (ROI) and efficiency. By teaming up with the RPA consulting service providers, enterprises can integrate RPA with an existing ERP system in their infrastructure and improve operational efficiency. 

Why Integrate RPA With ERP Systems

Organizations have become more influenced by RPA technology since it offers significant advantages including cost savings, quicker processing speed, elimination of human errors, and better compliance. Hence, by integrating RPA with ERP systems, enterprises can automate a range of back-end processes. By deploying digital worker bots, enterprises can automate administrative functions like capturing user data, procurement, finance & accounting, human resources, running sales campaigns, and many others.

The implementation of RPA for automating ERP-led processes gives enterprises a competitive edge to scale their business effectively without a major interruption in management. Moreover, the bots manage the repetitive and time-consuming manual tasks with greater precision and speed, allowing the back-office professionals to focus on other crucial higher-value activities.

Benefits of RPA-ERP Integration

  • Increases Productivity – As said before, RPA solutions can free up administrators to focus on more productive processes that require a higher level of human intelligence. While completing complex and tedious tasks more accurately, RPA bots can allow enterprises to meet deadlines. Streamlining mundane tasks can improve the workforce’s efficiency over the period.
  • Cost-Saving Approach – Automation of repetitive, mundane processes can save costs in dual ways- One, there is no need for enterprises to employ additional resources, and two, enterprises can save largely by lessening human errors. Besides, the administrative labor cost also gets minimized by incorporating Robotic Process Automation solutions.
  • Improves Scalability – Scalability and flexibility are essential to thrive and succeed amid a highly complex business scenario. With RPA-ERP integration, enterprises can easily fetch the information and evaluate the same to identify the areas of enhancement. Also, enterprises can hire dedicated RPA software development experts to scale up/down the bots based on ever-changing requirements. This way, enterprises can maintain greater quality and on-schedule delivery.
  • Enhances Customer Services – ERP data can be gathered and analyzed easily with the help of RPA bots. By using these bots, the workforce can share and access the required data easily and efficiently anytime to provide incredible customer assistance. It is easy to understand the customer’s issues and address their queries while providing a personalized experience using the RPA and ERP integration.

RPA-ERP Integration Use Cases

1.Invoice Capturing

Invoice capturing using OCR and NLP capabilities is possible with RPA-ERP integration. The bots will scan, validate, and digitize key data from the PO (purchase orders) and create invoices accordingly. Also, RPA bots can excerpt useful information from existing invoices recorded in the ERP system. For instance, once a transaction has been completed, the date, amount, counterparty’s designation, and report of the transaction should be extracted from the sales invoice and be changed into an item in the sales books. RPA bots can be the mediator that performs this capturing and exchange of data among the two ERP systems.

2.Evaluation of Supply Chain Vendors

Every supply chain management team perform the process of analyzing and choosing the vendors to obtain required sources for production. Several, supply chain teams in enterprises use ERP systems to transact or interact with vendor during agreement phase. With the availability of Vendor Evaluation modules, ERP systems make it easier for the assessing a range of the vendors from the list.

Nevertheless, this time-intensive analysis process performed by ERP systems impacts the manufacturing accuracy and delivery of products. As an alternative, supply chain teams can build and deploy bots using RPA solutions and integrate them with their in-house ERP system to mine the required information/parameters and perform rapid analysis. By delegating bots, supply chain managers can evaluate the quotations raised by the multiple retailers at once, check safety standards or conditions, and determine the retailer based on performance.

Bots can securely store and manage distribution, transaction history, product value, vendor feedback and other information. By using these data, supply chain managers can make accurate decisions and plan demand forecasting accordingly.

3.Streamlining Procurement Process

Alike vendor evaluation, procurement is another crucial supply chain workflow that is traditionally handled by ERP systems. Whenever a supply chain team needs resources from a third-party vendor, the team workers open a contract, mention product requirements, execute transactions, and submit contract release orders or receipts. Though ERPs can manage all these activities effectively, the time required to complete a procurement process is significantly large, eventually impacting organizations to meet end-user demands.

Whereas, RPA and ERP integration, enables enterprises to create automated procurement workflow. Hence, monotonous tasks like resource requisition, document management, payment processing, and receipt verification can be modernized. Despite the volume and complexity of procurement, bots can learn, comprehend and autonomously complete the transactions with greater precision.

Summing Up

RPA integration with ERP offers the ability to transform business processes in a cost-effective way. Before organizations proceed with RPA-ERP integration, they should effectively assess the performance of their ERP system whether it is fulfilling business needs or holding them back. This valuation ensures that they are making accurate decisions for their mid-term, short-term, and long-term objectives.