{"id":15668,"date":"2021-11-09T17:54:40","date_gmt":"2021-11-09T17:54:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oxfordcorp.com\/?p=15668"},"modified":"2025-10-08T13:23:30","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T13:23:30","slug":"robotic-process-automation-what-you-need-to-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.oxfordcorp.com\/de\/insights\/blog\/robotic-process-automation-what-you-need-to-know\/","title":{"rendered":"Robotic Process Automation: What You Need to Know"},"content":{"rendered":"

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is the efficient adaptation of software robots (bots) to perform unpopular, repetitious, mundane tasks quickly. Due to the labor disruption created by the Covid-19 pandemic, RPA has recently boomed in popularity as it helps automate essential back-office tasks, reduce if not eliminate keystroke errors, and free resources up to focus on more critical tasks. As a result, the global RPA market, valued at $1.4 billion in 20191<\/sup><\/a>, is projected to jump to $5 billion by 20242<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0and $11 billion by 2027.3<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

RPA promises to transform the back offices of enterprises the way robotics transformed the assembly floors of the automotive manufacturing industry in the 1990s. The industry faced a major quality control problem due to mistakes made by assembly line workers. Gradually, robots were introduced to perform the most mundane, repetitious assembly line jobs and the quality of manufactured cars improved significantly. In the case of RPA, this transformation will replace repetitive clerical operations \u2013 such as opening files, copying and pasting text, transferring data from one system to another, and data entry \u2013 with seamless automation. This results in a high-volume, virtually error-free environment with a quicker turn-around time, as bots can work non-stop, 24 hours a day if desired.<\/p>\n

How Does\u00a0it Work?<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

RPA bots are programmed to interact with underlying systems that range from the latest cloud-based applications to legacy mainframes. Many companies with legacy systems (especially those lacking API options) use RPA to automate their workflows. Initially, RPA emerged as the coupling of business process automation (BPA) and screen scraper applications. Today, screen scraping techniques are still used, but the integration approach is considered more accurate. RPA bots require programming to function, but the level of programming is considered relatively simple.<\/p>\n

Applications\u00a0of RPA<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

RPA bots are adept at automating common back-office processes used by most organizations \u2013 such as human resources (new employee onboarding), accounts payable, and expense management. RPA can automate other business processes including general application processing, quote-to-cash (QTC) functions, procure-to-pay (P2P) functions, data entry and migration, and timely generation and distribution of reports. Typical automated document-based processing includes invoices, receipts, contracts, order forms, and prescriptions.<\/p>\n

Benefits\u00a0of RPA<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

The successful implementation of RPA can yield numerous positive results. Backlogs are eliminated due to the speed and efficiency in which automatic tasks are executed. Since bots are completely focused on the task at hand, human error is virtually removed from the equation \u2013 causing data quality and accuracy rates to soar. At the same time, the chance of violating compliance regulations dramatically drops. Since bots leave behind digital records of all their activities, this helps simplify any audits that may come up. With the increased speed and accuracy of data entry, more timely, accurate customer information is available, resulting in happier customers. Employees, who formerly labored over the mundane tasks being handled by bots, are now free to perform more challenging strategic work. And finally, the cost savings. According to a recent CAQH study, in the healthcare industry alone, $13.3 billion could be saved if only eight administrative tasks in the revenue cycle were no longer manually performed.[4]<\/a><\/p>\n

Healthcare Opportunities<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

The healthcare industry has a lot to gain from the successful deployment of RPAs. Today\u2019s healthcare systems are hamstrung by seemingly endless processes, forms, documentation, paperwork, insurance, and strict regulations regarding the handling of sensitive patient data. As a result, the number of manual processes required is much higher than in other industries \u2014\u00a0\u00a0notoriously slowing processes and higher operational costs. Any improvement in efficiency would no doubt lead to better, less costly healthcare delivery. The following are some key areas where the deployment of RPA bots\u00a0would be beneficial:<\/p>\n