Business Context
To improve operational efficiency in its shared-services centers, the data strategy and operations team at software firm SAP SE identified, assessed, and prioritized more than 20 use cases for robotic process automation. Using SAP Intelligent Robotic Process Automation services, the team has now implemented five use cases with tangible business results, enabling an improved employee experience and helping provide trusted enterprise data for SAP
Transitioning while transforming
The data strategy and operations team at SAP SE is on a journey to transform its data management practices from simply reacting to the needs of internal customers to proactively identifying and anticipating requirements. As part of this initiative, the team analyzed all of its processes using 4D mapping techniques, providing a clear picture of what needs to be done and in what order.
A key observation was that there were many manual and repetitive tasks that prevent employees from focusing on higher value tasks that would help the team achieve its mission of making data work for SAP.
Optimizing processes while responding to margin pressure
However, during a long-term transformation program that includes wide scale automation through the deployment of a number of software solutions, the team recognized it must take a shorter term transitional approach to process optimization. “Under tight margin pressure, it’s crucial to continue running day to day data operations while streamlining processes at the same time,” says Bastian Finkel, head of intelligent data experience at SAP. “It’s a bit like changing tires while driving on the motorway.”
Building momentum with quick wins
The data strategy and operations team decided that robotic process automation (RPA) would help it accelerate processes in a relatively short period of time. In this way, it could improve the employee experience while delivering outstanding business results to internal customers.
Before: Challenges and Opportunities
The goals of the project were to
- Process data change requests more efficiently and transparently
- Reduce time spent on repetitive, manual tasks by employees in shared-services centers
- Eliminate data errors due to manual data entry
- Increase the amount of time that staff can spend on high-value tasks
Why SAP Intelligent RPA?
SAP Intelligent RPA rapidly provided
- Rapid deployment of bots within a few days, enabling quick wins
- Intuitive functionality, enabling staff to rapidly gain bot-building skills
- Support for intelligent workplace processes for shared-services center employees
After: Value-Driven Results
Results have been better than expected:
- Enhanced customer service with faster response times
- Better employee experience with significantly less manual work
- Increased efficiency, with thousands of hours shifted to higher-value tasks
- Improved data quality, providing more accurate, consistent, and compliant information for use in enterprise processes
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Learn More
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