This blog is the thrid part of the series: Business document processing with SAP AI Business Services: consumption options.
In this post I present possible options how to simplify business document processing (i.e. document classification, information extraction, and data enrichment) in conjunction with SAP Intelligent RPA. Subsequently, I will discuss two common business scenarios, for which SAP provides accelerators allowing customers to quickly implement the solutions and begin yielding business value.
AI in conjunction with Robotic Process Automation (RPA) has ushered in myriad possibilities for process automation. Enterprises that possess access to SAP Business Technology Platform can develop rapid and custom automation scenarios in low-code/no-code manner.
The foundation for that is the compatibility of SAP AI Business Services with SAP Intelligent RPA. The latter solution is capable of connecting to the standard APIs of SAP AI Business Services as part of the bot flow, allowing for end-to-end automation scenarios, such as automating the processing of email attachments or extracting information from PDFs. This approach has been possible with SAP Intelligent RPA, Desktop Studio (on-prem) by calling the APIs and providing a client ID and a client secret.
Since 2109 release (cloud), SAP Intelligent RPA has featured a native integration with Document Information Extraction and its capabilities, enabling out-of-the-box smart document processing. Following use cases are now possible in a low-code/no-code way:
This video presents the new version of SAP Intelligent RPA and how it allows users to easily extract the invoice data with the help of Document Information Extraction now embedded into the tool.
The table below comprises the different options and further assets to process business documents with SAP Intelligent RPA.
In this scenario, large amounts of business documents are attached to emails coming from customers and partners. Document Classification with SAP Intelligent RPA can automatically classify these incoming documents, as outlined in the one-pager below:
In this process, SAP Intelligent RPA screens incoming emails for attachments. In case an email contains attachments, the bot will send the documents for classification and kick off the corresponding business process.
SAP provides accelerators to implement this scenario. Users can start in the SAP Discovery Center by executing a tutorial mission: Automate Processing of Email Attachments using ML and Bots. Missions include best practices and step-by-step guidance for implementing use cases, with well-established support from mission experts and SAP Community. By executing this mission, you will learn how to implement this use case and begin classifying incoming documents. A bot template is also available on the SAP Intelligent RPA Store (pease note: this bot template is for learning purposes only).
This use case is productively in use by one of our reference customers, Villeroy & Boch. To learn more about how Villeroy & Boch utilizes Document Classification and SAP Intelligent RPA, please refer to the following link: When Bots Decide: Process Automation at Villeroy & Boch.
To complement the previous use case one could extract the data from previously categorized documents. A common example is data extraction from PDF supplier invoices and posting it into an ERP system, such as SAP S/4HANA. This use case can be implemented with new business document processing capabilities of SAP Intelligent RPA featuring Document Information Extraction as outlined in the one-pager below.
This use case improves the overall efficiency and throughput of SAP S/4HANA invoice posting process by leveraging the breadth of SAP BTP Extension Suite: SAP Intelligent RPA 2.0, Workflow Management, Business Application Studio. This use case covers the following business process steps:
SAP also provides accelerators for this particular use case in form of:
I encourage read other blog posts related to consumption options of Business Document Processing:
For more information on SAP AI Business Services, please refer to SAP Community Page.
In this post I present possible options how to simplify business document processing (i.e. document classification, information extraction, and data enrichment) in conjunction with SAP Intelligent RPA. Subsequently, I will discuss two common business scenarios, for which SAP provides accelerators allowing customers to quickly implement the solutions and begin yielding business value.
Business Document Processing with SAP Intelligent RPA
AI in conjunction with Robotic Process Automation (RPA) has ushered in myriad possibilities for process automation. Enterprises that possess access to SAP Business Technology Platform can develop rapid and custom automation scenarios in low-code/no-code manner.
The foundation for that is the compatibility of SAP AI Business Services with SAP Intelligent RPA. The latter solution is capable of connecting to the standard APIs of SAP AI Business Services as part of the bot flow, allowing for end-to-end automation scenarios, such as automating the processing of email attachments or extracting information from PDFs. This approach has been possible with SAP Intelligent RPA, Desktop Studio (on-prem) by calling the APIs and providing a client ID and a client secret.
Since 2109 release (cloud), SAP Intelligent RPA has featured a native integration with Document Information Extraction and its capabilities, enabling out-of-the-box smart document processing. Following use cases are now possible in a low-code/no-code way:
- Extract Data with Template from any kind of document type.
- Extract Data with pre-trained models from SAP for supplier invoice, payment advice note, and purchase order.
- Fetch plain text (OCR) from unstructured documents of any type and apply custom post-processing to it.
- Enrich extracted data based on your own master data.
This video presents the new version of SAP Intelligent RPA and how it allows users to easily extract the invoice data with the help of Document Information Extraction now embedded into the tool.
The table below comprises the different options and further assets to process business documents with SAP Intelligent RPA.
| SAP AI Business Service | Use Case(s) | SAP Intelligent RPA Design Tool | Assets |
| Document Information Extraction | Standard Document (access via API call)
| Desktop Studio (SAP IRPA 1.0) | Blog Bot Store Webinar Discovery Center Mission |
| Document Information Extraction | Standard Document (access embedded)
| Cloud Studio (SAP IRPA 2.0) | Blog SDK Documentation |
| Document Information Extraction | Custom Document Type with Template (access embedded) | Cloud Studio (SAP IRPA 2.0) | Blog SDK Documentation |
| Document Information Extraction | Open Document (OCR) (access embedded) | Cloud Studio (SAP IRPA 2.0) | Blog SDK Documentation |
| Document Information Extraction | Enrich Data for Employee Entity | Cloud Studio (SAP IRPA 2.0) | SDK Documentation |
| Document Information Extraction | Enrich Data for Business Entity | Cloud Studio (SAP IRPA 2.0) | SDK Documentation |
| Document Information Extraction | Automate Invoice Extraction from Emails and Posting them to S/4HANA | Cloud Studio (SAP IRPA 2.0) | Discovery Center Mission Github Repo |
| Document Classification | Handling Incoming Attachments in Enterprise Email Inbox (access to Document Classification via webhook) | Cloud Studio (SAP IRPA 2.0) | Bot Store Discovery Center Mission Customer Reference |
Kick-start with business-relevant use cases
Use Case 1: Automate Processing of Email Attachments with Document Classification and SAP Intelligent RPA 2.0
In this scenario, large amounts of business documents are attached to emails coming from customers and partners. Document Classification with SAP Intelligent RPA can automatically classify these incoming documents, as outlined in the one-pager below:
Enterprise Email Inbox Handling with Document Classification
and SAP Intelligent RPA 2.0
In this process, SAP Intelligent RPA screens incoming emails for attachments. In case an email contains attachments, the bot will send the documents for classification and kick off the corresponding business process.
SAP provides accelerators to implement this scenario. Users can start in the SAP Discovery Center by executing a tutorial mission: Automate Processing of Email Attachments using ML and Bots. Missions include best practices and step-by-step guidance for implementing use cases, with well-established support from mission experts and SAP Community. By executing this mission, you will learn how to implement this use case and begin classifying incoming documents. A bot template is also available on the SAP Intelligent RPA Store (pease note: this bot template is for learning purposes only).
This use case is productively in use by one of our reference customers, Villeroy & Boch. To learn more about how Villeroy & Boch utilizes Document Classification and SAP Intelligent RPA, please refer to the following link: When Bots Decide: Process Automation at Villeroy & Boch.
Use Case 2: Automate Invoice Extraction from Emails and Posting them to S/4HANA
To complement the previous use case one could extract the data from previously categorized documents. A common example is data extraction from PDF supplier invoices and posting it into an ERP system, such as SAP S/4HANA. This use case can be implemented with new business document processing capabilities of SAP Intelligent RPA featuring Document Information Extraction as outlined in the one-pager below.
Intelligent finance invoice processing with Document Information Extraction
and SAP Intelligent RPA 2.0
This use case improves the overall efficiency and throughput of SAP S/4HANA invoice posting process by leveraging the breadth of SAP BTP Extension Suite: SAP Intelligent RPA 2.0, Workflow Management, Business Application Studio. This use case covers the following business process steps:
- Scan for invoice attachments received in MS Outlook.
- Extract information from invoice documents using SAP Intelligent RPA 2.0.
- Based on the confidence score for each field of an invoice manage SAP S/4HANA posting mode (automatic or manual) using Business Rules.
- Automatically post extracted invoice info to SAP S/4HANA.
- Add invoice as an attachment.
- Trigger manual processing for less accurate invoices (based on confidence score) by leveraging Workflow Management.
- Approve or reject the invoice by a human agent.
SAP also provides accelerators for this particular use case in form of:
- SAP Discovery Center Mission with a dedicated implementation project board.
- GitHub repository with implementation accelerators.
What’s next?
I encourage read other blog posts related to consumption options of Business Document Processing:
- Business document processing with SAP AI Business Services: consumption options.
- Business document processing through standard SAP integration.
For more information on SAP AI Business Services, please refer to SAP Community Page.
- SAP Managed Tags:
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