Posted on Oct 5, 2021 at 7:11 am
The pandemic and the acceleration of digitization have made the automation of their process essential for organizations, with “an intensification of the search for productivity gains” underlines Mazars in the 2021 edition of its annual study on market trends of robotization of processes or RPA.
And, to add “The robotization of processes becomes a source of resilience in times of crisis. »The automation of support functions (DSI, HR, logistics, etc.) now appears to be a major lever for companies in the service of their transformation.
A source of resilience
A movement already well underway according to Gartner, who estimates that by 2022, 90% of large companies should have implemented an RPA project in their organization.
PME and ETI have also entered the dance. “69% of them say that their digital transformation is already impacting their economic model, 72% their operating model; 71% of mid-sized companies want to further accelerate their investments in digital ”remarks Alain Conrard, chairman of the METI digital commission, the movement of mid-size companies.
Stéphane Bourgeais, the founder of the SBSR Group, which supports companies in their IT development, emphasizes “in some companies, IA and IS are already driving the pace of development and strategy. Being good at your jobs is no longer enough, you also need to know how to be good at your digital tools. “
Businesses and support functions
A trend that today goes well beyond business functions and tackles support functions. With in the leading pack “all the most ‘processed’ functions: finance, purchasing, logistics, supply chain, etc. », Explains Christophe Platet, the founder of the management consulting firm, Lundano.
When HR continues to equip itself by integrating more and more tools – onboarding, payroll software, vacation… – and to operate its cultural transformation. And, the expert insists “With the generalization of teleworking, HR now has all the levers to automate itself. »Consequence of the hybridization of workplaces: it is indeed becoming essential to simplify the daily lives of employees.
Promote activities with high added value
“In HR as in transverse functions, automation eliminates repetitive tasks, sources of so many errors – multiple entries, sending emails … – in favor of activities with higher added value”, he continues. At the same time, for managers, there is the need to trade in their old ways of doing things in order to switch to a culture that is more focused on results. This will also give meaning to everyone’s work.
Being good at your jobs is no longer enough, you also need to know how to be good at your digital tools
Stéphane BourgeaisFounder of the SBSR Group
Another brake according to Florent François, Chief Executive Officer at Logistics Operations, specialist in digital and responsible logistics: deployment. “Getting equipped is expensive even when you’re a big company, and that takes time,” says the CEO.
This is why Florent François relies heavily on ‘no code’ applications. He thus called on the young shoot of Roman Navalpotro, C-981, launched in spring 2021. This former Numa company, targets in particular the suppliers of the aeronautics value chain, by offering them a simple and flexible tool. which operational staff can use to create their own mobile apps and streamline, for example, declarations of non-compliance by replacing paper. An app that integrates directly into Teams.
A whole ecosystem
AI, chat, Data, cloud… A whole ecosystem is thus being set up around automation. Well beyond the main providers of RPA platforms.
Still, “we are just starting to digitize small pieces of process, ‘massive’ approaches are still rare,” points out Florian Carrière, Senior Manager at Wavestone, who is particularly interested in emerging technologies. With the prerequisite, he continues, to “re-examine its approach, its functioning, its processes. “And, to hammer out” the tools must first of all be solutions in the service of the strategy, and not the other way around. ‘Tech for business’, as they say at Wavestone. “
Without seams
With also, for each, the objective of fitting as well as possible into the existing workflows within organizations, to tend more and more towards a form of digital continuity. “We are talking about ‘transparent design’: it is necessary to integrate into existing tools, break down silos, and not add complexity to users”, analysis Roman Navalpotro of C-981.
“The challenge is to simplify the employee experience internally, and to promote the ‘seamless’ with an enormous work of linking to be carried out between all these tools to achieve this”, replies Christophe Platet.
Roman Navalpotro, to add “the first wave of automation was centered on the customer relationship, the sequence which opens will certainly be on the internal customer”.
This is not to be decorrelated from the performance of the company. The idea is to give managers the appropriate tools “to enable them to improve their economic and environmental performance”, continues the young entrepreneur.
But it will still be necessary to know how to involve employees, by giving them the means to do so. “Because, if we impose on them, it will not work”, concludes Florent François. Automation at the service of people. Here is certainly the next frontier.
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