Wired for automation

The back office of this major, generations-old telecommunications company relied on many out-of-date manual processes to help fulfill new service orders. The service center was under continual budget pressure and was expected to do more with less every year. In addition, it was having trouble finding people to fill the manual jobs.

The group’s leaders decided to begin automating much of the rote work to enhance operational effectiveness, improve customer satisfaction and retention, save money, and create an environment where people wanted to work.

Our client is well along on its robotics process automation journey. The company has saved millions of dollars and anticipates a return on its investment within 15 months. Additional results include:

• ongoing process improvements and efficiencies
• enhanced employee morale and retention
• reduction in errors
• other groups within the company are seeing the results and exploring the use of RPA.

KPMG—which had developed deep trust with the company as a result of our thought leadership, collaborative approach, and support for numerous other projects over many years—was asked to help the business develop a strategy and road map to begin incorporating robotics process automation into order fulfillment operations. The project included:

• conducting interviews and workshops with leaders and teams at the company
• developing a comprehensive project plan that would enable the business to repeat the automation process on other projects
• conducting initial pilot projects
• setting up a center of excellence to define governance, the operating model and long-term capabilities
• building momentum and identifying opportunities for additional RPA rollouts
• creating hundreds of software robots—or bots—to automate manual, repeatable tasks
• beginning to evaluate the next steps in automation, including the use of machine learning and cognitive assessments.

See the art of the possible

Take the long view, define your objectives well, understand the tangible benefits that automation can deliver, investigate the available tools, create a robust plan, and envision your operations several years in the future.

Adapt the strategy to your needs

Every company is different, and groups within companies have different needs. Adapt your automation strategies to fit your organization’s unique needs, opportunities and challenges, and appetite for change.

Stay nimble

Automation is a rapidly changing capability, and companies should continually look around the next bend in the road to stay up-to-date with new methodologies and technologies. This could include monitoring where venture capitalists are investing, participating in conferences and other events, and learning from other companies.