KPMG Mid-Market
Specialized professionals for mid-sized companies, KPMG LLP
Insight
Speed of integration means everything to a mid-market company. Accelerate your automation efforts and zip past the competition.
You don’t have the luxury of stalling. With more than half of all companies saying they are already using basic robotic process automation (RPA), your mid-market company either gets on board or gets left behind.
Robotic process automation
Cognitive automation
Class 1: Rules
Automation based on documented process rules
Class 2: Learning
Recognize patterns from unstructured data; automation based on accuracy ratings
Class 3: Reasoning
Hypothesis-based reasoning; automation based on confidence ratings
Intelligent automation (IA) promises huge gains, including lower costs and better insight into customer experiences. RPA is the first step of automation, based on documented process rules. Think customer service inquiries via your phone.
Cognitive automation goes two steps further. First, the IA learns by recognizing patterns in unstructured data. Think fraud prevention inquiries you receive via text.
Next, the IA creates evidence-based rationale, which combines machine learning, artificial intelligence, natural language processing and big data analytics to think and learn like humans. In this scenario, artificial intelligence delivers advice to a bank’s wealthy clients
Put the pedal to the metal
See benefits from IA integration faster by adopting these four principles with implementation.
To realize intelligent automation benefits faster, many organizations want to accelerate the automation journey. In our experience, seeking this goal requires planning that should follow four principles.
1
Business led; technology enabled
3
Start small, execute well and scale up rapidly
2
Use RPA to achieve greater productivity and as a stepping stone to enhance process and cognitive automation that can lead to transformational change
4
Develop an internal automation capability to sustain progress
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Our own transformation
KPMG’s network of firms has investigated short, medium, and long-term opportunities for deploying IA in our own business to drive operational efficiencies and effectiveness.
We also launched our own Cognitive Center of Excellence to assess sustainability and scalability, and we discovered tangible benefits across our firms. KPMG’s tried and tested approach allows our advisory teams to engineer cross-functional, thorough process reviews and a full lifecycle experience across multiple technologies. Then, we leverage this knowledge for mid-market companies and help them succeed with deployment.
Know before you deploy
When integrating IA in the workplace, mid-market companies need to understand the impact IA will have upon the organization in the following areas:
- Reporting and data with new data quality programs, performance dashboards and real-time information for better management processes
- People and change with a new operational environment featuring upskilling, alternative career paths and reimagining existing roles
- A new governance model with better control over changes and decisions
- A resilient technology ecosystem to accelerate integration
- Process design with reduced fragmentation and greater transparency
- Organizational impact analysis with new roles to control digital operations, handle expectations and maintain bots
- Risk and compliance with higher process adherence.
The robots are coming
With the integration of automation into the workforce, mid-market companies need to address the human in the room and encourage the creation of a human and machine partnership to achieve critical success. Three steps make this proposed partnership possible:
Step 1: Initiate the partnership as soon as possible. Plan roles and responsibilities in advance of the first bot release and provide training for working with the new team member.
Step 2: Manage the people impact. Welcome your new digital workers to your current teams, and train management teams as they will oversee a newly blended workforce. Work closely with the change management teams and new talent.
Step 3: Recognize the need for new career paths. With IT savyness a core skill across the organization, reconsider your current talent sources to better connect skills with new career paths.
Avoid misconceptions and missteps
Misconceptions about intelligent automation can threaten your speed to benefits and even dilute potential ones. But with a global network that has deployed more than 100 automation projects, KPMG has the expertise and experience to help you deploy bots in your mid-market company and avoid costly misconceptions and missteps. Let our insight help you succeed and see faster results from your new integrated workforce.