Why process discovery is an unmissable piece of the RPA success puzzle

The name ‘robotic process automation’ (RPA) might be a little misleading. That’s because the technology doesn’t actually automate entire end-to-end business processes. Instead, it‘s designed to automate some of the individual tasks found within those processes.

Rather than automating the full Procure-to-Pay (P2P) process, for example, RPA is used to automate some of the repetitive, rules-based tasks within that business process, like reconciling purchase orders and issuing invoices.

RPA can still, therefore, be a useful part of business process management even though it’s not automating every stage of the workflow. It can be used to save time, minimize errors, and free up human workers to focus on parts of the process where they can add real value.

But RPA is only truly effective when combined with some form of process discovery. It’s essential that businesses understand how an existing process actually runs, so they can decide what tasks to automate, determine how to automate them, and measure whether their efforts are working. Automated process discovery tools like process mining or task mining are a far more effective partner for RPA than traditional manual process discovery methods that are both time-consuming and usually inaccurate when used in isolation.

Here are three reasons why automated business process discovery is an unmissable piece of the RPA success puzzle:

1- Identifying opportunities with RPA process discovery

Automated process discovery tools like process mining give your business an accurate, real-time view of how processes actually run, not just how they’re supposed to run. This means you can determine where automation will deliver the greatest value, and avoid automating sub-optimal processes. A key reason many RPA initiatives don’t deliver the expected results is that businesses automate the wrong processes, or automate processes that aren’t running as effectively as they should, which only amplifies their flaws.

Case study: Protection One shortens the cash-conversion cycle with RPA

National home security company Protection One is a great example of a business that used process discovery before launching into an RPA initiative. It wanted to shorten the cash-conversion cycle in its Order-to-Cash (O2C) process, and was sure there were repetitive tasks that could be automated through RPA. But with siloed departments and opaque workflows, the business first needed to understand its processes.

As Andrej Popovic, RPA Project Manager of Protection One GmbH, explained: “We know RPA alone doesn’t solve everything. In fact, without visibility into what it should automate and without a clear plan, it can be risky.”

With the help of Celonis, Protection One used process mining to understand the root cause of issues in the O2C process, identify value opportunities, and determine which repetitive and recurring processes should be automated through RPA. By prioritizing areas with the largest ROI potential, and using Action Flows to intelligently trigger RPA bots, Protection One was able to reduce the cash-conversion cycle and realize true value with its automation initiative.

2 - Providing situational awareness with RPA process discovery

RPA doesn’t think for itself – it simply follows the instructions you give it. But process discovery methods like process mining add an element of situational awareness that makes RPA far more useful. This is most effective when the data from process mining is combined with artificial intelligence (AI) and decades of standardized process knowledge, as in Celonis Process Intelligence. Although RPA is still used to automate routine tasks, AI-informed Process Intelligence allows RPA to handle more complex tasks and use cases.

You can, for example, use Celonis Process Intelligence to gain end-to-end observability of a business process, detect any issues or anomalies, and then trigger real-time task automations through an RPA solution to address those issues before they escalate into major business problems.

Case study: PepsiCo unlocks millions in AR with RPA activation

PepsiCo, one of the world’s largest food and beverage companies, is using data and technologies such as predictive analytics, AI, robotics, process mining, and automation to transform its processes.

In Accounts Receivable (AR), PepsiCo realized improving Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) had high value potential, and aimed to collect customer payments faster. But teams faced challenges like organizational silos, a complex billing process, and difficulties prioritizing.

Using Celonis Action Flows to trigger RPA bots, PepsiCo automated the creation and sending of dunning notes to collect on overdue customer payments, helping its team save valuable time and unlocking millions in working capital.

Discussing this automation effort, Chris Knapik, Senior Director of Process Transformation at PepsiCo, said: “The working capital impact that Celonis has had – in the range of millions – is quite astonishing.”

3 - Monitoring automation success with RPA process discovery

The RPA journey shouldn’t end once automations are up and running. Following an RPA implementation, processes need to be monitored to make sure performance continues to meet expectations. This also allows you to quickly spot any areas of concern and identify further opportunities where process automation could drive value.

Advanced process discovery techniques like Object-Centric Process Mining (OCPM) can create a digital twin of your business processes that enables you to see how those processes are running in real time. By using this technology, you can continually assess the effectiveness of process automation to understand:

• How much value RPA is unlocking in time, capital or other resources.
• Where minor tweaks are needed to optimize processes for a changing environment.
• Where intelligent automation and RPA are driving the most value and can be scaled across the business.

Being able to demonstrate the value of process improvement and automation can help you get buy-in for further robotic process automation initiatives, informed by process discovery.

RPA and Process Intelligence

As mentioned earlier, RPA is most effective when it is triggered by Celonis Process Intelligence. Using OCPM – the latest iteration of process mining – your business can create its own Process Intelligence Graph. This is a real-time digital process twin that helps you identify where automation can deliver the most value, intelligently activate automations, and easily monitor your processes to ensure RPA is performing as it should.

“Customers can now automatically visualize and screen their processes for areas with the highest automation potential, and as a result, build, test, and deploy RPA in a smarter way.” Peter Meechan, Chief Corporate Development Officer, Automation Anywhere

Ready to start your automation journey?

• Find out about Celonis’ partnership with Blue Prism, a pioneer, innovator and leader in RPA.
• Read our article: Don’t make this automation mistake: Learn how to automate workflows with Celonis Action Flows.

Take a course with The Celonis Academy – perhaps Introduction to Action Flows, or RPAs and Action Flows. tive AI tools in at least one function, and 40% intend to increase their AI investments.