Reimagine Your Supply Chain Management With RPA Software Bots

Role of RPA in Supply Chain Management (SCM)

Supply chain management (SCM) can adopt robotic process automation to automate usual, low-value tasks to streamline operations and eliminate human errors in the supply chain. RPA empowers supply chains to scale up faster so that they can meet supply requirements as demand increases and save expenses without requiring them to make any additional sizable investments.

Rapid advancements in technology have been transforming Manufacturing, Retail, FMCG, and other industries over the years, with many businesses now looking to adopt Robotic Process Automation (RPA), which is being evolved as the next big thing in Supply Chain Management (SCM).

RPA can help in automating workflows that can help in improved efficiency and accuracy to drive the business forward while at the same time, also freeing up employees to focus on more strategic tasks and customer excellence experience.

According to a recent study by one of the leading research agencies, 80% of firms anticipate that supply chains will enable them to make decisions more quickly and accurately.

In this blog, we’ll explore how RPA is used and how it can benefit businesses like Retail, Trading and FMCG.

RPA Use Cases in Supply Chain Management

Data Transaction

Businesses where multiple systems and tools are being used, tasks such as manual data extraction and entry are often labor-intensive, time- consuming and prone to human error. This is especially true in supply chain management process, where often a large volume of data is to be entered into and extracted from various systems. The same can become more efficient with the help of RPA that can automate these processes within no time. If you're looking for a way to automate data transactions or migration in your business, RPA is definitely worth considering.

Software bots can seamlessly handle critical operations of order processing and payments, such as

• Extract product data and customer information from multiple systems
• Identify relevant incoming customer orders from emails or website forms
• Easily verify orders
• Create and dispatch relevant work orders and purchase orders as required
• Synchronize order placements with the existing ERP System
• Process payment
• Send order confirmation and updates

Transportation and Logistics

By automatically acquiring, integrating, and delivering data throughout the supply chain of a company, RPA for transportation and logistics can eliminate high-cost and repetitive manual tasks including-

• Shipment scheduling and tracking
• Invoice processing and credit collections
• Securing proof of delivery

Inventory Management

Implementing RPA in inventory management can automate tedious tasks like-

• Suggest replenishment orders
• Reduce inventory processing time by 70%
• Predict the optimal inventory levels considering historical data
• Instant notification to the concerned department when the stock levels are low
• Monitor low-demand stock-keeping units to send a message for return to the vendor

Vendor Selection

One of the most time-consuming operations in the SCM process is vendor selection as it includes many repetitive manual processes like:

• Request preparation
• Send emails to vendors
• Verify vendor’s documents
• Evaluate vendors’ credit score
• Finalize a list of vendors

In accordance with predefined set criteria, RPA can collect and compile the required information about the vendors, and screen and select them easily saving hundreds of man-hours for your company.

Email Automation

For efficient supply chain management, it is essential to maintain timely communication among partners involved in the SCM network including suppliers, manufacturers, logistics, distributors, retailers, and end users. To build trust and credibility, you should ensure sending emails during circumstances like an order is delayed, processed, facing issues in order fulfillment, or shipped. Digital bots can ensure this communication by triggering an email to the recipients considering the situation.

Click to know more Use Cases Of RPA In Logistics And Supply Chain Industry

Key Benefits of RPA In The Manufacturing Industry SCM

Our RPA experts suggest that 74% of companies are expected to be using RPA to automate tedious and low-value-added SCM tasks while minimizing costs and transaction time, increasing productivity, and improving levels of compliance within two years.

• Reduction in workforce 43%
• Improvement in process turnaround time 80%
• Data accuracy 100%
• Reduction in manual efforts 90%
• Time reduction in billing, managing data, credit, collections 53%

Wrap Up

Total process automation and data integration remain a challenge even after implementing robust Enterprise Management Systems in a business. It keeps organizations away from transforming traditional business processes into automated ones. Robotic Process Automation tools are globally used to automate tasks involving inquiries, data- calculations, transactions, and record keeping. In each of these areas, RPA can help improve accuracy, efficiency, and compliance, while reducing costs and errors.

If you want to get started with Supply Chain Management Automation with RPA, please give us your contact details, our RPA experts will connect with you within 24 hours.