Robotics & AI: Where Are You on Your Automation Journey?
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The document discusses the current state of automation and digital transformation in organizations, highlighting that while 66% of leaders aim to transform digitally, only 11% are achieving this. It emphasizes the importance of stakeholder involvement, effective communication, and a structured approach to digitalization efforts in finance and back-office functions. Key considerations include understanding business pain points, utilizing technology for efficiency, and fostering a culture that embraces digital change while learning from failures.
Robotics & AI: Where Are You on Your Automation Journey?
- 1. WHERE ARE YOU ON YOUR AUTOMATION JOURNEY? John Stovold – UK Marketing Manager October 2018 1
- 2. 2 According to Gartner, 66% of leaders want to transform their business digitally. Yet, only about 11% are actually delivering “digital business”
- 3. 3 Yes, we have just started exploring. Yes, and have recently purchased solutions. Yes, we have but more than 18 months ago. No, we keep talking about looking... No, and I haven’t heard anyone discuss this unfortunately. Our first question for you… Have you, or are you currently exploring automation for AP or Finance?
- 4. 4 Consultancy.uk recently reported that in organisations with a Digital Transformation project, 8 in 10 CFO’s are the spearhead.
- 5. 5 Yes, any project would be led by a department Manager Yes, any project would be led by IT. Yes, but this would be led by our parent. Yes, our board, or C suite would lead this. No, there is no obvious candidate. Do you know who is, should or would spearhead any project to digitalise or automate your back office functions?
- 6. 6 At ITESOFT, we believe that communication and understanding are the keys to successful Digital Transformation. This starts with us…
- 7. 7 Set up a multi-disciplined team from various departments. Ran the project as an isolated department. For those of you with a project, or who recently completed a project, did you:
- 9. 9 Yes, it would be integral to our planning process. Yes, I would look, but I am not sure my company would. We would look, but it wouldn't be integral. No, we are unlikely to use the likes of Gartner for research. Have you, or would you include information from bodies such as Gartner during the research phases of a project? And if so, what level of impact would this research have?
- 10. FUTURETECH OR CURRENT TECH? 10 IoT Communication Broader Connectivity AI Processes Smarter Optimisation Big Data Insights Greater Visibility RPA Time Savings Insightful Workforces Gen X & Gen Z Agile Organisations
- 11. 11 WHAT CAN TECHNOLOGY DO FOR US NOW?
- 12. 12 • Faster receipt of incoming data • Cleaner audit trails from moment of receipt to point of payment • Higher quality data captured and processed • Improved metrics & analytics for business insights • Managed process flows ensuring speed of approvals • Increased connectivity offering greater flexibility to you and your suppliers. HOW DOES TECH SAVE TIME IN FINANCE?
- 13. 13 We have invested and seen a significant improvement. We invested but have not seen a significant improvement. If we were to invest this would be a vital element. We do not believe that we can improve our current processes. Our clients have been able to reduce their receipt to authorisation cycle to as little as 1.2 days. How does this compare to your processes?
- 14. 14 • Reduce internal IT impacts • Increase speed of go-live with systems • Lower running costs & departmental down-time • Improve staff moral and subsequent output • Free employees from low value, repetitive tasks to focus on business benefit and high value tasks. • Ensure compliance for ease of audit • Significantly Reduce the risk of fraudulent or duplicate payments HOW DO WE INCREASE RoI
- 15. 15 • Traditional Business Intelligence (BI) tools built for a purpose. • AI can digest and evaluate more data than a human, with greater degrees of accuracy. • Obtain a “Top Down” view of all financial data • Delve into data points following your own intuition, not restricted by the data presented. • Highlight areas of interest / risk with visibility of root causes • Be proactive, not reactive UNDERSTAND YOUR DATA
- 16. 16 We gather and mine our data to ensure best practices. We collect large amounts of data, but rarely make use of it. Our data is of dubious quality. What is Big Data? How familiar is your business with the concept of Big Data? And is the information you collect in back office used to make strategic decisions?
- 17. 17 • Ensure that information being processed is valid. • Check for patterns or anomalies in data captured & processed. • Be warned before payments are made, not after the fact. • Build internal processes for creation of core data to ensure security. • Remove manual steps from the capture / creation of data. ENSURE AGAINST FRAUD
- 18. 18 Yes, and we have seen real savings. Yes, although this was a long time ago now and is rarely used. No, we have never looked at this. No, we looked but found that our manual checks sufficed. No, but we wish we had done. Has your organisation invested in technology explicitly designed to combat fraud within your AP and Finance function?
- 19. 19 ENSURE SUCCESS IN DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
- 20. 20 Yes, we have done this in the recent past. Yes, although we have not done this recently. No, we would struggle to assign a cost to the function. Do you know, or could you easily calculate the current running costs of your AP or Finance departments?
- 21. 21 • What is your business pain? Or pains? • How are these impacting or hindering your business? • What does the current process truly look like? • What would you like this process to look like? • Who is likely to be impacted by the project? • Again, who is likely to be impacted? • What are your timescales? • What is your budget? • What internal restrictions can you foresee? PLAN
- 22. 22 • Understand that Digital Transformation is not isolated to a process. • Engage the whole department that this is designed for. • Include all contacts from departments that this could also impact. • Build a team of business experts from multiple disciplines and departments. • Create a communication plan, including specific points or times within the project for wider communication. • Create space for concerns to be raised, and address these in a timely manner. • Do not try and control all elements of a project, allow your dedicated team freedom. ENGAGE – BREAK DOWN SILOS
- 23. 23 • Digital Transformation can impact the whole business. • Try and avoid looking at it in this way, look for specific processes or pains that can be addressed. • Detail your targets carefully, keep these small and focused to the project, avoid broader benefits. • Measure these targets before you start, understand what they will look like when you have implemented digitalisation. • Ensure that at each key stage of the project you refer back to your targets and goals to keep focus. FOCUS – SMALL STEPS – SPECIFIC TARGETS
- 24. 24 • Do not be afraid of failure. • If something is not working, accept this, re- evaluate. • Avoid throwing more money after bad money. • Re-define your objectives & re-evaluate your market. • Make swift decisions during the project if things are not working, do not wait until the end. • Do not give up, just because it didn’t work the first time it doesn’t mean that Digital Transformation isn’t for your business. FAIL FAST
- 25. 25 THANK YOU
Editor's Notes
- #9: Every year Gartner releases a Technology Hype Cycle. This is a good barometer of where we are heading with new technology, and when it is likely to impact on our lives.
- #11: Greater connectivity IoT communication Smarter processes AI delivered optimisation Greater visibility Big Data driven insights Insightful workforces RPA freeing up time Agile organisations Leveraging Generation X and Z technological understanding