SIG University Certified Intelligent Automation Professional (CIAP) program graduate Sharon Shao shares her experience with implementing RPA projects and describes the different challenges and lessons she has experienced.
A successful Robotic process automation (RPA) streamlines workflows, which makes organizations more profitable, flexible, and responsive. It also increases employee satisfaction, engagement, and productivity by removing repetitive, manual tasks from their workdays. RPA is noninvasive, can be rapidly implemented to accelerate digital transformation, and potentially transform businesses of all sizes.
However, RPA does have its challenges. It results in duplicate work effort, disruptive processes, and employee frustration if not overcome. In this blog post, I would like to discuss two common challenges covered in the course and experienced from our end during the implementation of RPAs and the lessons learned to overcome these challenges.
1. Limited IT resources
One of the biggest challenges of RPA is the limited IT resources. RPA is a software technology and requires a unique skill set that combines technical expertise with a specialty in a certain business area. This can be difficult to find. Meanwhile, a large volume of RPA pipeline might be waiting to be assigned to designers.
Sharon Shao, Finance Manager/Global Process Owner, VMware
SIG University Certified Sourcing Professional (CSP) program graduate Andrew Frye discusses the importance of implementing technology and innovation into sourcing practices.
Andrew Frye, Sourcing Systems Analyst, American Tire Distributors
SIG University Certified Intelligent Automation Professional (CIAP) program graduate Ethan Slade defines how to effectively establish an enterprise automation center of excellence and the benefits this will have in your organization.
SIG University Certified Intelligent Automation Professional (CIAP) program graduate Josh Millman discusses how automation processes have helped his organization and what they can do for yours.
Josh Millman, a Jr. Salesforce Administrator, Sourcing Industry Group
SIG University Certified Intelligent Automation Professional (CIAP) program graduate Ian Hrydziuszko discusses how the seperate stages of next level automation can be extremely useful to your organization.
Ian Hrydziuszko, Digitization Lead, Quantum Work Advisory
Organizations spend tens of trillions of dollars a year globally on services. It’s not surprising why: The world is shifting from a goods and manufacturing-based economy to one where outcomes are delivered “as a service” — whether that’s traditional labor, complex services (e.g., BPO, professional services) or even the outsourcing of goods production through contract manufacturers. On average, services account for around 50% of spending on third-party suppliers, ranging from 20% to 80%, depending on industry and specific organizations.
Because of this vast overall expenditure and the distributed nature of services spending throughout the enterprise, there are potentially significant opportunities to reduce the cost of services. What’s more, in many organizations, services spend ownership is, in practice, distributed across the organizations’ functional units (e.g., legal, marketing, IT), and procurement involvement can be limited or even resisted. This creates opportunities to obtain savings and improve services outcomes by increasing visibility into and rationalizing and automating related sourcing and performance management processes.
Yet the question then becomes how to obtain these improved results. Over the past several years, procurement practitioners have told us repeatedly that processes and technology for the management of services are not as robust as those for goods and materials, meaning there is much more to do to gain better visibility, influence and control over services spend. Despite the tens of trillions of dollars, organizations spend on services each year, how organizations use technology to support their sourcing and management of services has not been analyzed to any meaningful extent.
State of Services Procurement Technology Survey
Morgan Zombolas, Marketing Engagement Manager, Spend Matters
Procurement leaders have emerged from the pandemic stronger and smarter thanks to the recent development of next-gen tools such as AI and automation to support strategic goals and build resilient organizations.
To explore this technology in the evolving role of procurement leaders, Sourcing Industry Group (SIG) recently brought together Kate Seagriff, Director of Strategic Sourcing at TripActions, and Aurelie Krau, Travel Consultant at Festive Road, to discuss the topic with SIG President and CEO Dawn Tiura.
The webinar "Building Resilient Procurement Organizations with Travel & Expense Technology" pushed the audience to reexamine whether they have the tools to scale business growth, gain real-time visibility on spend, and show value by driving continuous improvement.
The Evolving Relationship Between Procurement and Technology
As the panelists explained, procurement functions are becoming the cornerstone of organizations as cross-business optimization and efficiencies grow in importance. The role of spend analytics and the procurement function has further shifted against the backdrop of a changing global economy influenced by the fourth industrial revolution, the localization of the value chain, and increasing consumer demands from mass customization and personalization.
It is hard to believe 2021 is at our doorstep, and while the immediate future is uncertain, the mid-to long-range outlook is virtually unknown. What we thought would be a ‘two-week’ work-from-home in March, has turned into a full-blown pandemic, and with it, the uncertainty surrounding it. Now, with a new wave of COVID-19 outbreaks breathing down our necks, tough times are here again.
As procurement professionals, we are, by nature, resilient. The toughest of times takes the strongest leadership and most innovative strategies. The pandemic and the consequences of it provided a proving ground for the often-overlooked sourcing and procurement team. Over the past year, sourcing and procurement became the lynchpin for many organizations’ survival, securing critical business and PPE-related goods and services to keep businesses afloat and employees protected. Throughout, procurement professionals were working tirelessly to create innovative cost savings and expense reduction opportunities when other departments went right to cutting staff and payroll.
At a time when the needs of the business are buoyed through critical sourcing and procurement activities, there is, perhaps, no more important function to a business.
Procurement Myth Versus Reality
Unfortunately, not everybody understands that. Many business stakeholders still think of sourcing and procurement as tactical purchasing and contract administrators, or bottlenecks that create delays in the buying process and upset suppliers. In reality, sourcing and procurement is really about negotiating critical multi-million-dollar contracts and finding the right supply chain partners to mitigate the significant risk in today’s market. Critical, not just in savings, but in the essential value and impact you have on the business.
In previous blogs, SIG has covered the basic concept of sustainability, including an overview of its various dimensions. In this post, I will touch on the role that sourcing professionals can have in meeting corporate sustainability goals.
Why should sourcing have a role?
Sourcing is uniquely positioned to contribute to meeting a corporation's sustainability goals because sourcing typically has expertise in:
Creating alignment to corporate goals
Building frameworks to measure success
Researching market conditions and supplier capabilities
Conducting strategic negotiations
Designing innovative methods for value creation
Ranking the priorities of stakeholders with supplier offerings
Identifying risk and mitigating responsibly
The reduction in costs after implementing a sustainability program can exceed the costs of implementation – in other words, you’re spending money up front but in the long run, you save more than you spend. For example, if an organization were to target the spend category of corporate services and facilities management (FM), capital may be invested in working with a supplier to install a new system that reduces energy consumption at the company's North American headquarters, but in the long run, the reduction in energy costs saves the company money – which of course, can then be reinvested.
In this example, procurement and sourcing are uniquely positioned to make this happen. Most likely Sourcing negotiated the original FM contract, understands the innovative capabilities of suppliers, has heard many recent pitches on new products, and is adept at performing the analysis that proves an investment can have a significant return in hard costs, and even soft costs.
Mary Zampino, Vice President – Content, Research & Analytics
At the SIG Procurement Technology Summit, attendees will experience the latest procurement technology in a virtual Innovation Hall. These companies are using artificial intelligence, machine learning and robotic process automation to elevate the role of procurement, ignite innovation and impact the world.
Featured here are company overview, solution overview, and company approach and process to help you learn more about the following virtual Innovation Hall technology providers:
 (1)_8.png?ZPA19ngm6ShmipbQpzUsOpSASLw38eVW= "Implementing Innovation")
_19.png?aczSALpoh_FYhyktl6b_bTowJImkZRTg= "Understanding the Automation Center of Excellence")
 (1)_2.png?ltysGtvyfDsbVV_bn7iD3Lx3K_v1KLS8= "Implementing Automation in Your Own Business")
 (1)_11.png?yqavwJpnl_er6vkdACJ4FTMOuIEjEPZp= "Next Level Automation")
 (1).png "The State of Services Procurement Technology: A joint research study by SIG & Spend Matters")
 (1).png "Why Smart Tech Is Key to the Evolving Role of Procurement Leaders")
RPA Challenges and Lessons Learned
SIG University Certified Intelligent Automation Professional (CIAP) program graduate Sharon Shao shares her experience with implementing RPA projects and describes the different challenges and lessons she has experienced.
A successful Robotic process automation (RPA) streamlines workflows, which makes organizations more profitable, flexible, and responsive. It also increases employee satisfaction, engagement, and productivity by removing repetitive, manual tasks from their workdays. RPA is noninvasive, can be rapidly implemented to accelerate digital transformation, and potentially transform businesses of all sizes.
However, RPA does have its challenges. It results in duplicate work effort, disruptive processes, and employee frustration if not overcome. In this blog post, I would like to discuss two common challenges covered in the course and experienced from our end during the implementation of RPAs and the lessons learned to overcome these challenges.
1. Limited IT resources
One of the biggest challenges of RPA is the limited IT resources. RPA is a software technology and requires a unique skill set that combines technical expertise with a specialty in a certain business area. This can be difficult to find. Meanwhile, a large volume of RPA pipeline might be waiting to be assigned to designers.