How can automation help in manufacturing processes, and what is the future of manufacturing?
Organizations in India have recognized that automation will become a powerful business tool. About 88 per cent agree that automation will be a critical requirement for business excellence, customer experience, and competitive success within the next three years, according to the IDC APJ Automation Survey 2022 commissioned by UiPath. Instead of replacing the workforce, automation today complements the modus operandi of organizations - allowing them to work smarter and more effectively. For the manufacturing sector deploying automation in their processes can keep the service lines efficient, get product delivery faster, and manage back-end finances, more efficiently. By integrating and optimising legacy systems, automation can help organizations reach new levels of efficiency and generate better ROI faster.
In the Indian manufacturing sector, we have successfully worked with large corporations such as JSW, Clariant, and Tata Voltas, amongst others. With the help of the UiPath Enterprise Platform, JSW created robots to automate vendor invoice processing, logistics invoice, payment and vendor support cell. These robots: Chanakya, Druva, and Saathi- helped JWS achieve a 300 per cent reduction in overall processing time and have helped the company become four times more productive. On the other hand, Clariant was looking for ways to streamline and digitise its invoice handling and logistics management processes. By implementing the UiPath Enterprise Automation platform, almost 50 per cent of invoice processing in Clariant is now automated.
The importance of leveraging automation in a post-pandemic world?
The manufacturing industry is certainly undergoing disruption and streamlining operational capabilities will always remain a competitive differentiator. Labour constraints, increasing labour costs, and the residual impacts of the pandemic will force many organizations to invest more in automation systems that can be deployed in warehouses and distribution centers to supplement the workforce. By reducing the mundaneness of repetitive tasks, automation will help in developing a more productive future workforce where employees and robots work in tandem. Organizations can increase efficiency and productivity with the help of automation technology that supports intelligent automation of processes.
What benefits at scale can be achieved by deploying RPA in the manufacturing process in India?
The execution of automation in the Indian manufacturing sector will be vital in the journey to becoming the global manufacturing hub. With the apt implementation of automation, Indian manufacturers can focus on product innovation and core strengths instead of repetitive tasks that are critical but monotonous. Predictive maintenance, pricing forecasting, and quality control are just a few examples of operations that can be automated using RPA in combination with technologies like AI. These tasks are too complex to be handled by RPA alone. The development of these capabilities will assist businesses operating in this sector in maximizing benefits, enhancing the customer and employee experience, and creating a sustainable competitive edge.
What is UiPath doing to revolutionize manufacturing processes?
Although the manufacturing sector has not been too quick in adopting automation, several firms are making consistent investments and efforts to accelerate their automation efforts within the coming years. The manufacturing firms in India are looking to leverage automation in operations, especially to support remote capabilities, assess equipment monitoring to reduce downtime, and increase utilisation and efficiency. For instance, according to the IDC survey commissioned by UiPath, 74 per cent of Indian organizations are poised to focus more on intelligent automation. Similarly, 92 per cent of Indian organizations will use IPA in more than 20 per cent of their total automation deployments in the next three years to address the needs of high business performance, new customer expectations, and talent shortages. The organized deployment of automation in India's manufacturing sector could further fortify the growth of this developing sector.
With the revamped UiPath Business Automation Platform, we are revolutionising manufacturing processes for Indian enterprises. The platform is designed with a comprehensive vision that encompasses personal productivity and enterprise processes. This will help in making digital transformation a reality for all enterprises. The automation platform has three layers that work together to accomplish this goal, and they are: discover, automate, and operate. Our core automation platform continues to expand, combining leading UI automation and API integration, integrated document processing, long-running workflow, seamless access to artificial intelligence (AI)/ machine learning (ML) models and skills and many more capabilities. With the UiPath Business Automation Platform, businesses can do more on a single platform.
