People in Robotics

Recently Armand Angeli, Président du groupe CSP/RPA/AI de la DFCG and Président du groupe International de la DFCG, initiated an international CFO round table discussing all aspects of automation. The round table addresses shared challenges for CFO’s, and the need for reliable information on automation, based on the experience of peers.

Most financial managers are interested in automation and robotisation for the digital transformation of their finance and accounting tasks. Once the fashionable effect has passed, the initial costs and the complexity of implementation may have dampened enthusiasm and confined these projects to large groups with resources and a real strategy. But the COVID crisis, lessons learned from large companies and the ongoing search for productivity and cost reduction as well as new technology and service offerings have reshuffled the deck.

Maybe you experienced it yourself: after a long flight (do you remember those days) you left the plane and walked through the airbridge. You saw some commotion in front of you. Customs officers are walking upstream. You see them coming in your direction. And then you see what the commotion is all about: they brought their sniffer dog.

Ever since the world’s first ever microscope was invented in 1590 by Hans and Zacharias Janssen –a Dutch father and son– our curiosity for what goes on at the tiniest scales has led to development of increasingly powerful devices. Fast forward to 2021, we not only have optical microscopy methods that allow us to see tiny particles in higher resolution than ever before, we also have non-optical techniques, such as scanning force microscopes, with which researchers can construct detailed maps of a range of physical and chemical properties.

The rapid growth of the robotics market means it is difficult to keep track of all the developments, suppliers and solutions. HowToRobot is mapping this fluid market in a growing number of countries, and provides a platform to get quotes internationally on robot related questions. Rocking Robots talked to CEO Søren Peters about his vision on the maturity and challenges of the current robotics-market.

Organizations running on SAP S/4HANA or SAP ECC can manage a great deal of processes, but there are several challenges. Processes stretch beyond SAP systems; expert work can be expensive and integration with SAP S/4HANA requires specific tasks. Here Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and Process Mining can come to the rescue.

The speed with which Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is developing is astonishing. When I look back on projects I did just a few year ago it seems like a different world. But part of the lessons we learnt in implementing RPA then, still hold true today. What remains unchanged as well is the enthusiasm of people when they realize how these software robots can help them in their day-to-day tasks.

Pascal Bornet is a recognized expert and pioneer in the field of intelligent automation (IA). He explains that the impact of IA goes far beyond the context of businesses, as it also impacts people’s lives and our society as a whole.

“Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is a low-threshold option to acquaint an organization with digital transformation,” says Nikie van Duurling, Strategic Lead RPA at Deloitte Tax & Legal. “Instead of working with complex technology projects, here very simple tools are used to assist and improve existing processes.” 

In customer service it is important to achieve an equilibrium between automation and the human touch. A robot can be of great value. But there comes a point where humans provide the added value, and are able to prevent frustration by the customer. We talked about bots and customer service with Darren Parker,  Director EMEA Enterprise Customer Success at Zendesk. The key is the classic ‘know your customer’.