Spotlight

“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.” 

The key theme of SAS Open D[N]A Café on March 4 was symbiotic robotics, the interaction between humans and robots. The host of this café, Arthur de Crook, interviewed Jaimy Siebel and Joost van de Loo of RoboValley, the thriving robotics community driven by TU Delft Robotics Institute. RoboValley aims to stimulate the development of intelligent robotics by furthering collaboration between industry, government and academia. Here are some takeaways.

Finnish Stora Enso has undergone a colossal transformation: from a mere paper manufacturer to a sustainable specialist in renewable products. Its CFO, Seppo Parvi, has been overseeing this repositioning for nearly seven years. Today he is once again steering the €10 billion turnover conglomerate through turbulent waters. His recipe is remarkably simple: keep a constant eye on your cash flow and your working capital, and make sure your people are always on board.

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’.

The promise of process mining is using large volumes of data to analyse and optimise processes. Are these tools a key to value creation?

Artificial intelligence-driven robots are deployed in all echelons of companies to perform repetitive tasks. But…

Logistics giant Deutsche Post DHL is using AI to prepare employees for the future workplace and increase internal placements. VP group learning, talent and platforms Meredith Taghi tells Siân Harrington why skills are its new currency, why career marketplace is the new talent management and what lessons she has learned from implementing an AI tool.

Research firm Forrester has released a comprehensive survey of the international RPA Market in its Forrester Wave. In this report the researchers evaluated 14 significant RPA-vendors: Automation Anywhere, Blue Prism, Cyclone Robotics, Datamatics, EdgeVerve, Hyland, Kofax, Kryon, Microsoft, NICE, Pegasystems, SAP, UiPath, and WorkFusion. UiPath has emerged a leader with the highest scores in the resulting evaluation.

The Zeeuws Museum in Middelburg has a world premiere. From the 18th of March onwards, the museum will host virtual tours using the latest telepresence robot ‘GOBE’ from Smartrobot.Solutions.

Inrotech has received an order for an extensive set of welding robots for shipbuilding in the United States. The Inrotech-MicroTwin and Inrotech-Crawler were purchased by Halter Marine in Pascagoula, Miss., and will be used during construction of United States Coast Guard’s new Polar Security Cutter. The 460-foot vessel will support U.S. national interests in Arctic and Antarctic waters.