I recently caught up with a client whose implementation I was involved with in 2017. Their key requirement was for an RPA solution to relieve an unsupportable volume of data inputting.
The Challenge
As an insurance provider, the company had reps across the US creating transactions on mobile or web apps. This information needed to be entered in to the main ERP style application suite after the data was uploaded overnight to a shared server.
As they became more and more successful, the burden of entering all the information increased to the point where, following the nightly upload, over 40 hours of input was required each day. This workload was not sustainable and getting worse. Employing around 8 FTE (full-time employees) was not a viable option.
A solution was needed that could rapidly re-create and automate the many business processes and then enable them to be run after the nightly upload. Ease of use was critical as there were no technical people in the business and their internal QA team had no experience with automation.
The Solution -TestDrive, Original Software’s automation tool.
TestDrive was an obvious choice because, being a code-free and intuitive solution, users don’t need to have technical knowledge or programming skills. In turn, this means assets can be created much faster.
TestDrive allowed business users to record how they were manually entering the information; the team then enhanced this automation building block to build out and modularize the business flows required.
The ability to identify and utilize new data as it was created overnight and then respond with agility during the business process automation allowed for reliable and hands-free playback.
The Outcome
The company now has 79 separate flows of automation created that cover the various flavors of 7 main business processes, run over multiple application technology types.
These processes are large and complex, involving many screens and data entry points; different flows and screens need to be followed dependent on the data being processed, and these decisions need to be made ‘hands free’ as the batches may be run overnight or on virtual machines.
TestDrive’s ability to report what has occurred in both a comprehensive but easy-to-understand matter allowed the team to see when incorrect data had been used or the system couldn’t handle a request.
The Benefits
Since the go-live in mid-2017, it is estimated over 175K new records have been created through this process. If done manually, this would have taken more than 11 FTE years of effort.
The business can now commit to further expansion plans without being constrained by human resources. It enables business velocity to increase with extra volumes and expanded markets, knowing there are adaptable systems and processes to support the growth.
Our client’s mission is to make life insurance accessible, affordable and reliable.
TestDrive’s intuitive solution is accessible to those without technical skills. Its RPA capabilities have made these processes exponentially more efficient and reliable and hence affordable!
Jonathan Pearson is the Pre-Sales Consulting Manager at Original Software
