Impact of Cognitive RPA on Retail Industry

Impact of Cognitive RPA on Retail Industry

5 Ways the Industry Will Change Forever

Robotics process automation – also popularly referred to as RPA – is witnessing a surge in popularity lately. The addition of cognitive technologies and AI algorithms to RPA has ushered in a new age of intelligent automation.

We see a lot of business leaders talking about cognitive RPA and setting aside budgets for the same. So how are these investments being utilized? What changes will we see in the market and what will be their impact?

Here are a few things that we believe will happen with respect to cognitive RPA in 2019-20.

Cognitive RPA Comes Into Mainstream Space

We know that many companies have been trying their hand at RPA in the backend. So far, they have used RPA for what is often termed as “non-critical processes”. But now to drive economies of scale with their investments, we will see them implementing RPA in the mainstream processes. More and more “business critical processes” will move into the RPA realm.
There are two primary reasons for this change. Firstly, the companies who have already invested in the technology need to procure an ROI from it. This will be possible if it sets foot in the mainstream space. Secondly, the security concerns that were attached to RPA technology are being addressed at an unprecedented rate. This has boosted the confidence of the enterprises to take RPA into mainstream.

Create Specialized Skillsets

For a very long time, we have seen people expressing their concern over threat to human jobs due to the cognitive RPA. There have been concerns that robots would replace humans and put them out of work. However, there is another side to it.
Although it is true that cognitive RPA will replace humans, it will only replace them in the mundane and repetitive tasks. In fact, we will see cognitive RPA create job opportunities for specialized skill sets. The requirement of humans with specialized knowledge will be increasing in the coming years.
We believe, we will set foot into an era where robots and skilled humans will create a balanced working environment in the industry.

Integrated Enterprise

Cognitive RPA as a technology is quite fascinating. But its real value lies in its ability to interact with other enterprise solutions. This is what we will witness happening now.
The days of cognitive RPA operating in silo are over! Now we will see the technology branch out and establish a more cross-functional and integrated ecosystem.
Such integrated enterprise will be able to explore more innovative approaches and implement transformation solutions easily. It will also foster a digital culture where employees embrace new technologies without hesitation.
Cognitive RPA when integrated with other solutions can help set up a center of excellence that inspires others.

Improvement in Customer & Employee Engagement

Customers and employees are the two most critical groups for any business in any industry. While customers give business to the enterprise, it is the employees who are managing this business on behalf of the brand. So, it makes sense to seek higher engagement from both these groups.
Cognitive RPA solutions allow the enterprise to engage in more meaningful and intelligent conversation with the customers. They reduce the time taken to deliver a service and enable customers to interact with the brand at their own convenience and at their own pace. This results in higher engagement and satisfaction of customers.
Similarly, cognitive RPA provides solutions to employees that simplify their tasks and make their operations agile and scalable. The employees can play an active role in innovation and contribute directly in process reengineering.

Make Businesses Scalable

Cognitive RPA has enabled enterprises and employees to focus on more creative and growth-related activities. This is reflected in the way enterprises are becoming scalable to respond to market dynamics.
Employees with higher skillsets are driving process innovation that is making operations nimble. The integrated enterprise model ensures that there are no siloes and a center of excellence approach can be applied.
All of these improvements are making businesses more scalable than they were ever before. Enterprises are now better equipped to deal with expected and unexpected changed to the market dynamics. They have better forecasting and opportunity tracking mechanisms in place.

Conclusion

Cognitive RPA has stepped out of the experimental zone and is claiming its rightful position in business ecosystem. It is no longer an option for a business but a must have technology.

If you have not yet chalked out your RPA plans, then you need to do it right away. Our RPA specialist can help you assess your requirements and recommend the best possible way of applying cognitive RPA to your business.

If you have already started invested in RPA, then our team can help you apply strategies that can improve your ROI from these investments.

To know more about how cognitive technologies and RPA are combining together to redefine the industry landscape and how other companies are coping up with it, speak to our Cognitive RPA team today.