Streamlining Operations: How RPA Enhances Oracle ERP Systems

Robotic process automation (RPA) is revolutionizing business. This is  a hot topic among the people who work in technology, operations, and enterprise resource planning (ERP).

If you are in this field, you likely are aware that ERP activities are  labour-intensive, taking time away from other, higher-value tasks. You may have also heard how RPA technologies are helping to streamline ERP processes while increasing efficiency and minimizing errors.

With all this as a plus you may still be hesitant to onboard this type of technology for your own business. Perhaps due to lack of time or budget, or perhaps due to uncertainty. Whatever the reason,  let’s help to take away some of the mystique and take a closer look at what it is and how it works.

What is RPA?

RPA makes it easy to reproduce actions quickly and reliably with set automations that run in the background, as if a nearly infallible human were pulling the strings behind the technology. Businesses use RPA to build and deploy products, monitor processes, ease the burdens of repetitive work, and more.

Specifically for complex software suites like Oracle ERP, RPA super-accelerates productivity while ensuring data accuracy and integrity. Let’s look at some specific ways RPA interacts with ERP.

Data Entry and Migration

RPA pushes and pulls data from various sources, combining it into a centralized location to provide a single source of truth. It can also perform data validation checks and handle exceptions as it goes once you provide the instructions.

Invoice Processing

Using an RPA tool, a company can extract data from sources such as emails, scanned documents or electronic forms, and then validate it against the proper purchase orders and receipts. After passing the information over to the Oracle ERP system, RPA will navigate through the interface and input the data into the appropriate fields, including creating new records, updating old ones or initiating an approval workflow. It can also provide system updates to keep your invoice processing moving along smoothly without interruptions.

Purchase Orders

It’s easier to generate purchase orders (POs) with RPA because it can be set to create them as part of the process. Set predefined rules and triggers, then watch RPA work its magic to generate POs automatically as needed.

Reconciliation and Reporting

RPA will reconcile information between systems and generate reports showing key statistics your company can use to refine its operations. Use RPA to compare data, identify discrepancies, and flag exceptions for further review.

Communications

Improve your vendor, customer, and employee communications with the help of your friendly RPA solution. Automate emails, notifications, confirmations, reminders, and many other types of everyday business communications. This perhaps isn’t anything new in terms of the automation, but an added bonus to have integrated in one tool and as part of the overall process rather than in a separate CRM system or email provider!

Onboarding and Payroll

Onboard new employees more quickly with RPA. It’s a frictionless solution for handling employee leave requests and schedule changes. Payroll processing is also much faster and easier. Streamline these processes by allowing RPA to manage the details.

Auditing and Compliance

It’s important to choose the right RPA tool that supports auditing and compliance specific to Oracle ERP systems as they often are highly customized and this may leave more room for error. You want to ensure the RPA is designed to manage these specific intricacies to ensure full coverage.

That been said, the complex tasks involved with compliance and auditing are made much simpler with RPA’s help. Schedule regular audits in advance and run tests and scenarios to proactively identify anomalies before they become compliance emergencies. Plus, you’ll build an archive of data to ensure proper approvals and audit trails are always on file.