A leading postal services organization in the Nordics, which receives an average of 25,000 supplier invoice update requests, faced major challenges with its labor-intense process. Thanks to a new robotic process automation (RPA) solution, the average handling time has been reduced from 270 seconds to 30 seconds.
A large postal services provider turned to us to streamline its process for communicating with suppliers about payment status. With the organization receiving an average of 25,000 supplier invoice update request e-mails annually, and an average handling time of 270 seconds per request, the inefficient process was harming productivity. Further, inaccurate data – such as a single errant keystroke when an analyst entered data – could lead to multiple rounds of supplier communication, consuming yet more time and potentially hurting supplier relations.
Cognizant used our extensive supply chain and logistics management expertise to design a robotic process automation (RPA) solution that substantially automates key aspects of the process:
The average handling time (AHT) for each request has gone from 270 to 30 seconds (approx. 89%) and saving the postal services organization about 1,680 hours annually. This has enhanced the organization’s supplier relations and freed up its analysts’ time to focus on higher value tasks and more satisfying work.
The client, with Cognizant’s assistance, is currently exploring ways to automate more of its supplier accounts payable processes and incorporate knowledge retention into the software bots. Read the full case study here.
If you'd like continue reading about RPA, check out the blog posts How to Launch a Successful Automation Program and Automation: The Way to Modernize Your IT Core
As the digital data that surrounds us grows exponentially, it will power advanced forms of artificial intelligence that, over time, will augment human capabilities to make us smarter, more productive and more effective in our personal and professional lives.
