Vuram

One of the most prominent challenges faced by industries and equally by all business roles is managing contracts. Whether it is with suppliers, vendors, outside service providers, customers, or other entities, contracts are major foundational blocks of every business operation. All it takes is a filing cabinet or a central spreadsheet, or even a shared drive for storing contracts and their related information. But would that suffice in the long run? Especially, what if the business expands?

Manually handling piles of printed documents scattered across the filing cabinets, digital files like PDFs stored in different systems, lack of visibility in tracing contracts, and absence of standardized procedures are a few of the most pressing issues in contract management. According to the Global Contract Management Association (World Commerce and Contracting), organizations lose 9% of revenue every year due to poor contract management. 

What Is an Intelligent Contract Management System?

An Intelligent Contract management system (CMS) is software that helps you to manage your contracts, invoices and payments in one place. It also provides the ability to track all of these activities end-to-end holistically. This makes it easier for enterprises to keep track of all of their business transactions and do it efficiently, too. 

Do you know that "5 of the world's top 10 banks use Appian"? [i]

Banks are keen on modernizing their technology infrastructure. But often these efforts are not fruitful enough to have an organization-wide impact. How can they realize the full potential of their investments? While digital initiatives continue to offer countless opportunities for banks, limited infrastructural support and ever-evolving customer requirements, combined with the changing market dynamics, demand an integrated solution stack. Whereas banks have been investing in optimizing small-scale processes, Appian deploys far-reaching solutions that deliver rapid innovation and power-packed growth. 

Appian helps banks take advantage of its digital solutions and strategies and deploy them at the heart of their operating model. While banks are grappling with legacy systems and fragmented processes, Appian implements future-proof technologies for banks to run their operations on a more efficient fuel. The result is spectacular: it improves customer experience, delivers agility, and ensures rapid application development. 

Top 5 Use Cases:

There are five important areas in a bank where Appian can deliver process-driven efficiencies and radically step up its everyday operations.

1. Loan Origination

We are living in an era where change is inevitable, we see a change in each and everything. It is unpredictable, too, especially on the business front. Software professionals are required to outsmart the ever-changing business landscape and they have to keep trying numerous business models, some may be successful and some may be otherwise. There are technologies which are becoming obsolete as well.

Any new method which has to be accepted in the market needs to be agile, quick and able to adapt to the digital market. Companies which are still in the comfort bubble will have to pop out and embrace the changes and this might be harder than we think but the success that would be reaped would be enormous.

The market right now demands rapid delivery of business solutions with minimum coding, minimal investment, training, environmental setup and deployment. Appian is a stalwart in the low-code market and it has enabled organizations to steer up by building high-impact solutions and solving their complex challenges. Appian actually looks beyond basic automation needs. There are many advantages to using Appian.

Accelerated time to market, as you can build an app in weeks and start using it.

It is known for simplicity and requires minimal technical knowledge.

The design is very easy with drag-drop

Irrespective of where the data lies, it can be viewed in a simplified format.

Everything is on the cloud.

It is future-ready to cater to ever-growing and changing business needs.

If an IT team is exhausted by trying all the various methods of extensive coding, there starts the need for automation. Appian automation is dynamic and flexible. It helps in streamlining repeated processes, reducing time-consuming tasks and thereby increasing productivity. With Appian, many automation instances can be identified and they can be resolved by using expression rules and process models. More complex systems which talk to other systems which are external to our application can also be automated by configuring integrations and smart services. Appian combines iBPM, AI, RPA and integrations with the energy of a low-code environment and elevates customer satisfaction, optimizes processes, and achieves business requirements.

Global businesses are eager to drive innovation, leveraging advances in new technologies and business models. But at the same time, weeding out unproductive initiatives and pivoting to new strategies are also necessary steps towards true innovation. As businesses continue to move up the strategic roadmap, they face a lot of challenges. It is truly a mandate for them to “do more with less.”

But their automation strategies mostly fail to achieve competitive advantages due to several reasons. For organizations that are serious about transformation and growth, uncertainties wrought by siloed processes prompt them to rethink the plan of action. 

Whereas RPA or ML tools are efficiently integrated into business systems to automate repetitive tasks with complex steps, sequences, and rules, businesses continue to look for ways to simplify various tasks and interactions. Hyperautomation tools can provide a solid answer. Instead of depending on a single, out-of-the-box technology, Hyperautomation is a wide-ranging approach to connect disparate systems and data flow, ultimately delivering the intelligent automation companies are looking for. 

The world is moving faster than ever before. The pace of innovation in technologies is exploding. From simple emails boxes that flag suspicious accounts, power back up devices, smart lights, smart security controls, smart energy saving systems, to smart homes, something that has managed to seep deep into our lives is - automation. Automation is all around us, and is no more a fancy terminology.

In this automation era, what is garnering a lot of attention is hyperautomation. The reasons to implement Hyperautomation goes beyond the mere automation of process. Hyperautomation involves adding an extra layer of artificial intelligence capabilities to traditional automation processes to perform tasks rapidly and accurately. Hyperautomation is all about combining several technologies like RPA (robotic process automation), ML (machine learning), iBPMS (intelligent business process management systems), low-code/no-code tools, and other task automation tools.

Contracts are important to build trusting and collaborative business relationships. Working towards perfecting the art of regulating contract management is essential to enable new capabilities to be delivered and make the processes of supplying, servicing, and providing smooth operations. As businesses depend on contracts to keep their financial commitments up and running, it takes a well-designed contract structure and strategies and mechanisms to fulfill the obligations. 

On the other hand, when contract management remains inefficient, the process of designing, negotiating, implementing and managing a contract turns out to be difficult. When the process is fragmented, it makes a negative impact on the organization.

Now, a good contract management system can help enterprises get full value from contracts. By providing clearly defined workflows and automation capabilities, a contract management system can help businesses accelerate negotiations and close deals faster. 

Contract Management System Increases Visibility

Contracts drive virtually every business function. At this critical business aspect, businesses cannot afford to allow value leakage, which could cause irreparable friction between customers and suppliers. Keeping that in mind, keeping tabs on hundreds of contracts with their unique terms of use, license agreements, conditions, and legal notes are almost impossible. 

When enterprises choose the right Contract Management System, there will be a real and sustainable improvement as it enables contracts easily accessible and searchable. A centralized contract management system helps businesses keep track of volumes of documents by storing them in a centralized repository across multiple geographies and departments. 

This level of visibility can solve multiple problems as the system can tackle every part of the contract lifecycle in one central location. It not only helps an organization with storing files but also sharing them among business users, thus empowering uninterrupted and effective collaboration. 

Did you know that it takes approximately one hour to process five invoices per hour manually? And the cost can be anywhere from $14 to $20. How many invoices does your organization process in a day? If yours is a small business, maybe less than 100. For bigger companies, the chances are hundreds or even thousands. How are your Accounts Payable (AP) teams keeping up the pace? Forget about the delivery timelines. Are these invoices accurate enough so that you don’t have to repeat another whole new cycle of invoice processing?

If your answers are not positive to the above questions or if you have overlooked these critical aspects of business, it is time to overhaul the primitive methods and embrace technology. Welcome to the world of automated invoice processing.

With automation taking the world by storm, right from assisting us at home to helping organizations achieve a lot quicker, processing invoices can be done in a matter of minutes with an effective automated invoice processing system.

This blog will explore in detail all that you need to know about the best automated invoice processing software.

What Is Automated Invoice Processing?

Invoice processing starts from receiving an invoice to making the payment. Even though it looks like a two-step process, it is complex with many details. In a traditional setup, the process looks like this:

Organization receives invoices from vendors in several formats - PDFs, paper documents, emails, images, etc.

Bookkeeper enters the information manually into the accounting system

In some instances, like purchase order the invoice is verified against the document

Invoice is scanned and stored safely for future reference

Invoice is sent for approval to the authorized teams

Payment is processed

Hyperautomation is one of the hottest trending technologies. Having found its spot in the industry analysts' most competitive technologies continuously for three years (2020-22) in a row, it is sure to retain its successful ranking in the coming new year as well, given the plethora of benefits it brings to the organizations. 

What Is Hyperautomation?

Hyperautomation goes beyond automation. It uses an amalgamation of technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), robotic process automation (RPA), intelligent business process management suites (iBPMS), natural language processing (NLP), low-code/no-code, and other automation tools to rapidly identify, vet, and automate key business processes. 

When Hyperautomation Came Into Existence?

In today’s competitive business landscape, Contract Management System is no longer a ‘nice to have.’ In recent years, a new generation of business leaders has learned the importance of Contract Management Systems and it has emerged as one of the essential parts of business success. Its importance is stressed across the business landscape and businesses would do well to integrate it into their core systems.

When implemented right, it can influence the practice of contract management across the enterprise. Contract Management Systems have evolved from being used for simple automation of repeated processes to being an end-to-end guide for contract-related decision-making processes. As organizations are hard-pressed to bring better control and efficiency into their contract management practices, administrative costs should be reduced. 

A single contract involves people from many different departments within an organization and they risk limited oversight of contracts and poor contract management. Also, the process of managing vendor contracts and aligning them with internal processes is costly. Contract management, though, is a difficult art to master. It requires making sense of large amounts of data from disparate systems and sources to create business value. 

An ideal contract management system is an important enabler of enterprise digital transformation. When companies choose to go with an efficient toolset, they are well-positioned to collaborate with third-party vendors with rich frameworks. It’s not just content with automating certain processes but provides capabilities to collaborate and obtain strategic insights. With these strongholds of infrastructure, it can create sustainable business value.

Enterprise contract management system has become the new superpower as it creates a common language, feature-rich templates, unified terms, and all the key ingredients essential to improving efficiency and reducing contract cycle times. This way, it helps customers, suppliers, and businesses of all sizes and across all industries to thrive and grow. With a repeatable and consistent framework, suppliers can save time and avoid administrative burdens. 

In this era of fast-paced technological innovations, as businesses are rolling out digital solutions for all their everyday business challenges, there is one particular aspect of business that is a likely candidate for automation. And that is invoice processing for the simple reason that for many organizations, their complex internal processes and outdated systems can’t keep up with the customer expectations and operational realities as the business grow. As inefficiencies on this front hinder growth, it has become a top priority for more organizations to find the right solution to streamline repetitive, wasteful, error-prone, and paper-intensive processes. 

As such, invoice processing automation has been a great source of relief for those who were juggling multiple disparate process lines as it helps businesses to reduce costs and improve efficiency. Whereas manual processes are bound to incur hundreds of thousands of Dollars on business functions riddled with inefficiencies, an automated invoice processing system for that matter can eliminate manual invoice processing to gain cost savings that automation can bring.

Top 5 Ways Automated IP Can Redefine Business Landscape:

1. Spend Less Time and Money Chasing Paper

Even in globe-straddling enterprises, even companies that aim to resolve thousands of invoice disputes per month, the process of requisitioning, purchasing, receiving, and accounting for goods and services happen in a manual way. Keying in all these large volumes of invoices into the system is not only time-consuming but quite costly too. Automated invoice processing is an answer to this as it automates the process end-to-end and guides invoices through the approval process smoothly and efficiently throughout the lifecycle. 

Whether yours is a startup or a flourishing business, if you are keen on diversifying your financial portfolio to ensure success, you should definitely catch hold of the trending, sustainable investment strategy, called ESG. Let’s accept that a business's success not only depends on its innovative offerings but also on the way it operates - with regard to the environment, social and governance. Interestingly, consumers are not driven towards companies that treat the environment, employees or the community in which they operate poorly, according to a study conducted by PwC. It states that 76% of consumers will stop buying from such companies. Now, what is this ESG all about? Does it really have any benefit? Let’s explore the importance of ESG in this post.

What is ESG?

The banking industry is at a crossroads. With banks facing increased competition, banks are refocusing their priorities on delivering a seamless digital experience. As these more and more integrated digital solutions are paving the way for new opportunities, on the other hand, banks are expected to prove their sustainability on a global scale. For today, banks are valued not only for their innovations but also for how equipped are they in ESG implementation. Banks play a pivotal role in ensuring corporate social responsibility and leading the worldwide transition away from carbon-emitting operations.

As banks are faced with the challenge of navigating this complex territory, it has become an inextricable part of how they do and build their business. So, what is ESG in banking and financial sector? How can banks meet the requirements and regulations that can make or break their institutions? 

What is ESG in Financial Services?

Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) is a framework that answers the questions of how banks can collectively respond to the persistent challenges related to climate change, pollution and waste, community relations, customer satisfaction, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I), ethics and compliance, and corporate transparency. 

Global businesses will never be the same in the coming years. COVID-19 has buffeted industries of all sizes and the turbulence it caused has changed irrevocably the nature of work culture and the way organizations work. What has been thought of as impossible has now become a reality. In the same way, as we move ahead in 2023, companies should be able to adjust themselves to the new normal and embrace change while finding innovative ways to prepare for what’s ahead.  

The enormity of the crisis has impacted technology and the way it is applied in business functions, too. To be agile and resilient in today’s markets, businesses should find ways to leverage the right technology in the right manner. Despite the paradigm shift, intelligent automation is ever on the rise and has never lost its relevancy. As such, Robotic Process Automation (RPA) has always been an imperative force in business growth and will remain so in the coming year too.

Robotic process automation in banking has been making great strides, of late, especially more so ever in the post-pandemic, new normal period. Given the huge shift in consumer behavior owing to the sudden increase in awareness of hygienic environments and higher expectations for a digital experience, banks are now forced to adopt technological innovations at a rapid pace. 

If you are new to hyperautomation technology or you are looking to enhance your tech adoptions, you have come to the right place! This article will explore everything you need to know about RPA for banking and the top RPA use cases in banking.

What Is RPA in Banking?

Addressing the basics, RPA stands for robotic process automation. RPA  is an hyperautomation technology that involves the use of bots to automate repetitive tasks. The bots augment human actions by interacting with digital systems and software. Like human beings, these bots can read what’s on the screen, navigate between applications, copy/paste data, extract data, generate reports, generate invoices, and a variety of other tasks that are monotonous and voluminous. The highlight is the bots can perform these tasks non-stop, 24x7, unlike human representatives who may take-offs and coffee breaks. 

Robotic Process Automation in Banking Sector: Why?

Lack of effective monitoring system to predict the forecast, challenges in tracking inventory levels, shortage of skilled manpower, and adapting to technological innovations. These are some of the challenges faced currently by several manufacturing companies across the globe. How can these be addressed effectively? Enter robotic process automation in manufacturing or also called RPA. RPA in manufacturing industry is a boon to the industry, as it is changing the industry for the better to recover from the impact of the pandemic-induced crisis.  

From digital nurses, radiotherapy AI tools, AI models for mental health, telemedicine, and remote care, to augmented reality and virtual reality, the healthcare industry is at the frontline of adopting technological innovations. The emergence of hyperautomation has further propelled the growth of the sector post-pandemic. Technologies such as robotic process automation has been assisting healthcare professionals in different ways, including data entry, improving patient experience, and other administrative tasks.

What Is Robotic Process Automation in the Healthcare Industry?

Robotic process automation also called RPA, is an automation technology that creates software robots, which emulate human actions to execute repetitive tasks. Consequent to the fear of robots taking over the human workforce, the bots could actually complement the human representatives to complete tasks faster and with high accuracy. RPA doesn’t cease away the jobs but instead creates new opportunities for professionals to focus on more valuable tasks and excel in the same.

The Role of RPA in Healthcare

Did you know RPA in insurance industry is gaining prominence and popularity so much so that by 2025 it is set to automate at least 50-60% of the back-office processes resulting in 66% of time savings, according to McKinsey’s reports? Yes, RPA in insurance is revolutionizing the insurance processes, helping insurance companies save a lot of time and effort, spent on manual processes. 

RPA Use Cases in Insurance

As the insurance sector is heavily dominated by paperwork and a manual environment, automation technologies like RPA in insurance industry have a huge scope. There are many benefits that insurance companies can cash in by implementing RPA. 

Now, let’s look at some best RPA use cases in insurance industry:

Top 5 RPA Use Cases in Insurance

The following are the top 5 use cases of RPA in Insurance industry

1. RPA in Insurance Claims Processing

One of the most document-intensive tasks is claims processing. Right from collating data from multiple sources to processing them, there are several time-consuming things that an executive should do. By implementing RPA in claims processing, insurers can ensure the quality time of their employees is not spent in extracting data and verifying fraudulent claims. RPA bots can process claims 75 percent faster than human beings.

2. RPA in Underwriting

RPA bots contribute to a streamlined underwriting process. Coupled with AI, insurers can automate the entire underwriting process - collect data from internal and external sources, input/feed them into the central system, analyze the customer’s profile and data to evaluate whether the customer’s firm poses any risk, calculate the coverage price and provide options. If there is anything suspicious about the account, the bot triggers an alert immediately. In this way, underwriters get quality time to focus on other value-added activities. 

3. RPA in Insurance Analytics