RPA in the Food and Beverage Industry: Top 6 Use cases

Robotic process automation (RPA) is the application of technology that allows employees in a company to configure computer software or a “robot” to capture and interpret existing applications for processing a transaction, manipulating data, triggering responses, and communicating with other digital systems.

There are many benefits that can be gained from implementing RPA in the food and beverage industry. These benefits include:

• Improve reaction time: Discrepancies in information can often lead to delays in decision-making. RPA can help to automate data collection and analysis, which can then be used to make decisions more quickly. No more delays.
•  Improve compliance: Automating processes can help to ensure that they are carried out in accordance with regulations. This is particularly important in the food and beverage industry where stringent regulations exist.
• Improved customer service: Customers are becoming increasingly demanding. They expect companies to be able to provide them with the information they need quickly and efficiently. RPA can help by automating processes such as customer order taking and processing.

Here are six of the top RPA use cases in the food and beverage industry:

Invoice payment

As any business owner knows, cash is the lifeblood of any organization. Yet, too often, businesses find themselves saddled with a large accounts receivable (A/R) balance, tied up in unpaid invoices. This can have a major impact on cash flow and, as a result, hinder growth and expansion plans. One way to help address this issue is to use bots to automate the payment of customer invoices. 

By sending a message before (or after) an invoice due date, companies can encourage prompt payment and improve cash flow performance. In addition, this strategy frees up employees who were previously focused on this task. Now, they can work on more value-added activities within the finance department. 

As a result, businesses that have implemented this strategy have seen a benefit in terms of:

• reducing A/R days outstanding,
• improving customer service,
• and increasing productivity.

Customer Delivery Notification

51% of shoppers want real-time visibility into the status of their order

– Retail TouchPoints

In a fast-paced world, people are increasingly expecting companies to provide them with real-time updates on the status of their orders. By sending notifications to customers regarding the expected arrival time of their shipment, along with the quantity being delivered and the cost, companies can strengthen their customer service while also improving their delivery efficiency. 

In addition, this type of communication can help to reduce delivery errors and calls to customer service related to delivery issues.

Inventory Management:

Inventory management is a critical function for any business that relies on physical products to generate revenue. In order to maintain adequate inventory levels, businesses need to have a clear understanding of their sales patterns and anticipate future customer demand. 

Unfortunately, this can be a difficult task for businesses with complex product lines and/or large customer bases. As a result, many businesses have turned to bots to help them manage their inventory levels.

 By automating the process of tracking sales data and customer orders, bots can help businesses to more accurately forecast future demand and adjust their inventory levels accordingly. This, in turn, can help to improve customer service levels and reduce the risks associated with stockouts.

Quality and risk mitigation:

The food and beverage industry is highly regulated, which means that companies must adhere to strict quality standards. Plus, the industry is constantly evolving, which can make it difficult for companies to keep up with the latest trends and regulations. 

 

Bots can play a valuable role in helping companies to stay compliant with quality standards and mitigate risks. By automating the process of monitoring quality control data and alerting employees to potential issues, companies can maintain a high level of quality control. In addition, keeping track of industry trends and regulations can help companies to adapt their processes and procedures accordingly.

Customer sales Call

As any business knows, customer satisfaction is essential for maintaining a loyal customer base. One way to increase customer satisfaction is to make it easy for customers to reference their prior purchase orders (POs). By using a bot to pull information out of the ordering system, buyers can quickly see their last PO, year-to-date purchases, and suggested next order. 

This proactive transparency simplifies and forces compliance with policies and routines. It makes it easier for customers to do business with your company. As a result, bots can play a key role in maximizing the impact of the sales call and increasing customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Financial Reporting:

Financial reporting is a critical function for any business, but it can be especially challenging for businesses in the food and beverage industry. This is due to the fact that businesses in this industry typically have complex product lines and pricing structures. Bots can play a valuable role in helping companies to generate accurate financial reports. 

 

By automating the process of collecting and analyzing data, bots can help businesses to more accurately track their revenue and expenses. Likewise, this help to:

• Reduce the time it takes to generate financial reports
• Improve the accuracy of financial reports
• Improve decision-making,
• Reduce manual labor costs associated with financial reporting

The food and beverage industry is highly competitive, and companies are always looking for ways to improve their operations and increase sales. Unfortunately, this can be a difficult task for businesses with complex product lines and/or large customer bases.

Companies need to examine and evaluate their current processes and market opportunities. Redefining the key sales process starts by monitoring and analyzing your KPIs performance and historical activities. Likewise, companies will be able to adjust the right changes for a strategic and targeted operations plan.

To better navigate the complexities of the global market in the future, It’s crucial to execute process changes and enhance multi-channel solutions for a broader scope of applications.

RPA in Food and Beverage Industry: Building future growth strategy with Kiimkern

In Food and beverage industry, companies are struggling to find the right mix of technology that will enable them to achieve their desired business outcomes. A successful deployment of RPA requires a detailed understanding of: 

• business processes,
• target operating models,
• organizational change management,
• and technical architecture.

Here at Kiimkern, we take an end-to-end responsibility starting from requirement gathering to deployment and post-go-live support.

We understand that each company is at a different stage of its automation journey. Our focus is to help you achieve your desired business outcomes with the help of technology. We take a holistic view of your process landscape and recommend an intelligent mix of technology including RPA, AI/ML, etc. that will enable you to leapfrog your competition.