ROTO Staalbedrijven partnered with 4CEE to implement Robotic Process Automation (RPA) for the first time. CFO Tom van Lindert explains why the steel processor decided to adopt this technology and shares his experiences. “We can’t afford to stand still and sit back. You have to keep innovating. And RPA seemed like a great opportunity to me.”
ROTO (approx. 800 employees, €180 million in revenue, locations in 6 countries) has four business units focused on steel and steel processing, galvanizing and powder coating, grating technology, and zinc recycling. A true manufacturing company. It doesn’t get much more down-to-earth than that. The headquarters and one of the four business units are located in Uitgeest, North Holland.
The group employs many production workers, mostly men, with an average age of 45. Galvanizing, powder coating, manufacturing gratings, and cutting and processing steel plates: that’s tough work. As a result, the group mainly employs “doers.” Tom van Lindert is the CFO. One of his tasks is to givethe operating companies new impetusin the areas of innovation and digitization.
Yes, Tom had heard and read a bit about Robotic Process Automation, but hedidn’t knowthe ins and outs of it. Attending a presentation by 4CEE was his first step toward delving deeper into the subject. “And that got me thinking. We can’t afford tostand still and sit back . You have to keep innovating. And RPA seemed like a great opportunityto me .”
The CFO, who is also responsible for IT, set aside a budget. He says: “You have to purchase a piece of software. And you have to allocate funds for a few days of consulting—you really do need that.” Then he was able to get started. He invited eight employees from various operating companies to join him and 4CEE in “coming up with some robots,” as he puts it.
“We deliberately chose to
automate some smaller subtasks.”
Those brainstorming sessions were very productive.Employees found it interesting to exchange knowledge and information with colleagues from other parts of the group. It resulted in a long list of processes where Robotic Process Automation could potentially add value. The meeting also helped build support for the idea. Tom: “All our business units operatefairly independently. There was hardly any resistance to the introduction of software robots at the beginning. In fact, the reality now is that the employees involved are nothing but enthusiastic about it.”
As our understanding of RPA’s capabilitiesgrew, the number of projects on the long list decreased . This was partly because other solutions emerged as viable alternatives, for example, or because some involved complex processes where results would take a long time to materialize. Ultimately, eight fairlystraightforwardcandidate projects remained.
According to Tom, the input from the 4CEE consultant was essential: “We tend to be quite ‘hands-on.’ And if we run into a problem while we’re working, we figure we’ll just solve it later. But that’snot how it works with asoftware robot. You have to map out the process in a very structured way beforehand .” An additional benefit of combing through processes is that certain processes —the kind where you ask, “Why do we actually do it that way? Because we’ve been doing it that way for years…”— could be streamlinedimmediately .
Within a three-month period, four software robots were designed. These include handlingcredit insurance applications, retrieving reports from theHR system, and providing Wi-Fi access codes for visitors. So, it’s not “rocket science,” but that was exactly the point. Tom: “We deliberately chose toautomate smaller, specific tasks. Our people often work hard. If you can reduce routine work a little, there’s more time left for things that really matter.”
Moreover, the new approach using RPA improves service levels. Whereas an employee might occasionally be absent or need to schedule time to do something, the robot performs its task immediately at the set time. Loan applications don’t get left on theback burner, and new employees have immediate access to the intranetstarting on their first day of work .
While the first software robot has just made its debut, Tom is already cautiously looking ahead to the next phase. What else can be gained with RPA in the production environment? And can software robots be deployed as additional sales staff or support in the sales process? He already has a list of employees from other parts of the company whom he wants to involve in the next brainstorming session.
Tom is confident that by doing more with it, Robotic Process Automation will mature and, in no time, become an indispensable part of our daily lives. “That’s what I love about innovations. They always lead to new ideas and applications. About five years ago, we invested heavily in a Wi-Fi network across our company premises. Back then, the shipping staff used to walk around with a big stack of paper, looking for items to load or unload. Now they can’t imagine doing anything other than driving straight to the right location with their tablet. I expect the same will happen with RPA. In a few years, just as we do now with tablets and smartphones, we’ll wonder how we ever managed without it!”