Intelligent Process Automation
We help our customers stay competitive and focus on their core business.
Who we are
In Visma’s core strategy, digitalisation has always been important. Since 2017, we have taken this to the next level introducing software robots to automate manual and administrative work for our customers.
Intelligent process automation is offered to Visma’s software customers in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and the Netherlands. We do everything from development to maintenance and operations of the automation process. It leaves you with freed-up time to spend on problem solving and value adding business, instead of manual and repetitive tasks.
What is a robot and how does it work?
Automation and robots are software programmed to execute a preset number of tasks in sequence. These can either be scheduled or started by a person, depending on the needs.
Automation is suitable in situations where for example two systems do not communicate or lack APIs. The robot will operate as an employee with its own username and password, copying information from one system and entering it in another, like an “Air API”. Another example is reading files or websites and verifying the content based on predefined rules. Categorization of tickets, files and documents is also a task for a robot.
The software can be programmed to use the interface in a system, click buttons with its own account, or read/write directly to the database.
The techniques we use, which are Robotic Process Automation (RPA) in combination with Machine learning, make it possible to automate a wide range of processes. Processes that benefit from process automation are the recurring, repetitive ones that do not need us to think outside the box.
We believe that humans are the ones best suited for analysis, problem solving and people contact—not “robotic-like” jobs. Robots are often called “Virtual assistants” since the robot will do the boring task and hand over the analysis to a person.
Increase data quality and save time, quickly
Even though the digitalisation journey has come a long way, we still see businesses struggling with loads of administrative work. Usually, these workloads come in batches, leaving employees with high pressure and stress. This is the common work situation for people within payroll and other administrative areas. In the long run, such a work situation is unsustainable. With process automation we can relieve them, creating a more sustainable workplace.
Automation Talks
Get inside the exciting world of process automation! Hear from thought leaders in the field, find out what they work with, and get their perspectives on the most important topics within automation.
Talk #1
In our first Automation Talk, we spoke with Leif Arne Brandsæter, Managing Director of Visma Enterprise AS.
We discussed the changes that automation has brought to the workplace, the value customers get out of it, and how automation will advance going forward.
Did you know we have more Automation Talks on the topics of data science, the value automation brings to customers, and much more?
Projects
Expense claim validation
Have you ever been writing a travel claim and waited for days or maybe weeks to get it approved? In claims verification, the robot will do the job as a controller, but faster and with higher quality. It verifies that amounts, dates, passenger names, and other details are filled out according to the attached receipt. The robot will either approve or reject the claim, and send it in the correct workflow with an actionable message.
Sick leave categorisation
Companies can apply for compensation if an employee’s sick leave meets certain criteria. To get the highest possible return, the robot checks the HRM system for new sick leaves registered by employees. Based upon rules, the robot categorises if the sick leave qualifies for compensation. If it does, the robot sends in a formal application; if not, it is sent for manual handling.
Procurement validation
The time needed to create a procurement from start to publication can be long. Customers often update key information such as dates right before publishing, increasing the risk of inaccurate or inconsistent information in different places in the procurement documents.
We have created automated data validation that ensures accurate information while minimising the possibility of law-related errors within procurements.
Easy onboarding
Onboarding a new customer can be tricky, and it often involves several manual steps. The reason why is because a customer often has data in different formats and from different data sources. In some applications, a file import handles part of the onboarding process, whilst in other systems data is entered manually. Automating the typing has two main benefits: reducing the total time for onboarding and reducing the probability of creating faulty data while typing.
We call the onboarding-robot “No-Time”!
Employment verification
You have finally gotten the position you have always dreamt of. Now a month has passed and you are looking forward to your first paycheck. What would your reaction be if the salary were totally wrong, or didn’t show up at all? To get all the employee information correct the first time can be tricky, but with the help of a robot, most of the details can be verified before the employee is even created in the salary system. The robot can also find duplicates and logical errors in the data. Based on its interpretation, the robot will either approve or reject the data.
Chatbot services
Some customers use what is known as the Service Intensive Rate, or SIR, to gauge their performance in reducing customer requests. The SIR is the ratio of requests to licenses, and a good SIR is about 0.25. In other words, the goal is for fewer than 1 in 4 customers to submit a request in a given year.
One way to reduce SIR is through chatbots. We developed a chatbot that answers FAQs, redirects customers to relevant information, and even predicts their needs and comes up with answers before questions are raised. The chatbot was implemented in 2017 and after just one year handled 51% of all chats.
We conduct a quarterly market analysis of the service across key categories, including natural language processing, context awareness, learning from limited examples, system integrations, Nordic language support, and more. Our analyses show that this service is the most feature-rich, user-friendly, and cost-effective solution for our customers.
Process mapping
In the process of debt collection, there are hundreds of activities Visma undertakes, many of which are done manually. Getting an overview of so many activities, undertaken by different teams at different times, is a challenging task when attempted by humans alone. But how can processes be improved when a full overview does not exist?
To address this need, the process automation team employed process mining—the set of techniques, methods and algorithms that perform analysis on log data. The objective was to visualise each step of the debt collection process and provide metrics—such as duration and distribution across the team—to help users better understand processes based on factual data.
Since the service was implemented, users have now attained a better understanding of the true volume of activities, which are most used, and how they are connected. The service not only helps them improve their processes, but also makes recommendations on how to improve the process, for example by suggesting the best next step.
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