One of the first businesses to adopt process automation was the energy and utility sector. A significant percentage of the task scheduling, billing, and account management activities at many businesses have already been automated. Therefore, discrete or segregated processes are no longer the focus. Company leaders are now learning about cross-process automation as every business looks for opportunities beyond strict organizational and operational barriers. Hence hyper automation is necessary to make these digital progressions a reality.
As Forbes defines it, hyper automation is the sophisticated application of technology and research to produce AI-based results. A recent research by Acumen Research & Consulting states that Hyper Automation Market Revenue is expected to surpass US$32,632 Million by 2030.
Hyper Automation varies from the automation we’ve been accustomed to because it incorporates a wide range of various automation technologies and processes and links them together. It produces a seamless series of automated processes that require very little human interaction or interpretation by merging machine learning, AI, RPA, robotics, and IoT.
The perception that the energy and utilities sector has extensive infrastructure, mostly in the physical realm and little in the way of digital infrastructure, is evolving. The energy, oil, and gas, and utilities industry is proving to be one of the most innovative businesses in its use of cutting-edge technology like artificial intelligence, hyper automation, sophisticated analytics, and more, from power and electric grids to oil and gas suppliers. Over the years, the industry has made considerable progress in promoting digitization and digital transformation. In the near future, intelligent automation and hyper automation, among other coming technologies, will be the biggest game changers.
In this article, we’ll briefly discuss how businesses can implement hyper automation and RPA to derive business growth and generate better ROI for their business.
Use Cases for Hyper Automation in Energies & Utilities Sector
1. Meter Reading Validation
Before invoicing a consumer for usage, energy and utility companies must verify a sizable number of meter readings each day. Although necessary, this procedure is time-consuming, expensive, and prone to mistakes. This process is often carried out manually by employees, who frequently enter wrong usage information or misspell a client’s name. As a result, the consumer receives inaccurate invoicing that is either under or overcharged. These kinds of errors can impact a company’s reputation and result in monetary loss.
By automatically cross-referencing meter readings with a variety of data sources, such as historical readings, consumer usage patterns, and weather information, RPA solutions can help make the process more accurate. Additionally, RPA bots promptly highlight deviations as signs that something is amiss and direct human workers to address the issue when they are found.
2. Technical Support Management & Retention
Energy providers are required to keep track of recurring consumer grievances, such as problems with account setup, billing issues, and service interruptions. Hyperautomation can assist by automatically logging, tracking, and addressing many of these common inquiries, freeing up reps to concentrate on more complicated problems that demand for human engagement.
By spotting trends that can be signs of a concern, automation can assist energy and utility companies in proactively preventing client churn. The information can then be used by staff to implement preventative actions, such as discount offers or outreach to offer individualized service.
Robotics, RPA and AI technologies can be used by the energy industry to achieve more sophisticated capabilities. AI-based sentiment analysis, for instance, can assess consumer enquiries to ascertain if the sender is posing a query or making a complaint. Customer service representatives can prioritize providing helpful support to those who need it the most thanks to this analysis.
3. Setup of New Accounts
Setting up new accounts is one of the most arduous and time-consuming activities for customer service representatives (CSRs). CSRs are typically required to enter the same data into many systems, which increases the risk of inaccuracy.
By interacting with multiple back-end systems (such as CRM, ERP, etc.) and obtaining customer information from forms or emails, RPA may automate account creation. The information can subsequently be entered into pertinent systems by bots without human assistance.
Both customers and businesses benefit from this. Customers have their accounts set up more quickly and accurately, while businesses can free up CSRs to work on duties that are more ROI-focused.
Read More: ERP Vs CRM
Why is it Necessary to Adopt Hyper Automation for Energy Businesses?
Optimize Joint Ventures
In the oil and gas industries, corporations commonly form joint ventures to reduce risk, adhere to regulations, improve supply chains, and share access to technology, finance, and resources. These firms must connect their technical platforms in order to work effectively as partners. This process can be simplified with hyper automation assisting each business in streamlining communications and improving productivity.
Also Read: Utility of Improved Workflow Automation in Oil & Gas Industry
Reduce Cost Of Operations
Energy businesses may experience huge operational savings by using robots to complete monotonous activities. Automation can lower operational expenses by keeping an eye on machines and suggesting preventative maintenance before malfunctions.
Boost Precision & Compliance
Automation can aid in enhancing accuracy and compliance. RPA, for instance, can automatically indicate any inconsistencies when comparing invoices to purchase orders in order to assure correctness. RPA may also automatically produce reports on energy use to assist businesses in identifying areas where efficiency can be increased.
Scalable & Flexible To Utility’s Requirements
Hyper Automation can be implemented at any point during a company’s digital transformation path, from optimizing simple operations to running intricate business procedures. Automation is a great option for energy and utility firms wishing to enhance their operations because it is highly scalable and customizable.
Know the Difference: RPA vs Intelligent Automation vs Hyperautomation
Summing Up
Hyper automation is becoming an essential part of the Energy & Utilities (E&U) project delivery, from early integration to guaranteeing the performance of mission-critical operations, due to the need for quality and the underlying commercial value. To ensure a flawless and error-free migration, hyper automation is necessary even during the transformation of crucial business applications and infrastructure upgrades.
It is a useful tool to aid energy and utility firms in overcoming several difficulties and greatly boosting ROI, but it is not a panacea. Investments in hyper automation will put businesses in a strong position to compete now and in the future.
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