RPA FOR SAP®

Taking the robot out

of the human
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
Who’s this eBook for and why SECTION

should you read it? 01 RPA basics 03

If SAP is your core ERP system and you’re interested in

achieving competitive advantage by implementing Robotic SECTION

Process Automation (RPA), or have already tried RPA and it 02 Generic RPA tools 08
didn’t meet your expectations, this eBook is for you.

You’ll learn which RPA technologies make sense when it comes

to automating SAP processes and how RPA done right can SECTION

automate repetitive, tedious tasks in SAP and ‘take the robot 03 Benefits of using an RPA solution designed for SAP 12

out of the human’—saving thousands of hours each year and

enabling people to focus on higher-value work.
SECTION

04 Choosing the right RPA deployment model 20

SECTION

05 Key takeaways 21

SECTION

06 About Winshuttle 22
ROBOTIC PROCESS
AUTOMATION
BASICS
WHAT IS RPA?
There has been a lot of hype around RPA over the past few years. In fact,
analyst firm Forrester predicts that the RPA market will reach $2.9 billion
by 2021.

But what is RPA? The first thing to clarify is that RPA is software designed
to automate repetitive, rule-based tasks and processes in structured
data environments, typically mimicking user interface (UI) interactions,
or by connecting to APIs.

Deloitte defines Robotic Process Automation (RPA), often referred to as

‘robotics’ or ‘robots’, as the automation of rules-based processes with
software that utilizes the user interface and which can run on any software,
including web-based applications, ERP systems, and mainframe systems.

According to Leslie Willcocks, Professor of Technology, Work, and

Globalization at London School of Economics , RPA is a type of software that
mimics the activity of a human being in carrying out a task within a process.
It can do repetitive stuff more quickly, accurately and tirelessly than humans,
freeing them to do other tasks requiring human strengths, such as emotional
intelligence, reasoning, judgment and interaction with the customer.

While definitions from experts vary, the common thread is that RPA is
software for automating, repetitive processes with low complexity. As
we’ll see later, attempting to use RPA technologies to automate more
complex processes can have disastrous consequences.
 THINKING

LEARNING
ARTIFICIAL

WHAT RPA IS NOT DOING MACHINE

INTELLIGENCE
with deductive
LEARNING analytics
So now we know that RPA is software designed to automate ASSISTING ROBOTIC with prescriptive &
repetitive, rule-based tasks and processes in structured data PROCESS decision engines
environments, it’s worth mentioning that confusion abounds ROBOTIC AUTOMATION
in the market around this technology. Terms such as cognitive DESKTOP with digital triggers
computing, intelligent automation or even artificial intelligence AUTOMATION or self-service
Data-driven
with manual
(AI) are often mistakenly included under the RPA umbrella. intervention
These technologies, however, can mine unstructured or semi-
structured data and attempt to understand patterns in the Process-driven
underlying data and processes—very different from mimicking
the methodical interactions of a person doing repetitive tasks.
While RPA is software that mimics
human actions for tasks that don’t
need knowledge, understanding,
or insight, AI is about machines
simulating human intelligence.
HYPE VS. REALITY
Over the last year, we have witnessed an unprecedented interest in
automation fueled by the hype around RPA. While RPA was initially
adopted as a tactical method to save headcount in one or two
departments, it can also be used as a strategic toolset to accelerate
your transformation journey.

But despite the hype and the high expectations, many RPA projects
have failed to deliver. According to HFS Research, nearly half the
RPA implementation projects did not meet or barely met the
expectations. The reason is not the technology itself, but simply the
lack of rigor in selecting and implementing the right tool.

63%
of survey respondents indicated that their
expectations were not met when asked about
speed to implement for RPA projects.

Deloitte
Report: The Robots are Ready. Are you? The
untapped advantage in your digital workforce.
 FICO
SCM
FINANCE AND ACCOUNTING
Accounts Receivable processing
COMMON USE
HR Accounts Payable processing CASES FOR RPA
Journal entries
Most current use cases can be found in financial accounting, HR,
and customer services—where repetitive, structured processes are
SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT more common. The best candidates for RPA are processes which
TRANSACTIONAL VOLUME

are high volume, rule-based, and have a low level of complexity.

Inventory management
Logistics

9 OUT OF 10
Return processing

HUMAN RESOURCES
Hiring and onboarding
Payroll processing
Employee data management
Enterprises will use robotic
process automation by 2020.
ISG Survey

PROCESS COMPLEXITY
GENERIC RPA TOOLS
Analysts use the term “generic RPA” to define those tools
that can be used to automate any data-driven transactional
process across any system. Instead of focusing on a
specific application, they provide connectivity
to an array of applications, web browsers,
mainframe systems, and ERP systems.
 HOW GENERIC RPA TOOLS
INTERACT WITH SAP
Integration capabilities vary between vendors, but with SAP ERP
systems, all generic RPA providers interact only with the SAP GUI.
This type of record and execute technology is not suited to multi-
stage SAP processes, with the robotic solution liable to break when
something as small as a change in screen resolution occurs.
PRESENTATION PRESENTATION
LAYER LAYER
RECORDING
IT Generic RPA SAP GUI
EXECUTION In addition, even what seems like a simple process from the outset
can be complex and time-consuming to automate, as exception
SCRIPT SAVES handling, delays in system performance and other factors must be
CURSOR POSITION built into the process by technical resources.
& KEYBOARD/
MOUSE ACTIONS
SAP System This integration with SAP at the presentation layer can result in:

• Longer implementation times and higher project costs

• Expensive and time-consuming fixes

• Outright project failure

COMMON CHALLENGES
IN DEPLOYING GENERIC RPA
SOLUTIONS
While some organizations are seeing cost savings and efficiency from
deploying generic RPA solutions, others have run into a variety of challenges:

NOT KNOWING WHERE TO START

Choosing the right project for RPA technology is a careful balancing act
between scope and ROI. While companies are more likely to get budget and
executive buy-in for high-visibility business scenarios, those projects may be
too complex for RPA tools.

FOLLOWING-UP ON INITIAL SUCCESS

Even after organizations launch a successful pilot project that success may
not carry over to the next project, as each process brings its own challenges.

LONG TIMELINES AND DISAPPOINTING RESULTS

According to the latest Forrester Wave report on RPA, the early phase of the
RPA market addressed simple processes with the three fives: fewer than five
decisions, fewer than 500 clicks, and fewer than five apps accessed. Trying to
address more complex processes has led to cost and time overruns, or even
outright project failure.
FURTHER RELIANCE ON IT
Generic RPA software vendors promise an easy-to-use interface for non- More than half of RPA budgets
technical users. “Programming for dummies,” as a disillusioned customer
mentioned during an interview. But as data from ISG research shows, more
were spent last year on third
than half of RPA budgets were spent last year on third parties, such as parties, such as consultants
consultants and IT service providers—proving that a great deal of technical
knowledge is still needed.
and IT service providers.
COMPLEX EXCEPTION-HANDLING ISG Research
Generic RPA tools can be effective when replicating manual processes with RPA in Europe: enterprise plans,
none or a few exceptions. For more complex processes, building a robotic budgets & organizational impact
solution to handle numerous exceptions and variations can require extensive
development.

DIFFICULT AND TIME-CONSUMING TO AUDIT

Internal and external auditors must be able to trace which user extracted
or entered data into a system of record, and the source for that data where
applicable. This process can be difficult and time-consuming as what
appears in SAP logs are the bot IDs, which then must be tracked to the
original user or author.

PERFORMANCE ISSUES
Bots from generic RPA providers can only go as fast as the applications’ UI
allows. When execution happens on the desktop, through the SAP GUI, the
bot must wait as long as the user for the application to move forward or
refresh. This means slow performance, especially for large datasets, and can
result on automation errors, when wait time is exceeded.
BENEFITS OF USING
AN RPA SOLUTION
DESIGNED FOR SAP
USE THE RIGHT TOOL
FOR THE RIGHT JOB
To truly reap the business benefits of RPA at scale it’s
essential to deploy the right RPA solution for the task at
hand. If the process you’re automating involves your
SAP ERP system, it’s wise to turn to a solution that was
specifically built for that purpose.
Since 2003, Winshuttle has provided SAP-specific RPA
capabilities as part of a comprehensive SAP automation
and data management platform, yielding the following
benefits over generic RPA tools:
• Faster to build and deploy
• More robust and resilient
• Greater scalability
• Faster performance
Let’s examine how Winshuttle’s SAP-specific
RPA capabilities drive these superior results.
Why choosing the right
RPA tool is critical
A shared service center in Hungary was The company used Winshuttle Foundation
struggling to build exception handling into to automate the entire process within two
a generic RPA solution built to automate an months at a much lower cost than the
SAP material management process, with the generic RPA tool. Native SAP integration
robot failing to enter data in 30% of the cases. enabled them to easily validate the data
against SAP earlier in the process, resulting
The process to create and change materials in
in a success rate of over 99% .
SAP is complex, and the company estimated
a seven month-long IT development timeline
to make the process work correctly with the
generic RPA solution they had chosen.
99%
CORRECT
DATA
Validate against SAP Approve request Create or change
material
All SAP rules +
Fill in Excel additional business rules
or e-form
SYSTEM-LEVEL
INTEGRATION—A KEY TO Authors in the
Business users execute
processes using Excel
SUCCESS business or IT record
transactions with
with Winshuttle add-in
or Winshuttle-enabled
Earlier we learned that generic RPA solutions record and Winshuttle Studio
web forms
execute processes via SAP GUI, which can lead to process
failure, poor performance, and data quality issues.

With Winshuttle software, business users record the process

they want to automate by stepping through the process
in the SAP GUI—the key difference is what happens in the Execution is 4
CAN RECORD
background. Instead of just saving cursor position, label names THROUGH SAP GUI
times faster than
and clicks, as is the case with generic RPA tools, Winshuttle RPA generic tools
SAP GUI
software records system-level data (table and field information)
in the automation script.
SCRIPT SAVES
SYSTEM LEVEL DATA
That script is then mapped to either an Excel workbook or web
form which business people use to provide or review data. The
Winshuttle script exchanges data with SAP in the background
SCRIPT EXECUTES
via direct RFC calls, without rendering all the screens in the THROUGH THE
SAP GUI, improving performance by 400%*, and making the APPLICATION LAYER
solution immune to any interface changes that can cause
generic robotic solutions to crash.

Winshuttle integrates with SAP

*Performance comparison made processing an MM02 (Material Change)
through the application layer
transaction with 1000 records and about 25 fields to update per record. Using a
Winshuttle automation script, the task was processed four times quicker than to deliver fast performance and
using an RPA generic approach, under the same system conditions robust robotic automation.
As the processes change very often, we
need to react and change the automation scripts
accordingly. With Winshuttle we can change them
directly without opening a ticket to IT. We just go to
the tool and change the script to handle changes and
potential errors that might come from things like a new
SAP release. For example, at month end closing period
when timing is critical, we can change our scripts in half
an hour. It’s very effective for us.
BUILT-IN ERROR AND
EXCEPTION HANDLING
Trying to build in error and exception handling into generic RPA
solutions can be a very technical, time-consuming and expensive
endeavor, even for, what seems at the surface, to be a simple process.
With Winshuttle business people can easily step into the robotic
process to correct errors, check data and even validate data against a
live SAP system before the data is entered.
This approach both improves data quality and prevents glitches that
can cause the robotic process to fail.

Péter Barta
Fixed Asset team leader,
Vodafone
I’ve been working 10 years in Finance as
an end user and 5 years in IT, involved
in the implementation of an RPA tool at
a major Oil & Gas group, and Winshuttle
is the first RPA solution I see that is truly
business oriented.
James Archibald
IT Project Manager, Corporate Functions
EMPOWER BUSINESS
TEAMS FOR AUTOMATION
AT SCALE
People in, or close to the business are in the best position to
identify and automate the repetitive, time-consuming processes
that shrink morale and lower productivity. Winshuttle provides an
agile and user-friendly environment for business teams, enabling
them to automate their processes at a speed and scale not
possible with tools designed for IT professionals.
Rather than worrying about being replaced by a virtual workforce,
business users can eliminate mundane tasks, and do what
humans do best—reason, analyze and make informed decisions—
transforming the relationship between man and machine from
rivalry to partnership.
GET FASTER ROI
While most generic RPA tools require 3 to 6 months for initial
implementation and then between two and four weeks to
automate each process, an RPA solution built for SAP can deliver
value in a matter of weeks or even days.
Winshuttle offers a suite of SAP data management solutions
including Winshuttle Studio, a desktop app that enables business
users to roll out Excel-based automation solutions quickly and
even schedule them to run unattended in the background. If your
process requires multiple people or departments to provide or
approve data, you can use Winshuttle Foundation to automate
the entire process.
We’re seeing productivity improvements on
the order of 25,360 hours per year, which is equal
to approximately $1.3 million in personnel costs.
In addition to all that, we’re saving about $525,000
annually by booking receivables earlier than ever. So, I
guess you could say that we’ve seen much more than a
return on our Winshuttle investment. We will
see the return many, many times over.
Joseph Wieczorek
Executive Director -
Master Data Organization,
Reynolds Leveraged Services
SUCCESS STORY

MAKING QUICK WORK Pilot Overview: Invoice processing

OF AN INVOICE BACKLOG
Aecon, a leading Canadian construction, and infrastructure AECON
AP STAFF
development company, was struggling to process around
300,000 invoices a year, with each accounts payable staff VENDORS
member tasked with manually entering about 50 invoices
each day—a tedious, manual task.

Aecon turned to Winshuttle to automate their AP process,

and the results were swift and impressive. Deployed 1 2 3

in less than two months, the robotic solution cleared

the backlog of invoices in three weeks. Vendor Vendors send Check for missing Pull PO data from SAP in real Create MIRO
invoices via Excel data in Excel time using Winshuttle invoices with PDF
relations improved thanks to on-time payments, template along backup in SAP
with PDF backup Compare real-time PO data
overtime for Aecon staff was eliminated, as was with vendor invoice data
with Winshuttle
the need to hire temporary workers.
Setup invoice load template
Additionally, Aecon’s AP employees had time with custom validations

to work on higher-value tasks and could

provide the business with accurate, up-to-date
information on invoices when queries arose.

By achieving fast results and ROI with this initial pilot

project, the Aecon shared services team were able to
obtain executive buy-in to continue their automation
journey, and are currently working on automating
several processes end to end.
PROVEN TIME SAVINGS SAP TRANSACTION CODE
AVG. WORKING DAYS
SAVED PER CUSTOMER
PROCESSING
TIME SAVED
This table shows some of the top SAP transactions
Winshuttle customers have automated over the past two VK11 - Create Condition Records 1,782 79%
years (2016-2017). The average time savings is based
on a comparison against the same transaction handled MM02 - Change Material 959 77%
manually in SAP. Since 2003, Winshuttle has helped
thousands of companies automate their SAP processes VD02 - Customer Change (Sales) 730 84%
and free up staff to work higher-value tasks.
XD02 - Customer Change 404 89%

ME12 - Change Purchasing Info Record 392 83%

IE02 - Change Equipment 338 75%

I welcome the introduction of robotic
processing automation, which is eliminating FB01 - Post Document: Header Data 286 91%
the tedium of data inputting; allowing
our colleagues more time to engage with VA02 - Change Sales Order 127 67%
customers on higher value services and
XK02 - Vendor Change 75 77%
ensuring we deliver the right benefit to the
right people at the right time.

Jane Errington
Operations Manager, ENGIE
CHOOSING THE RIGHT RPA DEPLOYMENT MODEL Do not try and make one RPA tool
answer all your organization’s
There are different ways an RPA solution built for SAP can help drive automation needs.

your automation journey. Gartner

DEPLOY SAP-SPECIFIC RPA FOR SAP

Some companies will use generic RPA tools for non-SAP PROCESSES WHILE USING GENERIC
processes and turn to SAP-specific solutions if data resides on an RPA SOLUTIONS FOR OTHER
SAP ERP system. PROCESSES.

Other organizations combine generic RPA tools with SAP-specific

COMBINE GENERIC RPA WITH SAP-
RPA solutions to build an end-to-end solution that may involve
SPECIFIC RPA FOR PROCESSES THAT
multiple data sources, and where specific software is used to
INVOLVE SAP.
automate any interactions with SAP.

If the process you want to automate is a pure SAP one, there is

no need to use a generic RPA tool. The best course of action is
DEPLOY SAP-SPECIFIC RPA TO START
to use an SAP-specific RPA solution from the outset to speed
AUTOMATION JOURNEY.
deployment timeline, reduce costs, and enjoy faster and more
robust performance.
It isn’t about replacing people with robots
anymore, or savings – it’s about taking the
robot out of the person, freeing them to do
higher-value tasks, to deliver better services
that improve the customer journey.
Jonathan Kidd
Head of digital operations and robotic,
Bank of Ireland
With digital transformation initiatives,
there’s a shift from removing headcount to
getting more value from staff – and RPA is
playing a key part in this.
Phil Fersht
CEO at analyst company HfS Research
KEY TAKEAWAYS WHEN
CONSIDERING RPA FOR YOUR
SAP PROCESSES
Many enterprise applications, including SAP’s ERP platform, require
a lot of manual, repetitive work—work that can drain morale, lower
productivity, and introduce data errors. RPA done correctly ‘takes the
robot out of the human,’ enabling your people to work on higher-value
tasks and make a real impact on the business.
Also, successful RPA deployments can dramatically increase both
productivity and data quality—helping your organization move closer
to the digital enterprise of the future—one where speed, agility, and
accuracy are paramount concerns.
If you’re thinking about implementing an RPA solution for your SAP
processes, you should consider the following:
• No one RPA tool will meet all enterprise needs for automation.
Companies are increasingly evaluating specialized RPA solutions
for faster ROI and more robust operations.
• Organizations that have had the most success with RPA first
implemented limited-scope pilots to prove ROI and effectiveness
before scaling up.
• Business teams are in the best position to automate their processes
and solve problems. Giving them a business-friendly automation
platform will enable your organization to deploy solutions at scale,
faster and more cost-effectively than IT-centric tools.
Winshuttle software empowers business teams to make an impact through
solutions that make it quick and easy to exchange data with SAP using Excel,
streamline SAP business processes using forms and workflows, and improve
data quality using data stewardship capabilities.

Its business led, IT-enabled solutions enable users to automate processes and
solve problems without compromising security or governance. Business teams
can author solutions across lines of business and the SAP landscape, speeding
product launches and financial accounting processes, streamlining customer
and vendor onboarding, improving plant maintenance efficiency, tackling data
migration projects, and much more. Learn more about Winshuttle’s SAP data
management solutions by visiting www.winshuttle.com/rpa.

References
HfS Research: The RPA Bible
Gartner: Market Guide for Robotic Process Automation Software
ENGIE – Getting Robotic Process Automation
The Forrester Wave™: Robotic Process Automation, Q2 2018
ComputerWeekly: Nine out of 10 enterprises will use robotic process
automation by 2020
ISG Research - RPA in Europe: enterprise plans, budgets & organizational impact
Deloitte – The robots are ready. Are you?