Ditching labor-intensive paper-based processes: Process automation in a Czech insurance company

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Reference

Marek, J., Blümlein, K., Neubauer, J., & Wehking, C. (2019). Ditching labor-intensive paper-based processes: Process automation in a Czech insurance company. Paper presented at the Business Process Management Conference (Industry Forum), Vienna, Austria.

Publication type

Paper in Conference Proceedings

Abstract

(a) Situation faced: The insurance company Generali CEE Holding faced two types of challenges. From an external perspective, the company had to tackle challenges concerning digital transformation, regulatory compliance, and new legislation. From an internal perspective, the company faced a legacy of paper- based process documentation as well as process and workflow inconsistencies. (b) Action taken: In the digital age, paper-based processes are obsolete and obstruct progress. Based on an Agile project management approach, Generali CEE Holding ditched its labor-intensive paper processes for corporate risk underwriting during a company-wide transformation project, integrated their processes and data into one robust platform, and implemented robotic process automation software to significantly boost productivity and efficiency. (c) Results achieved: The new platform and robotic process automation software helped Generali CEE Holding make their processes consistent, automate their inter-company workflows, and enhance employee and customer satisfaction. It also ensured compliance with ever-changing laws and regulations in their corporate risk underwriting. (d) Lessons learned: Simply ditching paper-based processes by digitizing them or deploying a solution for robotic process automation does not guarantee a desired goal. It requires a lot of effort in terms of time and resources. This project demonstrated that a radical change from paper-based processes to robotic automation in a short period of time was possible by starting small and focusing on a smaller sample of processes, making use of an Agile project management approach, and connecting the business and the IT departments in the endeavor.

Persons

Organizational Units

  • Institute of Information Systems
  • Hilti Chair of Business Process Management

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