Developing procurement processes with RPA in a large international procurement organization : case study in an energy utility company

Abstract

The purpose of this master's thesis is to study how Robotic Process Automation (RPA) can be used to develop procurement processes in a large international procurement organization. The existing scientific literature and white papers on RPA is mainly focused on automated processes in international financial, telecom, and insurance companies. Thus, this thesis aims to broaden the scientific field for capability of RPA in procurement processes. However, the concentration is on the case company's procurement processes. 
\nThe research started with comprehensive review of current scientific publications on RPA and procurement theories, which were used to answer partly the research questions. Also, for the empirical part the data was gathered in semi-structured interviews both in workshops and individual interviews. Data was lastly analyzed by using qualitative research methods. 
\nThe research indicates that RPA can be utilized in certain case company's procurement sub-processes and RPA can be difficult to implement for complex end-to-end processes. Governance of RPA projects is crucial in order to successfully identify, develop and deploy RPA projects. Tasks should be divided between procurement professionals, IT personnel and third party service provider by using the provided RACI-matrix. RPA could be used to develop partly the processes of managing contract compliance, analyzing spend, qualifying suppliers and managing contract renewal and termination. RPA Centre of Excellence team should also be establish in the case company. KPIs for automated processes should be weighted case by case, depending on the desired outcome of the automated process. 
\nThe proposed governance model provides guidelines for implementing RPA projects successfully within corporate procurement at the case company. Benefits for utilizing RPA further at the case company allows personnel in corporate procurement to concentrate on more challenging tasks. Additional benefits of this thesis include the increased awareness of automation tools available. 
\nResearch provides guidelines to identify suitable procurement processes for RPA piloting and provides a governance model for the case company for the future automation projects