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Unlike most enterprises that adopt RPA, Eli Lilly Japan has currently designated IT as both the owner and manager of its entire automation initiative. Under IT’s guidance, the firm uses business process consultants who build up and document an accurate picture of the “as-is” business processes. An IT solution architect then reviews the processes and, with automation in mind, re-imagine them, designing a “to-be” process to deliver the best possible customer experiences and employee productivity gains.

A use case delivered to Eli Lilly Japan’s sales operations is a prime example of joint productivity gains and improved customer experience. Previously, the company’s sales operations had several manual processes associated with the detail representatives, including communications and payment processes with their doctors. The administrative assistants, at Eli Lilly branch offices, were manually processing important information when explicitly asked by sales reps. The manual processes, and consequent delays, impacted the doctors’ experience.

By deploying software bots that automated payment confirmation, as well as generated and distributed personalized notification letters, Eli Lilly Japan was able to improve productivity, speed up notifications to doctors, and equally support all sales reps nationwide. With more than 1,700 reps spread out across Japan, this cumulative productivity improvement translated into significant gains at the affiliate level. Both sales reps and customers reported increased satisfaction with process improvements as a result of automation.