It is perfect for situations like these, where tasks are largely repetitive, one set of data is shared across multiple manual processes and departments, and manual updates are required by various parties.
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Dec 2018
Robotics takes the strain with repetitive tasks
Handling charter flights is a growing element of Hactl’s activities in which the company provides a full portfolio of services including slot application, through cargo receiving at any of subsidiary Hacis’ mainland China depots; cross-border road transportation to Hong Kong International Airport; unloading; logging of condition, weight and piece count; plus any value-added service required, such as labelling.
But success comes at a price: a massive increase in paperwork and manual processes for Hactl’s Finance Department, and all of it urgent - because charter flights generally happen at short notice.
A typical charter flight requires inputting of the carrier’s flight schedule, the charterer’s information for charging, and often complex details of the services being provided by Hactl, as well as external supplies such as cranes, road haulage, escorts, catering, and aircraft maintenance, along with all their costs.
This can all take several hours, and involve communication between staff from up to five different departments; so consider the total time and resources necessary to process around 500 charter flights every year. And one missing piece of information can hold up the whole process.
One dataset, shared with everyone
Enter Robotic Process Automation (RPA): a technology that automates repetitive data handling tasks, using one initial dataset which drives the entire process and accommodates subsequent manual updates.
Hactl’s Information Services and Finance teams worked together to map and analyse the old manual process, removed redundant processes, and introduced new stages that would enhance control and improve communications to all stakeholders.
It took 5 months - from the initial specification, through testing and de-bugging - to roll out the new system. RPA now collects all the data necessary for pro-forma invoicing, applies the customer deposit, adjusts the final bill with any subsequent additional cost items, and issues a final bill – all automatically. It also chases up any missing information that might delay the process, using smart email remind
20 years on, and still innovating
Now it’s fully-functional, and saving many man-hours per week - enabling staff to switch their attention to more customer-focused activities. At the same time as improving efficiency and reducing work, RPA has improved accuracy, made data more accessible to all parties, and enhanced customer service.
Says Hactl’s Executive Director, Cindy Ng: “RPA is making a tremendous and positive impact on the way our Finance Department deals with our growing charter business. It is perfect for situations like these, where tasks are largely repetitive, one set of data is shared across multiple manual processes and departments, and manual updates are required by various parties.
“Now that RPA has demonstrated its value in this aspect of our business, we intend to apply the same technology in many other areas such as Human Resources, Service Delivery, Operation Services, and Learning and Development. It’s exciting to think that, twenty years after Hactl opened the most advanced cargo terminal in the world, we are still innovating and still finding new and better ways of working.”
