1. Why should a company implement this type of automation?

As a company grows in scope and customer base, it becomes necessary to implement technologies that streamline processes and minimize errors.

2. What are the key steps for a successful back-office automation implementation?

Involvement of all stakeholders. For a proper implementation, everyone must work toward a common goal—strategic, tactical, and operational teams alike. Everyone needs to be engaged with the project. Often, there’s fear among staff of being replaced or losing control over processes. If leadership is not involved or does not prioritize the initiative, it simply won’t succeed.

Thorough data gathering. If there isn’t a clearly defined “AS IS”—a detailed understanding of how things are currently done, including all processes and variables—then there won’t be a solid foundation for automation.

Choosing the right implementation partner. If the automation is outsourced, the partner must be experienced. A cost-benefit analysis is key here. The vendor should provide a detailed Gantt chart with all phases of the implementation. The scope of the proposal must align with your expectations. If the initial assessment was weak, the scope will likely be flawed, leading to failure.

Clear deliverables, including process change manuals. The implementation must go beyond the knowledge of a single individual. If only one person understands the process and they leave or change roles, the system may collapse. That’s why strong documentation, proper training, and knowledge transfer are essential.

3. What measures are important to ensure data security and protection during this implementation?

Depending on the process being automated, various levels of security apply. For example, we are currently working on a host-to-host system implementation with banks. This involves ensuring that files transferred from SAP to the bank remain unchanged throughout the process. Encryption, secure servers, and data integrity are key. For reports and custom developments, access control is critical. In platforms like Power BI, not everyone should have access, as they could view sensitive information. Key points include access levels, user roles, and file security.

4. What implementations should support areas of a company prioritize?

When reviewing processes, there are often highly manual transactions that consume the time of in-demand resources. These transactions should be assessed based on time consumption and then analyzed for cost-benefit and efficiency. This allows companies to reduce the operational burden significantly.

5. Do clients benefit from administrative automation?

In some cases, yes—especially for processes like invoicing. It enhances client interactions and streamlines transactions. For example, we now send invoices directly to our clients' servers or upload them to their billing platforms. This eliminates manual entry and physical delivery, making our operations more agile and our transactions more traceable.

6. What implementations has Dinet carried out, and how have they benefited the company?

The implementation of SAP was a major milestone. It’s the core ERP for all our income and expense processes. It started years ago, initially covering accounting and treasury, and was later expanded to procurement and HR. Over time, we’ve added various modules. Another major platform is Adaptive Planning, which we use for budgeting. It was implemented several years ago and re-implemented two years ago to improve its efficiency. This tool has simplified processes, increased agility, and allowed for a high level of detail in our cost and performance management systems.

7. Which processes have benefited the most?

Mainly the transactional processes in accounting—specifically income assurance and payment management, which are vital in any company. SAP provides a high level of transactional security. It ensures that processes include controls, approval levels, and multiple validations before any payment or invoice is made. This secures both inflows and outflows and even supports external reporting (e.g., to SUNAT).

Our transactional operations have greatly improved since we implemented our first RPA (robotic process automation) in 2020. These "robots" help reduce the manual workload in transactional tasks. So far, we’ve implemented four robots in the Finance area, including one for the Invoice Reception Center (CRF), which automates invoice registration.

Conclusion:
"It’s always important to clearly analyze the benefits that automation can bring. Often, automation is pursued to save costs, but if there’s no follow-up, it can end up generating unnecessary expenses."