Digital transformation and RPA (Robotic Process Automation) also concern our local authorities.
Jura-based Digital Solutions SA, a leader in robotic process automation (or RPA), is setting up its first “robots” in Courgenay, a small commune in the Jura region. A development born of a meeting between Xavier Van Nuvel, CEO of Digital Solutions SA, and Didier Jolissaint, Mayor of Courgenay. Both are convinced that digital transformation stimulates growth, improves quality of working life and makes processes safer, notably by minimizing the risk of human error through the use of these robots.
In just a few weeks, they launched this ambitious project. The idea is simple: identify the recurring activities faced by municipal employees, and respond to them with software robots capable of learning, reproducing and executing these jobs according to business rules. This is an innovative way of supporting local staff, giving them more time to optimize their skills, and enabling them to invest in higher value-added activities. According to UiPath1, a Digital Solutions SA partner and market leader in RPA in Switzerland and worldwide, Courgenay is the first Swiss municipality to install “robots” using its technology.
Robot solutions for Courgenay
During the search for use cases with the commune’s managers, taxation was identified as the department where the automation of processes by robotics could bring real added value. With the aim of lightening certain recurring activities and thwarting data entry errors, two perimeters have been clearly identified: firstly, the monthly tax regularization requested by the canton, a responsibility that obliges the employee to spend 2 tedious days a month checking, adjusting and correcting changes in tax years. “The robotization of this process by a software program carries out the work automatically. The benefits are immediate: it saves time, avoids typing errors and ensures that all entries are accounted for. The second area where automated processes make sense is the taxpayer register. A custom-developed robot in the form of a virtual workstation administers all changes in the status of citizens, recording and correcting them and forwarding them to the relevant cantonal authorities. These solutions, designed for Courgenay, can of course be applied to other Swiss communities.
Digitization, automation and robotization of business processes
Whatever your business, being a player in the digitalization process has become essential. According to a study by the McKinsey Institute2 based on 1,500 executives, those leading the digital race are transforming their companies 5 times faster, with 2 times more intensity, than their peers. Our local authorities face the same challenges. Digital Solutions SA designs software robots for companies and local authorities, analyzing digital operations performed by human beings, while respecting business rules. These software robots interact with systems and applications of all kinds in the same way as human beings do, with a few differences: they are operational 24 hours a day, work faster and more error-free, and above all enable staff to free themselves from tedious activities by concentrating on those with high added value, highlighting their expertise.
Rapid expansion
“Ongoing digitalization, accelerated by the health crisis and the context of social distancing, has brought our field to the fore. IT companies like Digital Solutions SA, offering real support in the digital transformation of companies and institutions, have many challenges to meet, in partnership with their customers. We listen to our customers, constantly innovating in the development of tailor-made tools to enable them to gain in precision, comfort and efficiency, while shaking up the codes of what is being done in our sector with RPA in particular”, explains Xavier Van Nuvel. Digital Solutions SA is expanding rapidly, with sales up 50%. It currently employs 42 people from 17 different professions. The company is constantly recruiting new specialists, and is preparing to open 4 new sites in Switzerland this year.
1
Software robots with
UiPath
the Swiss and world leader in RPA in terms of market share.
2
“Just how fast is the ‘speed of digital’? Now we know”, McKinsey, July, 2019.
About Digital Solutions SA
IT integrator, developer and service provider, Digital Solutions SA, founded in 2016 in Porrentruy, combines agility, innovation and performance. It has offices in Basel, Lausanne, Geneva, Martigny, and soon in Fribourg, Berne, Zürich and Delémont. In addition to robotic process automation, Digital Solutions SA works on integration and innovation, software development, consulting and outsourcing.
More information
Digital Solutions SA
Mr. Xavier Van Nuvel (CEO)
M +41 79 100 91 23
Municipality of Courgenay
Mr Didier Jolissaint (Mayor)
M +41 78 904 73 56
