What did the implementation process look like?
The process consisted of four stages:
Stage 1: Acquisition of source documents
The RPA technology robot logs into the eBOK customer service system portals of the electricity retailer and distributor at least once a day from Monday to Friday and retrieves documents that have not been downloaded since the last login. Documents are downloaded, i.e.: invoices, calls for payment, contractual penalties, interest notes and other documents available for download. Documents are downloaded in source format under a unique name containing at least the document number so that further processing and data retrieval is possible. The average annual number of documents to be downloaded can reach 20,000.
Stage 2: Data extraction from documents and their analysis
The contractor, using the prepared process automation solution, identifies the type of source document and transforms it into a digital data stream through a data mapping mechanism. The data extracted from the documents feeds the created database. For documents of the invoice type, an established set of data is downloaded, which is necessary for the execution of the process.
At the ordering stage of the project, it was assumed that the documents made available on the vendor's and distributor's eBOK would be in PDF format in the form of embedded text data in these documents, and no document content recognition (OCR-ing) process would be necessary.
Stage 3: Distribution of documents
Based on the list containing the link between PPE and e-mail address, all documents can be sent to the indicated e-mail addresses. In addition, the system must allow simple editing of PPE - e-mail address links. If there is more than 1 PPE number associated with different e-mail addresses on a document, the document is sent to all e-mail addresses indicated in the linkage.
In the case of documents on which there is no PPE number, but which are linked to another source document, e.g., summons, note, the system forwards these documents according to the PPE occurring on the source documents. In addition, a report is generated with information about the retrieved documents, documents that have been sent to the units and documents that could not be delivered to the units.
In the case of non-delivery, the report includes a description of the error allowing to make appropriate corrections, and in the case of failure to deliver a document due to lack of recognition of PPE, lack of PPE - e-mail link, inability to link a document downloaded without PPE with a source document from PPE, after a certain number of attempts, such a document is directed to the e-mail address listed in the configuration.
Stage 4: Archiving of documents and data
The system allows you to define a period after which a specific type of documents is deleted from both the database and the files corresponding to entries in the database are deleted. By default, this period is 5 years from the moment of downloading.
The system was delivered as a solution installed on the ordering party's servers - in an environment with specific parameters. All additional services, such as outgoing mail handling, prepared database must be configured and provided by the Contractor.