Organizations are increasingly embracing technology, and automation has been among the most notable adoption processes. Engaging in this shift is Naresh Kumar Rapolu, who has led large-scale automation initiatives using SAP Intelligent Robotic Process Automation (IRPA) to influence how enterprises manage their business operations. Here, we look at his experience to try to grasp how he has automated tasks and business processes through the utilization of technology.
In his role, Rapolu has implemented SAP IRPA to automate rule-based, repetitive tasks across departments such as finance, supply chain, and human resources. By integrating smart bots into systems like SAP S/4HANA and SAP ECC (control systems), Rapolu enabled automation of tasks ranging from master data management and report generation to compliance verification.
Additionally, he developed reusable automation libraries on SAP BTP (a toolbox that helps enterprises integrate, build and extend applications) and established standardized, adaptable bot templates for use across various departments and subsidiaries. He led the organization-wide automation strategy and played a pivotal role in the establishment of the automation Center of Excellence (CoE).
The aim was to eliminate repetitive manual tasks across finance, supply chain, HR, and compliance operations, enabling business units to focus on strategic, high-value initiatives, thus improving overall operational efficiency. By leveraging automation, he and his team aligned process improvements with cloud-first strategies on SAP BTP and hybrid environments (Azure/AWS). Further, automating compliance-heavy tasks such as audit report generation and regulatory data entry allowed him to reduce human errors, maintain audit trails, and ensure adherence to industry regulations.
The results have been noticeable. One of Rapolu’s standout contributions was designing a fully automated invoice processing system. By combining SAP IRPA with Document Information Extraction services, his team reduced invoice processing times by 60% and improved first-time accuracy to 85%. In finance operations, bots were also developed to automate journal entries, reconciliations, and month-end closing, shortening financial close cycles by 30%.
These projects weren’t limited to finance. Rapolu also oversaw automation in user access management, building bots that connected with SAP BTP’s Identity Authentication Services. The outcome: improved efficiency in user provisioning and access reviews, and critically, zero audit issues flagged during compliance checks. In another initiative, sales order processing was automated to handle inputs from customer communications, enhancing order processing efficiency by 50%.
Despite these successes, there were certain considerations. One of the initial hurdles was building trust in automation among internal stakeholders. “There was a lot of hesitation,” Rapolu explains. “People were concerned about potential errors and a perceived loss of control.” To address this, he and his team led hands-on workshops and live demonstrations that helped stakeholders see the potential benefits and reliability of the technology firsthand.
Another major challenge was preparing legacy processes for automation. Many workflows were undocumented or fragmented across teams. Rapolu’s team collaborated with domain experts and used tools like SAP Signavio to map and optimize these workflows, making them suitable for automation. To further ensure resilience, he integrated exception handling, fallback mechanisms and self-healing capabilities into the bots, using SAP BTP services, enabling them to navigate dynamic, real-world data scenarios more effectively.
Managing and scaling bots across development, QA, and production environments also posed logistical challenges. To enable effective oversight, Rapolu introduced centralized orchestration and monitoring using SAP IRPA Factory and SAP Alert Notification Service, ensuring visibility across the automation landscape.
Reflecting on his experience, Rapolu believes the future of automation lies in ‘smart automation’ over mere ‘robotic automation’. “Automation is evolving,” he says. “We’re moving from rule-based scripts to bots that integrate with AI, machine learning and intelligent decision making”, as facilitated by platforms such as SAP IRPA in conjunction with SAP BTP services. He sees emerging tools like SAP Build Process Automation playing a bigger role, especially as business users, beyond just IT, begin to develop and implement their bots through low-code platforms. These bots will increasingly leverage AI and machine learning for predictive analytics, decision support, and sentiment analysis, rendering them considerably more ‘intelligent’ than the rule-based models of today.
For companies navigating complex hybrid environments, Rapolu advises investing in integration early. In his projects, the integration of SAP IRPA with SAP BTP’s Integration Suite, APIs, and event-driven architectures has significantly minimized operational friction and opened up new digital business models.
Rapolu’s work has left a mark internally, shaping automation practices and delivering measurable improvements in cost savings, compliance, operational speed and efficacy. His approach underscores a broader shift in how enterprises approach automation: not just as a tool for saving time, but as a strategic capability for positive digital change.