Businesses often rely on enterprise systems to manage important operational processes such as registrations, applications, documentation, customer records, compliance activities, and internal approvals. However, not every enterprise system provides modern integration capabilities. In some cases, an existing ERP system may have no accessible APIs, no direct database access, and no option for modification.<\/span><\/p>\n When such systems are critical to daily operations, employees may be required to manually log in, enter information, upload documents, submit applications, and collect generated records. These repetitive activities consume significant time and can also introduce human errors.<\/span><\/p>\n CnEL India worked on a project concept focused on solving this type of operational challenge through Robotic Process Automation (RPA). The objective was to automate interactions with an existing ERP entirely through its user interface while keeping the process reliable, recoverable, and protected against duplicate records.<\/span><\/p>\n The project required more than basic screen automation. The automation needed to perform a complete business workflow, including login, application creation, company information entry, shareholder and beneficial ownership information, document uploads, submission, and retrieval of registration numbers and generated documents.<\/span><\/p>\n The most important requirement was reliability. Every automated process needed to be recoverable if an unexpected issue occurred, while preventing duplicate submissions.<\/span><\/p>\n The client was working with an existing ERP system that could not be modified and did not provide APIs or direct database access.<\/span><\/p>\n This created a significant integration challenge.<\/span><\/p>\n Normally, a business application can be connected to another system through structured interfaces. However, when those interfaces are unavailable, the automation layer must interact with the application in the same way a human employee would.<\/span><\/p>\n The automation therefore needed to operate through the ERP’s visible user interface.<\/span><\/p>\n The business workflow included several important steps:<\/span><\/p>\n Because the workflow involved business and registration information, accuracy and process control were essential.<\/span><\/p>\n Before developing automation, it was important to understand the complete business process.<\/span><\/p>\n RPA projects are most successful when automation is designed around the actual business workflow rather than simply automating individual clicks.<\/span><\/p>\n CnEL India’s approach began with process analysis.<\/span><\/p>\n The workflow was reviewed from the initial application stage through final registration and document retrieval. Each step was considered in terms of inputs, actions, outputs, possible errors, and dependencies.<\/span><\/p>\n The analysis focused on questions such as:<\/span><\/p>\n This process analysis created a foundation for designing reliable automation.<\/span><\/p>\n Since the ERP did not provide APIs or database access, the automation had to operate through its user interface.<\/span><\/p>\n This meant the automated process needed to behave similarly to a trained employee.<\/span><\/p>\n The automation could navigate through screens, interact with fields, select options, upload documents, submit forms, and read information displayed by the ERP.<\/span><\/p>\n However, UI-based automation is more complex than simply reproducing a fixed sequence of clicks.<\/span><\/p>\n Web pages and enterprise applications can behave differently depending on loading times, validation messages, session states, or unexpected changes. Therefore, the automation needed to be designed with appropriate checks and recovery mechanisms.<\/span><\/p>\n The objective was to make the workflow resilient rather than dependent on perfect execution every time.<\/span><\/p>\n One of the central requirements was the automated creation of applications.<\/span><\/p>\n The process begins when the automation receives the required information for a new application.<\/span><\/p>\n It then navigates to the appropriate section of the ERP and begins entering the required information.<\/span><\/p>\n The workflow can include:<\/span><\/p>\n Each stage needs to be completed correctly before moving to the next stage.<\/span><\/p>\n This structured workflow helps reduce incomplete submissions and makes the automation easier to monitor.<\/span><\/p>\n Company and ownership information can contain multiple fields and relationships.<\/span><\/p>\n The automation therefore needs to handle structured information carefully.<\/span><\/p>\n Company details may include organization-level information, while shareholder and beneficial ownership information may involve multiple individuals or entities.<\/span><\/p>\n A reliable automation process needs to understand these relationships and enter the information into the appropriate sections of the ERP.<\/span><\/p>\n Validation is particularly important at this stage.<\/span><\/p>\n If required information is missing or incorrectly formatted, the automation should identify the issue rather than blindly continuing.<\/span><\/p>\n This helps reduce failed applications and unnecessary rework.<\/span><\/p>\n Document handling was another important component of the workflow.<\/span><\/p>\n Applications often require supporting documents that must be uploaded before submission.<\/span><\/p>\n The automation needs to identify the appropriate documents, associate them with the correct application, and upload them to the relevant sections of the ERP.<\/span><\/p>\n Document handling also introduces additional risks.<\/span><\/p>\n A file could be missing, incorrectly named, unavailable, or associated with the wrong application. Therefore, the automation should perform appropriate checks before proceeding.<\/span><\/p>\n The process should also verify that the upload was successfully completed before moving forward.<\/span><\/p>\n This type of validation improves reliability and reduces the risk of incomplete submissions.<\/span><\/p>\n After all required information and documents have been entered, the application can be submitted.<\/span><\/p>\n Submission is one of the most sensitive points in the workflow because an accidental duplicate submission can create operational and administrative problems.<\/span><\/p>\n The automation therefore needs to determine whether an application has already been submitted before attempting the action again.<\/span><\/p>\n Once the ERP confirms successful submission, the automation can capture the registration number or other confirmation information.<\/span><\/p>\n This information becomes an important reference for tracking the application and retrieving related documents.<\/span><\/p>\n Preventing duplicate records was one of the most important requirements of the project.<\/span><\/p>\n In automated workflows, interruptions can create uncertainty.<\/span><\/p>\n For example, an automation may submit an application successfully but fail before recording the registration number. If the workflow is simply restarted from the beginning, it could attempt to create the same application again.<\/span><\/p>\n To prevent this, the automation process needs a reliable state-management approach.<\/span><\/p>\n Each application should have a unique reference or identifying information that allows the system to determine its current status.<\/span><\/p>\n Possible states can include:<\/span><\/p>\n By tracking these states, the automation can determine where a workflow stopped and continue from the appropriate point instead of restarting blindly.<\/span><\/p>\n Recoverability was another core requirement.<\/span><\/p>\n Automated workflows can encounter unexpected situations such as session expiration, page-loading problems, validation errors, network interruptions, or changes in application behavior.<\/span><\/p>\n A reliable RPA system should be able to handle such situations gracefully.<\/span><\/p>\n CnEL India’s approach emphasizes designing automation workflows with checkpoints.<\/span><\/p>\n After important stages, the process can record its current state. If an interruption occurs, the workflow can identify the last successfully completed stage and continue from there.<\/span><\/p>\n For example, if all documents have been uploaded but the submission step has not yet been completed, the automation should not repeat the entire application process.<\/span><\/p>\n Instead, it should recognize the existing progress and resume from the appropriate point.<\/span><\/p>\n This approach improves efficiency and significantly reduces the risk of duplicate records.<\/span><\/p>\n Error handling is essential for business-critical automation.<\/span><\/p>\n Not every issue should result in the entire workflow stopping without explanation.<\/span><\/p>\n The automation should distinguish between different types of errors.<\/span><\/p>\n Examples include:<\/span><\/p>\n Depending on the situation, the workflow can retry an action, pause for review, continue from a checkpoint, or mark the application for manual intervention.<\/span><\/p>\n This provides greater control over the automation process.<\/span><\/p>\n Automation should not become a black box.<\/span><\/p>\n Businesses need visibility into what happened during each workflow.<\/span><\/p>\n A well-designed automation process can maintain records of important activities such as:<\/span><\/p>\nProject Background<\/b><\/h2>\n
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Understanding the Business Process<\/b><\/h2>\n
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UI-Based ERP Automation<\/b><\/h2>\n
Application Creation Workflow<\/b><\/h2>\n
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Handling Company and Ownership Information<\/b><\/h2>\n
Document Upload Automation<\/b><\/h2>\n
Submission and Registration Number Retrieval<\/b><\/h2>\n
Duplicate Prevention<\/b><\/h2>\n
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Recoverable Automation<\/b><\/h2>\n
Error Handling<\/b><\/h2>\n
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Process Monitoring and Visibility<\/b><\/h2>\n
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