Robotic Process Automation (RPA) promised to be a silver bullet for reducing costs and eliminating repetitive work. But in 2025, many companies are quietly shelving their RPA projects after months (or years) of sunk costs and poor results.
So what’s going wrong?
At FhosLabs, we’ve worked with enterprises across finance, logistics, and retail to rescue failed RPA initiatives and replace them with sustainable, intelligent automation strategies.
Here’s why most RPA projects fail—and how to get yours back on track.
Common Pitfalls of RPA Failure
1. Lack of Process Standardisation
You can’t automate chaos.
If your business processes vary from team to team or are undocumented, RPA will break at the first exception.
Example: An insurer tried to automate claim approvals—but each adjuster had a different process. Bots failed daily.
2. Bad or Incomplete Data
RPA depends on structured, predictable inputs.
Unclean spreadsheets, inconsistent naming, and disconnected systems kill automation accuracy.
Red flag: If your bot can’t tell the difference between “invoice”, “inv.”, and “inv#”, it’s not ready for prime time.
3. Building Too Much Too Soon
Many teams try to automate entire workflows in one go.
This leads to fragile, overengineered bots that collapse under complexity.
Better approach: Start small, test often, scale smart.
4. No User Involvement
RPA projects built without frontline input = disaster.
Process assumptions rarely match real-world user behaviour.
Fix: Involve operations teams early, test with real users, and get feedback loops in place.
How to Get RPA Right (and Unlock Real ROI)
1. Start With Process Mining
Use process discovery tools (e.g. Celonis, UiPath Process Mining, Microsoft Minit) to map real workflows before building bots.
Benefit: Data-driven view of inefficiencies, bottlenecks, and automation-readiness.
2. Train the People Before You Train the Bot
Your employees need to understand what’s changing.
Invest in workshops, clear documentation, and change champions to ensure adoption and reduce fear.
3. Build Iteratively
Start with low-risk, high-impact use cases (e.g. invoice entry, password resets). Prove value, then expand.
Treat RPA like software: test → iterate → scale.
4. Use Smart Automation, Not Just Bots
Modern automation isn’t just about keystrokes.
Combine RPA with:
- AI/ML for document understanding or classification
- APIs for more stable integrations
- Orchestration tools for workflow control
FhosLabs Insight: The best automation blends RPA, AI, and human-in-the-loop design—not just screen scraping.
Case Studies: When RPA Works
Finance
Problem: Manual fraud case logging across 3 disconnected systems
Solution: RPA bot integrated with AI text summarisation + automated case creation
Result: 65% reduction in case handling time, 0 compliance breaches
Retail
Problem: Daily product price updates across hundreds of SKUs
Solution: Hybrid bot using RPA + eSEL integration + validation alerts
Result: 90% faster updates, near-zero human errors
Logistics
Problem: Booking shipments required 6 manual forms + email coordination
Solution: API + RPA workflow with auto-booking and Slack integration
Result: Saved 800+ hours per month
Talk to Us About Rescuing Your RPA Strategy
At FhosLabs, we don’t just build bots—we design intelligent, scalable automation that actually delivers business outcomes.
Whether you need to fix a fragile implementation or design a smart workflow from scratch, we’ll guide you from audit to rollout.
Talk to us about rescuing your RPA strategy.
Book a call or get in touch here and let’s turn your automation headache into a success story.
FHoslabs: Based in London – Delivering smart automation globally.