In Haavind we believe in more simple and efficient processes through automation. We have therefore developed a “bankruptcy robot” that contributes to streamlining the bankruptcy proceedings.

“Within bankruptcy there is a lot of standardized information retrieval and standard documents. Even though we have had good templates for this, we could see that automation of this work could save a lot of time”, says Erik Andersen, who works with bankruptcy proceedings on a daily basis.

The solution was to develop a robot that automatically retrieves relevant information and creates a first draft of the documentation.

“A lot of the information is already available through other sources of information services, but some of the key data was not available in a structured format. In order to get hold of this information efficiently we developed our own web crawlers to search documents and public web sites and retrieve the information we need”, explains Arne Steen Slåttå, Director of Digital Innovation in Haavind.

The new robot makes the work more efficient, but Ellen Schult Ulriksen – Head of Restructuring and Insolvency in Haavind, and one of the company’s two trustees – does not believe that the department will be superfluous any time soon.

“We embrace and welcome the new technology, and it helps to streamline parts of the workflow so that we can allocate our resources more efficiently. However, today, the solution is one of many tasks in bankruptcy management primarily aimed at realizing and increasing value in the best possible way for the creditors. At present, these tasks cannot be left to the machines alone to handle, and there will be a need for human judgment and control regarding bankruptcy proceedings for at least a few years to come.”

The project has had positive side effects beyond making the workflow more efficient. “The project has proved useful to both our customers and us. Today’s technology opens up to new opportunities, not only because we can do things that were impossible just a few years ago, but because solutions like our “bankruptcy robot” is now far easier and thus more cost effective to develop and train”, says Arne Steen Slåttå.

In Haavind we are always looking for ways to work more efficiently in order to create the most value for our customers. This project has taught us a lot about the possibilities for automation and we are running other similar projects.