Beyond Automation: How SDARI Is Driving Productivity with Digital Workers
In the IT operations office of the Shanghai Merchant Ship Design and Research Institute (SDARI), several workstations appear unoccupied—yet they never stop working. These desks are powered by Laiye digital workers - intelligent RPA and AI Agents that automate repetitive tasks like financial reconciliation, document distribution, data backups, and cross-network email transfers.
This is not a proof of concept. It is a real-world example of how Laiye's intelligent automation solutions are embedded into SDARI's daily operations.
As a leader in commercial ship design, SDARI has been actively advancing its digital transformation strategy in recent years. The institute has defined a clear three-phase roadmap:
- 2025–2026: Data-centric transformation, turning operational and management data into knowledge
- 2027–2028: Platform-centric transformation, converting knowledge into reusable capabilities through a unified business platform
- 2029–2030: Scenario-centric transformation, enabling capabilities to generate real value across design, delivery, and collaboration
In this journey, the introduction of automation tools and AI Agents marked a critical first step—bringing data to life and enabling workflows to truly run. Facing global customers, cross-time-zone collaboration, high-frequency document processing, and large volumes of management data, SDARI integrated Laiye's digital workers into core business processes. Over three years, adoption expanded from finance to general administration, spanning multiple departments and systems, effectively embedding AI Agents into everyday productivity.
From a single pilot to multi-scenario enablement
The initial pilot originated from a practical challenge in finance. Each month, the finance team needed to process large volumes of reports, timesheet data, project cost calculations, and invoice matching. These tasks were rule-based and repetitive, yet demanded significant time from skilled professionals. After reviewing external automation practices, the team proactively proposed introducing digital workers to reduce daily operational pressure.
The first deployment focused on timesheet consolidation, project cost reporting, and invoice reconciliation. The results were immediate and measurable. As the benefits became visible, digital workers quickly expanded beyond finance into general administration, logistics, and cross-network email management, gradually becoming part of SDARI's invisible operational infrastructure.
More importantly, SDARI did not view automation as a set of fixed, task-bound tools. The institute aimed to build automation capabilities that could be accessed on demand. In recent years, SDARI has evolved from running robots on dedicated machines to a centralized management model. This architectural shift enables employees to trigger automation from their own desktops and, over time, even build simple workflows themselves. Digital workers are no longer confined to the IT department—they are evolving into personal productivity assistants for employees across the organization.
Digital workers as a bridge across time zones
The most immediate impact of digital workers at SDARI has been clear, quantifiable productivity gains. In finance, monthly timesheet processing now saves at least four hours, while project cost reporting reduces weekly workload by one to two hours. Automated invoice reminders have significantly improved reimbursement efficiency, reducing omissions and delays. In general administration, document distribution and meeting material downloads save at least one hour per day, with additional weekly savings from batch operations. Automated data backups in logistics also free up hours daily.
One of the most representative scenarios is cross-network email forwarding. While design work is conducted on an internal network, client communication and drawing exchanges take place externally. Previously, cross-network email handling relied entirely on manual transfers. In large projects, multiple assistants often spent hours each day synchronizing emails. After digital workers took over, emails are now synchronized automatically at high frequency, eliminating manual intervention. This single capability saves approximately 25 work hours per day—nearly 10,000 hours annually.
The value of digital workers became especially evident during a late-night, cross-time-zone delivery for a European shipowner. Specifications needed to be finalized within a tight window between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m. Manual handling could not sustain such intensive collaboration. By configuring scheduled triggers and stable synchronization intervals, digital workers ensured real-time email delivery throughout the night, securing on-time delivery the next day. For SDARI, this moment marked the point at which digital workers truly became part of production operations.
Today, SDARI saves more than 500 hours of manual effort each month—over 7,000 hours annually. Digital workers have moved beyond reducing repetitive tasks to becoming a genuine source of organizational productivity.
From tools to culture: building a digital workforce ecosystem
SDARI's ambition goes beyond deploying automation tools. The institute is actively building a digital workforce ecosystem that everyone can use:
- Platform evolution: Transitioning to centralized management with flexible licensing to support scalable and refined deployment
- Employee enablement: Opening low-code capabilities to employees, enabling business users to build simple workflows and move toward a citizen automation model
- Continuous co-creation: Promoting RPA knowledge through internal training and working closely with Laiye to identify new scenarios and continuously optimize processes
For organizations considering digital workforce solutions, SDARI's IT engineer Kaixuan Yin offers practical advice:
"Start by identifying real needs, choose the right tools, and move quickly with representative use cases. Only by putting automation into practice can you discover its full potential."
Looking ahead, SDARI plans to further explore intelligent and knowledge-driven scenarios together with Laiye—shifting automation from making processes faster to making business smarter. Digital workers are no longer just tools; they are becoming a foundational capability supporting SDARI's journey toward its 2030 digital vision.
