Using Business Process Management to Unlock Productivity
We are all aware that the current situation has exposed ways of working that are impractical during lockdown – you can no longer check something with a colleague by walking to their desk – and there are a myriad of processes that need changing, formalizing, automating and improving. Previously the focus would have been on finding ways to automate an existing process but now we need to look with fresh eyes on how to eliminate non-productive work processes altogether as some are simply no longer practical.
We need to break the old processes and think anew at ways to automate our workflow.
There are three principals to optimising workflows towards efficiency:
1. The optimisation of the process itself – the aim being to remove waste or manual activities. This should then remove wasted time.
2. A fresh approach – focusing on the flow of data and what work is required, rather than looking at perpetuating the existing process. The aim being to use tools to ensure data moves seamlessly through the new flow or process.
3. Exception management – this is the removal of any points at which automation requires human intervention. These are the break points of business process automation which need to be minimised into obscurity if possible.
Minimising process break points (those manual exceptions) is not new as we strive to streamline the business and ensure workload is providing value. Increasingly companies are turning to AI and ML to remove these human interceptions so that everything is conducted by robots, conveyor belts, mechanised packaging and now through BOTS and EMAIL BOTS. These automations help with the changing working practices forced by social distancing as you require fewer bodies in the office, warehouse, and factory.
These begin life as simple rules-based systems (such as, do not store the dynamite next to the matches or, is the client credit-worthy) and the data required to create those rules enable an operation to be contained within the business application in a structured way.
As these decision-trees grow and become multi-layered they become unmanageable within the ERP as changes become dynamic and ERP systems are simply not that flexible. This is when you need a separate, discrete process to manage the complex combinations and permutations of a decision-tree. So, rather than trying to develop the complex rules and meta-data to cope with this within your ERP, ring-fence these processes in a business process management (BPM) tool.
Of key importance is to use a tool that enables you to continue to put the data at the heart of the workflow and ensure the integrity. BPM is an invaluable tool to combat the challenges of ERP scope-creep and customisations by creating simple automation where manual break points exist.
To demonstrate, here is a simple example of how BPM can automate and eliminate a manual break point ….. a sales order has been taken, yet the ERP is preventing its fulfilment. A pre-defined workflow has been set so the BPM triggers an automatic email to alert the appropriate individual that there is an issue (perhaps credit limits were going to be exceeded and needed approval). This BPM workflow is time-sensitive, so the clock is ticking if the order has not been approved within the pre-set time and automatically sends another email alert to the next approver. Now approved, the order is no longer on hold which triggers the BPM to send an email back to the first approver with the information. Some business processes can be far more complex than this, but BPM can be used to track information from shop floor to delivery, even incorporating GPS tracking. It doesn’t matter how many touch points there are with other systems, BPM is an invaluable tool to ensure business efficiency whilst maintaining data integrity and integration between systems.
Research from IDC shows that workers spend 48% of their time searching and analysing data. If the BPM can identify and supply that data, along with the process required to move the data seamlessly through to the next action, then this time can be dramatically cut short, enhancing productivity.
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At ReInforce Technology we have a deep understanding of core ERP and primary business applications and provide un-biased, independent advice and guidance. Specialising in ERP, data integrity, business process optimisation and application consulting we give organisations a competitive advantage by ensuring they have a well-tuned ERP and help improve and automate their business processes.
We knit together your systems and processes, with an integrated approach to data, that optimises efficiency for our clients.
For more information info@ReInforcetech.co.uk