Leveraging BPM to boost process visibility
How BPM can be leveraged to ensure transparency over operational processes
Add bookmark
PEX Network gathered the insights of a range of business process management (BPM) industry professionals in our Using BPM to create business value report. Featuring insights from experts at Bank of Ireland, Coca-Cola Florida, Unilever Food Solutions and United Airlines the report looks into what BPM’s role should be in delivering transformation and value to companies.
In this article, we focus on how BPM is key to providing visibility.
In the report, it was stated that organizations should ensure they understand their processes before defining any transformation initiative or enterprise resource planning (ERP) project.
This can be done by combining BPM and process mining to undergo process diagnosis and understanding, to map out processes as-in and in real time, explained Edwin Jongsma, vice-president of Americas at Mavim.
“Even though large organizations built the ERP system, over time it has grown into something bigger and they do not always know the processes as they are followed as-is,” he says. “Whenever processes are complex, it is very important to spend enough time in the diagnostic phase in the beginning deciding what you really want to do.”
The report explained that engaging key stakeholders throughout the organization can help form the basis of process mapping standards. Keith Bohanna, head of group BPM standards at Bank of Ireland, explained that this has become a focus for the bank.
“We have made a conscious decision to take the time to engage with key external stakeholders and colleagues within the bank who would have a broader operational optimization focus on how they use the data sets we are building in the process mapping library.”
According to Bohanna, there are two reasons behind this approach. The first is that it educates stakeholders on how to use the new process data sets. The second is that it generates understanding over operational requirements so that Bohanna can ensure that his team is building them into the process mapping standards.
For more BPM insights from CX experts, register for PEX Live: BPM 2022
To ensure all processes' information is accessible by anyone in a company, they can be put in a BPM platform. Acting as a repository, these are key to providing transparency and can prove especially useful in case of mergers and acquisitions, Coca-Cola Beverages Florida LLC being a good example.
The business acquired its current territory over three phases, resulting in processes that were not properly integrated. More than 600 processes were locked away in a legacy repository in PDF documents, videos, pictures and spreadsheets.
The bottling company decided to set up a new, enhanced repository to provide improved visibility and control over processes while increasing accountability and collaboration.
Robert Johnson, senior manager, enterprise transformation at Coca-Cola Beverages Florida, noted that the new repository helps to prepare for audits and remove risk by “leaving less to the imagination”.
He also stated that the initiative was noticed by ISO-certification auditors: “It made their lives tremendously easier by eliminating the shelves full of binders they would otherwise have to go through. They could see process changes over time, who had changed what and how it compared to previous processes.”
Where does BPM deliver the most value in your organization? Let us know in the comments below.
