Process Excellence news - Accenture's annual index, Google-Worldline digital partnership, SAP's tennis ambassador & more

PEX Network brings you the latest news in process and operational excellence, business process management (BPM), digital transformation, Lean Six Sigma, Kaizen, data mining and more.

Week of 01/15, 2024.

BPM market value to exceed $53.34 billion by 2035

The global BPM market is predicted to reach a value of $53.34 billion by 2035, driven by the rising digitalization of businesses and a surge in people working from home. That’s according to a new report from Research Nester. The North America BPM market is estimated to capture the highest share of investment (about 32%) over the coming years, while the APAC market is poised to gather a notable share of over 28%, the research indicated.

The process automation segment is predicted to generate the highest market share of 37% over the forecast period, with a surge in SME businesses a major factor influencing the segment growth. For instance, worldwide SME numbers for 2021 had been expected to be around 331 million, a little increase over the 327 million recorded in 2019.

READ: Future of BPM: Low-code/no-code technology

Businesses anticipate unprecedented rate of change in 2024

Business leaders faced an all-time-high rate of change in 2023 and now expect it to accelerate further in 2024, according to Accenture’s Pulse of Change: 2024 Index. The annual index ranks six factors of change affecting businesses – technology, talent, economic, geopolitical, climate and consumer and social – using a range of key business indicators, such as labor productivity and IT spending. It then compares this data to a survey of 3,400 C-suite leaders on how they view the impact of each factor on their organizations, as well as their preparedness to respond.

The analyses revealed that technology disruption increased the most in 2023, rising to number one from number six in 2022, catapulted by advances in generative AI. C-suite executives also ranked technology as the top cause of change.

Almost half (42%) of respondents said that skills shortages are among the top three challenges that would hold back their organizations’ ability to respond to change, underscoring the importance for businesses of making their talent strategy a priority.

“The level of change has dramatically increased over the last few years, and it requires a structural change in how businesses operate – incremental changes in ways of working and performance are no longer sufficient to compete,” said Jack Azagury, group chief executive, strategy and consulting, Accenture.

Digital transformation reshaping Australia’s public sector

The implementation of new technologies and digital tools is reshaping Australia’s public sector with 85% of government recently experiencing a digital initiative being implemented within their department or agency. That’s according to new research from Appian, a leader in software that automates organizational processes.

The survey of 425 Australian government workers found that most government workers believe that their agency’s own digital transformation projects have had positive impacts on the public, with 63% of respondents saying that the adoption of new technologies had made government services more accessible to citizens.

However, contrary to the belief that the digitization of traditional work processes eases workloads of government employees, a vast majority of public sector workers reported their daily workloads had either increased (47%) or remained at the same level (43%) since the introduction of new digital processes.

“Making government services accessible to citizens is a critical function of the public sector. Through innovative technologies like automation, AI and user-friendly digital platforms, government bodies can streamline processes, reduce complexities and ensure that their services are more readily available to all citizens, regardless of their location or background,” said Luke Thomas, a VP Asia Pacific & Japan at Appian.

READ: Generative AI’s game-changing role in digital transformation

Diebold Nixdorf hires Frank T. Baur as executive VP of operational excellence

American multinational financial and retail technology company Diebold Nixdorf announced that Frank T. Baur is joining the company as executive VP of operational excellence. He will lead the firm’s global operations focused on driving sustainable quality and process improvement in supply chain, sourcing, manufacturing and services. Baur joins Diebold Nixdorf from GE Vernova, where he most recently served as senior executive director for the global energy company’s Onshore Wind business.

“Throughout his career, Frank has developed a strong track record for driving improvements in both service and product-related industries, with a keen eye toward simplification and automation,” commented Octavio Marquez, president and CEO, Diebold Nixdorf.

READ: 5 operational excellence trends for 2024

Worldline partners with Google to boost digital transformation

Payment services provider Worldline and tech giant Google announced a strategic partnership designed to leverage cutting-edge cloud-based technologies from Google Cloud to take Worldline’s digital transformation further.

Google will also work with Worldline to facilitate seamless online payments for Google’s customers in Europe. In addition, both partners will jointly address go-to-market opportunities and provide new and enhanced digital customer experiences for merchants and financial institutions.

The strategic partnership will ultimately create a powerful ecosystem of improved product offerings delivering added value to merchants and banks, and setting a faster pace for continued innovation, read a press release. By combining their expertise and their specialized knowledge and resources, Google and Worldline will be able to deliver improved payment experiences for their respective customers, and accelerate time-to-market.

“Our partnership with Worldline underscores the wide range of opportunities that secure and reliable cloud technology, data analytics and AI can bring to merchants and financial institutions. By bringing together the strengths of our two companies, we can accelerate innovation in the payment industry,” said Thomas Kurian, Google Cloud CEO.

M&S reveals ambitious digital transformation project

British department store retailer Marks & Spencer is set to undergo a digital transformation of its Clothing & Home business in a bid to create a more agile platform that responds better to consumer needs and trends. The project will be supported by o9 Solutions, a software platform provider for integrated planning and decision-making. An AI-powered platform – Digital Brain – will replace and modernize M&S’ existing systems across merchandise planning, sales stock and intake and range planning. Phase two of the program will see M&S’ current forecasting and replenishment systems also replaced and integrated onto the platform.

“As we reshape for growth, we are investing to modernize and upgrade our systems so we can create greater visibility and collaboration between teams and suppliers, improve planning and availability and enable us to be more tailored and localized with our ranging,” said Richard Price, managing director of Clothing & Home at M&S.

SAP announces tennis star Leylah Fernandez as new brand ambassador

Business operations software giant SAP announced a new partnership with rising tennis star Leylah Fernandez. As part of the firm’s longstanding partnership with the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), SAP has invested in the promotion and advancement of women’s tennis for over a decade. Together with Fernandez, SAP seeks to take its collaboration to new heights and inspire the next generation of athletes and young girls worldwide, the company stated.

“I am honored to join forces with SAP, a company that shares my passion for excellence and creating social impact worldwide,” Fernandez said. “I am excited to work with a company that has supported the WTA for over a decade and continues to invest in the promotion and advancement of women’s tennis. Together with SAP, I hope to inspire the next generation of athletes and young girls around the world.”