Business process management (BPM) is undergoing a major evolution as organizations adopt new tools to achieve efficiency and innovation. At the heart of this shift is the integration of intelligent technologies – particularly artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced analytics – that empower teams to understand, optimize and transform their operations faster and more effectively than ever before.
For SAP, this transformation is being driven through its business process transformation management portfolio, with SAP Signavio focusing on the process aspect of business transformations. Designed to bring end-to-end process visibility and actionable insight, SAP Signavio is helping organizations rethink how they approach BPM – from reactive problem-solving to proactive, data-driven decision-making.
PEX Network sat down with Gia-Thi Nguyen, VP, field excellence at SAP Signavio for APAC. With decades of experience in enterprise technology and digital transformation, Gia-Thi offers a unique perspective at the intersection of strategy, technology and change management.
From aligning IT and business to enabling a ‘fit-to-standard’ mindset, Gia-Thi explains how SAP Signavio is reshaping the way organizations define success in transformation and why a business-first, AI-first strategy is essential for the future of operational excellence (OPEX).
PEX Network: SAP Signavio has made significant strides in BPM. Can you share the latest innovations and how they align with SAP’s broader business transformation vision?
Recent developments, such as the introduction of SAP Business Data Cloud, further exemplify our commitment to unifying people, processes, data and applications. The acquisitions of SAP LeanIX for enterprise architecture and WalkMe for digital adoption have fortified our toolchain, enabling us to deliver faster insights and adoption.
Our overarching strategy emphasizes a business-first and AI-first approach, ensuring that we cater to both SAP and non-SAP environments. This holistic perspective allows us to address the diverse needs of our customers effectively.
PEX Network: Can you provide real-world examples where SAP Signavio has delivered tangible operational improvements?
Gia-Thi Nguyen: Our solutions have been instrumental across various industries. For instance, BHP, a global mining company, leveraged SAP Signavio to optimize their organizational setup and instill a transformative mindset, unlocking over €500 million in value.
On a different scale, startups in the gaming industry have utilized our platform to enhance their time-to-market by refining development cycles. Operational improvements often revolve around reducing cycle times, identifying automation opportunities and minimizing manual rework. These enhancements span the traditional processes like record-to-report, lead-to-cash, procure-to-pay and hire-to-retire, underscoring the versatility and impact of our solutions, but also double down on specific use cases like Payment Excellence or industry-specific requirements like meter-to-cash.
PEX Network: What steps are being taken to make BPM and process intelligence accessible to non-technical business users?
Gia-Thi Nguyen: Accessibility is paramount. We've introduced Joule, SAP's AI copilot, which allows users to interact with our systems using natural language, making complex process analyses more intuitive. For example, users can request best practice models or seek recommendations to improve specific processes and Joule provides immediate insights. Additionally, our AI-assisted process analyzer enables users to upload simple sketches or diagrams, which the system then translates into detailed process models.
Beyond tools, our value accelerator library offers pre-configured content and methodologies, allowing users to start with templates and customize as needed. The integration of WalkMe further enhances digital adoption by providing in-app guidance, ensuring users can navigate and utilize our tools effectively without extensive technical training.
PEX Network: In the context of OPEX and business transformation, what KPIs and metrics should businesses focus on to track the success of BPM-driven transformations?
Gia-Thi Nguyen: It's essential to distinguish between metrics and KPIs. While metrics provide data points, KPIs are the critical indicators aligned with strategic objectives. The relevance of specific KPIs can vary based on organizational priorities. For instance, in supply chain management, delivery reliability is a common metric, but during periods of resource scarcity, 'delivery in full on time' (DIFOT) might take precedence.
Beyond traditional metrics, incorporating perspectives like customer, supplier and employee sentiment, through measures like Net Promoter Score (NPS) or Customer Satisfaction (CSAT), offers a holistic view of transformation success. The agility to monitor, analyze and pivot based on these KPIs ensures that organizations remain aligned with their strategic goals throughout the transformation journey. Business transformation means bringing people, process, applications and data together, so we must incorporate metrics and KPIs from all these aspects as well.
PEX Network: What are the biggest challenges organizations face when embedding a process-led mindset in their OPEX initiatives?
Gia-Thi Nguyen: Change management challenges have remained consistent over the years. Organizations often grapple with questions like: How do we initiate the transformation? How do we ensure successful execution? How do we measure and communicate success? Resistance to change is a common hurdle. Even when the value of process management is recognized, securing investment can be challenging if the benefits aren't immediately tangible.
Addressing these challenges requires clear communication, stakeholder engagement and demonstrable quick wins to build momentum and showcase value. The journey is the destination, and successful organizations might have taken opposite approaches, and it worked very well for them. What all successful organizations have in common though, is that they have started their journey and acted instead of waiting it out doing nothing. Then they started to learn and doubled down on the chosen approach or adjusted accordingly.
PEX Network: With the rise of hyperautomation, low-code/no-code platforms and AI-driven decision-making, where do you see the BPM discipline heading in the next five years?
Gia-Thi Nguyen: The BPM landscape is on the cusp of significant evolution. While concepts like hyperautomation and AI have been discussed for years, recent technological advancements are bringing them to the forefront. The integration of generative AI, for instance, has transformed areas like process modeling and analysis.
Looking ahead, as technologies like quantum computing mature, BPM will likely harness these innovations to further enhance efficiency and decision-making. My vision is for BPM to become an intrinsic skill within organizations, much like email proficiency today. As tools become more intuitive and integrated into daily operations, the distinction between BPM specialists and general business users will blur, fostering a culture where process excellence is a shared responsibility.
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