Continuous improvement in constant change: Why BPM tools must embrace unpredictability

Continuous improvement in constant change is key to success. The current global economic landscape is volatile, with unexpected shifts and pressures coming in chaotic waves. Global political changes and policy decisions are constantly reshaping international trade.

Armed conflicts and ongoing hostilities are affecting resource availability and distribution – significantly impacting commercial opportunities. Every shift in the social and political arena has repercussions across numerous industries and continues to ripple out into the markets. While these challenges can’t necessarily be predicted, it’s up to organizations to navigate them effectively or risk losing significant momentum.  

So how does a business weather these storms of dramatic change and maintain quality and compliance in such a volatile context? It’s a question of process.

Effective and comprehensive business process management (BPM) creates a framework for robust operations. Well-documented processes that can be easily implemented by frontline teams provide a clear path for everyday activities and strategic progress. However, that alone doesn’t guarantee success when industry requirements pivot sharply or customer expectations shift suddenly.

To deal with such changeable conditions, excellent business processes need to be able to move with the current, updating in real-time to adapt to the new context. That means ensuring your BPM tools embrace continuous improvement at the core.

Continuously improve the big picture

An effective process management tool stack considers the entire order-to-cash pipeline, not just the individual operations. It’s rare that market conditions would require a change at that level, but not unheard of. In the early 19^th Century entire cartage businesses disappeared because of the introduction of a single new technology – the steam train. Numerous industries had to change how their production and distribution workflows operated to keep up with the new business landscape.

Today, a single piece of legislation in a target market could upset an entire manufacturing process. By having an overview of the macro processes within your process management you have the opportunity to identify where the potential breakdowns and disruptions will impact most – and where the opportunities lie for innovative change. When you’re conscious of the connectedness of your operations with every facet of the business, you have the capacity to continuously shape them for maximum efficiency and create robust frameworks for change.

Maintain clear risk management

While it may not be possible to know what will change in the coming weeks or months, it is possible to account for where those shifts could impact your business the most. Risk management should always be a focus for continuous improvement, identifying potential challenges and establishing checks and balances to mitigate them.

As markets fluctuate and conditions change it’s vital that your process management platform integrates risk management into the process models. Those risk profiles need to be reviewed and updated regularly to keep abreast of potential new threats to your business continuity. With the right platform, even a small process team can ensure that it’s a priority for teams to assess risks as part of their process improvement efforts.

Use tools that work

When things change, teams need to know what they’re expected to do about it. Clear and up-to-date process documentation will remove uncertainty and provide strong guidance for operations, eliminating downtime or breakdowns through conflicting understandings. Making those documents easy to find and follow is essential when business conditions force a sudden pivot and will prevent old habits from derailing your operations. Collaborate with subject matter experts in defining how new workflows should incorporate your existing practices with the new requirements and utilize easy-to-implement workflow automations to reduce the friction of execution. 

It doesn’t seem like the world will be slowing down anytime soon. As markets continue to react to rapid economic changes, businesses need to be prepared to respond accordingly. Continuous improvement is more important now than it has ever been to enable organizations to maintain their momentum while ensuring ongoing compliance and the most efficient practices possible.

GBTEC’s BIC platform puts companies in a position to do that, offering collaborative process management with dedicated artificial intelligence (AI) support for adaptable, data-driven process improvements that support an agile and robust organization at every level. 

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