Today, we're diving into business process management (or BPM). What it is, how it works, and why every business should make it a priority. Wondering what BPM can do for your business? Keep reading.
- Definition & Benefits
- Approaches
- Essential Elements
- Challenges
- Without BPM, What Happens?
- Utilizing BPM in Your Business
WHAT IS BUSINESS PROCESS OPTIMIZATION?
BENEFITS OF BPM
BPM is the systematic approach to improving the efficiency and effectiveness of business processes. It's a strategic way to eliminate bottlenecks, reduce costs, and improve employee and customer experience. The result is a more productive and profitable organization.
Although they sound similar, process management shouldn't be confused with project management. The more well-known project management focuses on the outcome of one temporary set of related tasks (usually with an immediate goal). It measures its success from a single sample set.
Process management focuses on sets of repeatable, linked tasks that play a part in meeting broader organizational goals. It can be applied to both external and internal actions and often includes the integration of automation technology. Because processes recur frequently, the benefits of improving them increase exponentially over time.
Like Henry Ford and his moving assembly line, BPM's ethos comes from a desire to work smarter, not harder. But, unlike Ford's innovation (which only optimized the mechanical side of production), BPM looks at every part of a process (machine, human, or cloud-based) and asks, "how can we make this better?"
3 TYPES OF BUSINESS PROCESSES
|
|
OPERATIONAL
SUPPORTING
MANAGEMENT
|
Most business processes fall into three categories: operational, supporting, or management.
Operational (or primary) processes include anything that drives revenue for the organization. Sometimes called core processes, these actions are essential to an organization's functionality as a business. They include designing and developing products or services, marketing, and providing customer service and support to buyers.
Supporting (or secondary) processes don't generate income but are still critical to a business's success since they create the conditions necessary to carry out a primary process effectively. Maintenance, IT, and payroll workflows are great examples of supporting processes.
Management processes typically meet objectives related to the oversight of the company, including planning, monitoring, and overall strategy. Like supporting processes, they don't directly drive revenue but can still significantly impact the business's growth over time.
APPROACHES TO BPM
BPM encompasses a wide variety of techniques. Practitioners can adhere to a strict methodology or pick and choose from different strategies to create one tailored to the organization's needs. Both options have advantages and drawbacks.
Adopting a single method helps ensure all stakeholders are on the same page. It can also limit available options when situations crop up that demand flexibility. Customized approaches, on the other hand, offer greater agility but are more complex to manage. The right choice for a business depends on its unique needs.