Jim Sinur introduced the session by describing how Gartner saw BPM being used to turn a cost reduction axe into a cost reduction scalpel during the recent recession – cutting more precisely. The current economic climate he says is “nirvana” for BPM and BPM is not perceived as a luxury but a necessity. The session’s main focus is on presenting some BPM case studies in three groups – companies that used BPM to survive, companies that used it to thrive and companies that used it to capitalize.
How to use BPM to deliver results in a difficult environment
- Expense management services company now have 65 internal processes implemented and $700,000 in cost reduction and faster revenue recognition
- Wells Fargo using process modeling to confirm business cases and not funding 33% of their projects because the models show they would not deliver the results promised
- Long term care pharmacy now validates coverage before sending to patient before sending (man this one sounds like a rules-based decisioning)
- Telecommunications company shortened sales cycle by 10 days saving 3M Euros/year with process support for post-sales support tasks and pipeline visibility
- Truck manufacturer improved its engineering change notice approval process cutting cost per notice from $2,000 to $50 while reducing engineering staff
- Entertainment company doing manual SOX compliance and a mortgage loan processor with USA Patriot Act compliance both saved time and money by automating process – 40% reduction in the mortgage case.
BPM projects must survive too so get some wins, think about a competency center and educate so people don’t feel stupid about BPM.
Next, what growth opportunities can you realize?
- Hospital used a process management approach, not technology, to increase surgical capacity by 20% by making the scheduling process explicit and more visible
- Relocation company streamlined its processes/systems for home buying and selling to standardize them and improve the experience. Found that the increased visibility made it easier to see risks in houses being sold, reducing the number being taken into inventory and making it easier to offer a fixed price.
- Money management firm reduced risk by speeding up rating and downgrade processes – went from a weekly to a intra-day process, which made a big difference to the degree of risk
BPM can drive growth by making processes explicit, fostering a culture of continuous improvement/more rapid change. BPM enables a more continuous process improvement exercise.
Jim wrapped up with some examples for BPM being used to capitalize.
- A new insurance company that used BPM to simulate their core processes and decisions and plan out different scenarios – for rapid or slow growth, good or bad economy and so on. Able therefore to be prepared for change and thrive anyway.
- A pharmacy that implemented a process to allow mail-order drug pricing on in-store delivery.
- A healthcare provider had a physically constrained location and then lost a facility in a TB scare. Used BPMS to enable home work by admin staff and when they got the building back they expanded their devliery capacity using this spare building space.
- Group of large railways in several countires use RFID and BPMS to track problems with gearboxes, the largest cause of derailments. Heat sensing RFID on the track detected problems and process would use location information to decide what to do. Have expanded to use the RFID to track freight and stock too.
Look for opportunities that can be funded from BPM cost savings and for business vision that can be made real using BPM.
Takeaways:
- Management discipline not just technology
- Link BPM to performance management and corporate goals
- Foundation for compliance and visibility
- BPM drives continuous improvement programs for growth
- BPM can and should be used to capitalize on new opportunities
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