Regaining control through Process Intelligence

Companies are looking for innovative means to increase transparency and improve company performance, and Process Intelligence is a new technology that offers solace in these troubled times says Ricardo Passchier.

“Once companies start using this technology, they then have a powerful tool with which to regain control, especially now that markets are in decline and confidence is waning”
-Ricardo Passchier, IDS Scheer

These are turbulent times for businesses. Confronted by the credit crunch and a slump in share prices, both profitability and confidence have suffered a severe blow. Add to this the failing economy and the equation is complete. How can organisations equip themselves to regain control of business performance and simultaneously manage risks? Sound, and above all, timely management information plays a key role. Although financial indicators reflect the symptoms of possible problems, they do not identify the root causes. Detailed analysis of the underlying process behaviour is required in order to determine the cause of poor performance. Process Intelligence is the answer. Various companies have been using it for several years now. These include:

CosmosDirekt
A leading German direct writer uses Process Intelligence to meet explosive market demand. Growth has been accelerating rapidly since 1994, which in turn has placed a significant burden on processes, systems, and organisation. In order to deliver its operational excellence strategy and realise sustainable improvements, the insurance company has embedded process monitoring into its improvement methodology that closely resembles Six Sigma. Within a year, throughput time was reduced by 50 percent and complaints by 60 percent.

SAP
The largest business software vendor in the world deployed Process Intelligence to become a best-run business. The company strives for operational excellence and aims to achieve best-in-class purchasing processes by simplifying and – wherever possible – automating processes using insights provided by Process Intelligence. The transparency thus generated leads to improved decision-making and allows the software vendor to compare purchasing processes across its various sites and locations. On the one hand, the company uses process data as part of its improvement program (based on Six Sigma) and on the other, as part of its Sarbanes-Oxley compliance program. The data obtained demonstrates whether processes were carried out as prescribed and to what extent control measures have proved effective.

Yodobashi Camera
A large Japanese consumer electronics retail chain was having structural challenges guaranteeing delivery dates for the products it sold online. By implementing Process Intelligence, processes are now transparent and the retailer is able to make better agreements with its partners. Whenever deliveries look as though they may be running late, the retailer can intervene far more quickly and is able to inform the customer. This has a positive effect on customer satisfaction and stock turnover. It has also led to less variation and reduced throughput time. The time between order confirmation and dispatch has been reduced to a minimum of six hours and a maximum of 12 hours, from 24 and 48 hours respectively.

Swisscom
A privatised Swiss telecommunications provider investigated one of its core processes – closing telephone subscriptions – in order to reduce its throughput times and the volume of customer complaints. It was only apparent that there even was a delay once customers started to complain. Using Process Intelligence, the company was able to respond pro-actively rather than reactively. The time required to process contracts has been drastically reduced meaning that customer payments are received far sooner. This places a reduced burden on working capital and simultaneously improves customer satisfaction.

All in all, various target groups benefit from the deployment of Process Intelligence including COOs, CFOs, and CROs, as well as a diverse group of professionals involved with performance, compliance, and risk management. Once companies start using this technology, they then have a powerful tool with which to regain control, especially now that markets are in decline and confidence is waning. Those companies that can take a lead in this area will establish a competitive advantage and emerge as the absolute winners once the economy recovers. For more information, visit www.ids-scheer.com/CxO.

Ricardo Passchier heads business development at the Netherlands branch of IDS Scheer, worldwide leader in Business Process Management (BPM). Passchier has worked as a management consultant in a variety of industries, advising leading multinational companies on BPM for many years. ricardo.passchier@ids-scheer.com.