Process management is the study of improving analysing and modelling business processes.

Process management often helps to fix business processes that are broken so that you can focus on more important aspects of the business such as clients, increasing revenue and bring in efficiencies that save time.

Many of our clients that include chartered accountants and lawyers often ask us about process management, some of their concerns include:

• How do I automate mundane tasks
• How do we capture the client journey from lead to sending client account statements by way of an automated process
• How do I send proposals, invoices, statements through an automated process
• Can important processes be managed by junior most staff in office with the right level of automation?
• Does OAS36TY really help to automate business processes and save 50% of Office management time?

OAS36TY is the most trusted product in the Indian service industry.  Our clients are responsible for meeting regulatory obligations and ensuring compliances with income tax, statutory laws, company law matters, various other legal matters.  OAS36TY automates business processes for our clients so that they can serve their clients better.

What is Process Management?

Process management is a systematic approach to ensure that effective and efficient business processes are in place. It is a methodology used to align business processes with strategic goals.

In contrast to project management, which is focused on a single project, process management addresses repetitive processes carried out on a regular basis. It looks at every business process, individually and as a whole, to create a more efficient organization. It analyzes current systems, spots bottlenecks, and identifies areas of improvement.

Process management is a long-term strategy that constantly monitors business processes so they maintain optimal efficiency. Implemented properly, it significantly helps boost business growth.

The Importance of Process Management System

When managing any organization, it is imperative to understand why process management is important. More than creating seamless workflows, it enables all aspects of business operations to run at an optimal pace.

With business processes systematically implemented, you reduce time wasted on repetitive tasks and minimize errors due to human inefficiency. It also prevents the loss of data and missed steps within a process. Moreover, it ensures that resources are used properly so your business becomes more cost-efficient.

Aside from improving business operations, process management also aligns your processes with the needs of your customers. This increases customer satisfaction and leads to higher revenues.

Types of Business Process Management (BPM)

There are three main types of business process management: integration-centric, human-centric, and document-centric

• Integration-centric BPM: This type of BPM focuses on processes that do not require much human involvement. These processes are more dependent on APIs and mechanism which integrate data across systems, like human resource management (HRM) or customer relationship management (CRM).

• Human-centric BPM: Unlike integration-centric BPM, this type centers around human involvement, typically where approvals are required. Intuitive user interfaces with drag-and-drop features allow teams to assign tasks to different roles, making it easier to hold individuals accountable along the process.

• Document-centric BPM:  This type of BPM centers around a specific document, such as a contract. When companies purchase a product or service, it needs to go through different forms and rounds of approval to develop an agreement between the client and vendor.

Benefits of Process Management

Streamlined Processes: BPM restructures tangled operations into smooth workflows, simplifying operations and improving business agility.

Minimized Risks: By clearly defining responsibilities, BPM demands higher accountability. This minimizes risks due to human error and reduces inefficiencies.

Reduced risk: The work of process management requires a thorough and honest assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of a given process. As a result, process management initiatives can identify and address areas of risk, like:

1. Data leaks
2. Error rates
3. Shadow IT
4. Security vulnerabilities
5. Compliance issues
6. Strategic alignment

One of the most important benefits of process management is that it helps teams ensure that their processes are aligned with the goals of the business. If a given process isn’t clearly tied to a specific objective or isn’t helping the company achieve a target, then it needs to be evaluated and modified.

It is an ongoing initiative that keeps all processes and workflows in step with the business goals, even as they evolve.

Increased productivity: Processes are complex arrangements of activity and information, and this complexity can make it difficult to identify inefficiencies that diminish productivity. Problems with the pace, quality, and ease of work can easily hide within processes, causing friction that produces suboptimal results.

Process management forces teams to seek and remedy these inefficiencies on an ongoing basis. That’s important because the sources of inefficiency shift as processes evolve and new technologies are introduced.

Less repetition: Repetition in a process drags down productivity and reduces efficiency. It also introduces more opportunities for errors, especially when the redundancy is related to manual data entry. Process management can help teams spot duplicative work and either minimize or eliminate them altogether.

Tips to optimize your process management

• Focus on one process at a time.
• Determine how the process is tied to business strategy.
• Decide how you want to measure the success of your process.
• Define the start and end points of the process.
• Create a process map for the current version of the process.
• Look for opportunities to automate tasks and activities. 
• Assess all the apps, systems, and people that impact the process.
• Implement a low-code tool that maximizes stack extensibility.
• Enable a system of engagement to orchestrate multiple processes.

Business Process Management use Cases

BPM software provides more structure around processes, removing some of the inefficiencies within a given workflow. Some examples where it has been applied successfully include:

• Content distribution: Media firms can use BPM to automate the process of content preparation and delivery, from content creation to distribution. A business process management system can be designed to interact with content management, rights management, content traffic and work order systems.

• Customer service: Customer service representatives can identify frequently asked questions for chatbots to handle, alleviating the team when there is a high volume of service requests. Transcript data from call centers and chatbots can also help automate processes further as well as inform more personalized answers for customers.

• Finance: Companies can create templates to standardize purchase orders submissions from various teams, allowing them to procure business software or hardware more quickly. In addition, customize workflows can be established for unique scenarios.

• Human resources: HR can employ BPM to streamline document and workflow management. It provides a more structured environment for processing HR forms, such as employee onboarding and off-boarding, performance evaluations, vacation requests and timesheet approval.

• Banking: When processing individuals or businesses for loans, banks need to evaluate applicants for potential credit risk. This involves collecting information from multiple sources, such as the applicants, employers, and credit rating agencies. BPM expedites decisions around loan eligibility by managing the flow of information throughout the process and reducing errors in documentation.

• Order fulfilment: Firms can improve the operational efficiency of their order fulfilment systems using BPM. They can use BPM to manage special offers, order capture, and order fulfilment. This shifts the process toward customer-centric order management that delivers greater business value.