Finally IT (information Technology) has permeated the population with TLAs (Three-letter-acronyms) so they are so ubiquitous people actually have an idea of what they are. By now everyone has heard about “AI”, “ML” and “RPA”. In fact I think A and I may now be the two most used vowels in the alphabet! So what do Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Robotic Process Automation have in common? That leads us to the other tla – “BPM”. Business Process Management is an age-old discipline of managing your business processes so they are optimized to be the most effective and most efficient they can be. Three key outcomes expected from BPM include:

  • Cost reduction – take cost of the process by streamlining/removing excess effort
  • Cycle Time Reduction – get your products/services to your customers more quickly
  • Customer Experience Improvement – Make doing business with you easy and pleasing

These then translate into increased revenue and market share, higher gross margins and net income, and a higher Net Promoter Score (more people promoting your products and services).

15689472 – human hand and artificial hand touch each other

So how do you now make sense of “digital transformation” and “business process automation”? The first step in BPM is not about technology. It is about understanding how you  currently run your business and how this can be improved. What I know is that there are always three versions of a process. What you think it is, and what it really is. These two versions define the “As-Is” state. The third is what it ought to be, or the “To-Be” state. After you have a well-defined “To-Be” state only then do you decide what, if any, technology must be applied.

Let me use  manufacturing as an example. If you are a small job-shop you may just use printed signs to lead workers through a repeatable efficient set of steps, along with standard process steps for each process step. If your business is a bit more complex, or if you want to integrate shop operations with your sales, financials, etc. you will benefit from digitizing and automating your manual processes.

Here’s where digital transformation and business process automation come into play. Applying the right technology will transform your business to be more digital, more automated, and less manual. So then how do you make engage in this transformation. One option is to partner with a great IT firm like ours and let us do both the heavy lifting and everything else. Thanks to advances in application technology you are more in control than you have ever been! With bpm’online’s advanced application you can easily model your “To-Be” process as a set of integrated, efficient, effective processes that deliver the outcomes we’ve noted here. Easy in the sense that you do not need to be an “IT person” to do it. Bpm’online technology was designed as a low/no code solution. So if you do not know how to code but do know how to drag and drop process icons you are good to go!

Curious yet? OK, then come learn what this is all about at our next TIMIT-bpmonline Lunch-and-Learn seminar September 25th at the Courtyard by Marriott in Marlborough, MA. Space is limited! REGISTER TODAY!