In today‘s highly competitive and fast-changing business landscape, optimizing processes is no longer optional – it‘s a prerequisite for success. Business process management (BPM) provides organizations with the visibility, analytics, and automation capabilities needed to drive transformative process improvements.
Let‘s explore six key ways your business can leverage BPM to reduce costs, errors, and time loss while increasing customer satisfaction, efficiency, and overall performance in 2024.
1. Increase Efficiency Through Process Automation
Process inefficiencies like repetitive manual work, unclear hand-offs, and bottlenecks cost organizations dearly in wasted time and resources. BPM enables analytically-driven process optimization.
By automatically mapping processes and pinpointing areas of friction, BPM tools like process mining provide the insight needed to target impactful automation opportunities.
According to leading research firm Gartner, organizations can reduce costs by 25-50% and double productivity by automating processes. The gains are substantial. ^1^
For example, when a major European bank applied process mining, they discovered over 50 processes suitable for automation in their back-office operations. By streamlining these activities, they realized major efficiency improvements.^2^
The key is using BPM to scientifically diagnose and prescribe the right automation solutions based on impartial process data instead of assumptions or guesswork. The result is enhanced efficiency.
2. Respond Faster to Market Changes
In dynamic markets, organizations must move quickly to roll out new strategies, react to technology shifts, and adjust to policy changes. Inflexible processes make transformation slow and painful.
BPM accelerates change by giving leaders clear visibility into current processes to assess the real-world impact of proposed modifications. With detailed documentation, workflows can be adapted faster while minimizing business disruption.
Research by leading analyst Forrester found that over 75% of firms say BPM solutions enable them to implement changes 50% more quickly.^3^
For a leading airline, using process mining to understand their customer service workflows allowed IT leaders to twice as rapidly roll out a new mobile app to agents by optimizing training and support.^4^ BPM drives business agility.
3. Fix the Root Cause of Process Problems
Pinpointing the true underlying issues within intricate processes spanning multiple systems, apps, and departments is difficult. BPM provides the end-to-end transparency needed to diagnose problems.
By benchmarking workflows against metrics like cost, quality, compliance, and duration, BPM identifies inefficiencies as well as the root cause – whether it‘s a technology bottleneck, lack of skills, inadequate policies, and more.
90% of organizations surveyed say process analytics improves their ability to find the source of process problems.^5^
For example, a factory applied process mining on their production line and discovered that a single overloaded quality check stage caused over 35% of costly delays. By addressing this bottleneck, they improved output by over 20%.^6^
4. Ensure Compliance and Mitigate Risk
Governing bodies worldwide have enacted stringent regulations around data privacy, financial controls, and transparency. For complex global enterprises, confirming compliance across all processes is extremely challenging.
BPM enables organizations to define and track end-to-end processes against compliance requirements. Any risks or deviations from standards can be alerted in real-time before problems emerge.
Research shows firms leveraging BPM tools like process mining achieve up to 94% greater compliance while reducing audit costs substantially.^7^
A major hardware manufacturer used process analytics on their order-to-cash workflows to uncover transactions violating new data privacy regulations. By addressing these issues, they avoided significant fines.^8^
5. Empower Employees Through Process Knowledge
For employees to collaborate seamlessly across boundaries, they require clear visibility into workflows, responsibilities, and hand-offs between teams and systems. Too often this information lives in siloed documents and tacit tribal knowledge.
BPM centralizes and standardizes process information into digital visual maps accessible enterprise-wide. This connectivity bridges knowledge gaps between workers to enhance alignment.
Studies show that 88% of employees say documented processes meaningfully improve their productivity and decision making.^9^
A global bank applied process mining to illuminate their previously opaque mortgage approval process. This enhanced understanding between front and back-office teams to improve hand-offs and reduce delays.^10^
6. Exceed Customer Expectations
Delivering exceptional customer experiences separates market leaders from laggards. Yet disjointed, slow, and error-prone processes hamper an organization‘s ability to respond quickly and efficiently to customer needs.
BPM smooths operations by removing points of friction that create bottlenecks and drive repeat contacts. This enhances responsiveness and first-contact resolution rates to customers.
Data shows 76% of customers indicate process problems like delays negatively impact their brand loyalty.^11^ BPM tools help avoid these breakdowns.
A telecoms firm used process analytics on their order management workflows to identify the root causes of shipment delays. By addressing these issues, they reduced customer complaints by over 30%.^12^
The business case for BPM in 2024 and beyond is compelling. Organizations can expect to enhance efficiency by 30% or more, reduce operating costs by 25-50%, accelerate change adaptation by 50%, and drive over 35% gains in customer satisfaction.
To learn more about enabling process excellence at your organization through approaches like process mining and automation, download our comprehensive BPM guide:
BPM is no longer optional in a world of informed customers, rapidly evolving markets, and disruptive competitors. To compete and satisfy rising expectations, process excellence must become a core competency across departments. The payoffs for organizations will be tremendous.