inefficient Business Processes Are Eating Your Lunch

If arbitrary deadlines are met, and the desired results are achieved, business processes are assumed to be robust, efficient and streamlined. It couldn’t be further from the truth! Just ask the design team about product change approvals, the finance team about month end close or the purchasing team about supplier management. The long and winding road is often filled with hoops to jump through, departmental silos to navigate and multiple non-value added tasks. People pat themselves on the back, and say job well done when the chaos is over. Till the next time. The process gets repeated for each new product, each month end and each supplier problem.

Business, or knowledge processes are often judged solely on completion, not taking into account hours, costs and convoluted paths used to achieve those results.

The actual performance of these processes is often inconsistent and full of re-dos, redundancies and unneeded work.

Use the time honored [Deming wheel] Plan-Do-Check-Act process OR the revered Six Sigma Define-Measure-Analyze-Improve-Control OR your own internal method:

1. Understand the current state or as-is process

2. Analyze why things are done the way they are

3. Create the new way or to-be process [optimize, simplify, eliminate…]

4. Develop the action plan and get buy-in

5. Implement and standardize the new process rapidly

By focusing on your knowledge processes and simplifying the back office, businesses can better utilize resources, minimize disruptions and save money.