Business Process Optimisation: Ultimate Guide for Success

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” right? Wrong. When it comes to operating in business, processes may seemingly be working, but they aren’t always at their maximum level of efficiency. That’s why business process optimisation is such a valuable practice in any business.

In this post, we will talk about process optimisation examples, and how business process automation software can be used to optimise work processes.

Coming Up

1. What is Process Optimisation?

2. What is Business Process Optimisation?

3. Why is Business Process Optimisation Important?

4. What are the Pitfalls of Business Process Optimisation?

5. What are the Steps for Business Process Optimisation?

6. How to Plan for Business Process Optimisation?

7. What is an Example of Business Process Optimisation?

8. How to Choose the Right Business Process Optimisation Software?

9. Closing Thoughts

What is Process Optimisation?

Process optimisation is the practice of adjusting a process in order to optimise a set of parameters while leaving some constraints intact. In most cases, this is done to minimise costs and/or maximise outputs. Outputs could be in the form of productivity, efficiency, or performance.

What is Business Process Optimisation?

Business process optimisation is a part of business process management (BPM) in which organisations seek to increase efficiency by improving processes through better resource allocation.

Business process optimisation can occur by improving workflows, reducing redundancies, predicting changes, and bettering communication.

Nowadays, you’ll be hard pressed to witness business process optimisation that doesn’t take place at the hands of automation tools or technical innovations.

With automation software, businesses are able to streamline workflows, reduce inefficiencies, and expedite processes. Thanks to no code and low code solutions like SolveXia, organisations can hit the ground running and witness their processes being enhanced as soon as the software is deployed.

Why is Business Process Optimisation Important?

Business process optimisation is critical for companies looking to remain competitive, foster a positive company culture, reduce costs, and maximise their outputs.

In any industry, compliance and regulation shifts occur, market changes are constant, and incumbents and entrants are competing to remain on top. With business process optimisation, your organisation can benefit from:

• Remaining compliant
• Reducing risks
• Being agile
• Streamlining day-to-day operations
• Providing visibility and transparency into processes
• Assuring top quality
• Staying competitive

What are the Pitfalls of Business Process Optimisation?

Perhaps you’ve already been made aware of business process optimisation and you’ve even tried out a few things to reap the benefits. However, something was amiss and you fell short.

Take a moment to reevaluate what was done because you could have faced common pitfalls, including:

1. Missing Data

Since business process optimisation is based on existing processes, you must be able to access up-to-date data and understand how processes are working. Involve stakeholders and the people who are on the ground close to the processes to determine how the process is running, as well as data and analytics to gain insights.

2. Moving Too Quickly

Business process optimisation requires close attention to detail. If you are too excited and rushed, you could miss critical pieces of information or overwhelm employees who have to deal with the change. Set a reasonable timeline so everyone involved has time to adjust.

3. Relying Solely on Technology

As we said, business process optimisation does rely on technology and automation solutions. However, technology alone isn’t the answer. The combination of human thought with automation solutions can make all the difference as you must still map the process and document what’s required.

What are the Steps for Business Process Optimisation?

To perform business process optimisation effectively, consider following these steps:

1. Process Identification

Look at your current processes to identify where there is room for improvement. If you find multiple processes that are ripe for improvement, then place them in an order of prioritisation as you won’t want to change everything at once.

Gain feedback and review what part of the process needs adjusting. Ask questions to get to the root of the issue and then start brainstorming how to make it better.

2. Process Analysis

Gauge how the process is currently doing based on metrics and analysis. Are there repetitive steps? Is there too much waste? Conduct a thorough analysis before you redraft the process.

3. Implementation and Automation

Once you’ve decided how and where the process can be made better, it’s time to make a plan. To make your processes as efficient as possible, consider using an automation solution like SolveXia which can automate many different types of processes for you.

Human errors often weigh down organisations, so with SolveXia, you can rest assured that you will have utmost accuracy.

4. Monitor

Perform constant check-ins to determine if the change is meeting your expectations. Just like you used automation solutions to streamline your processes, you can use automation software to analyse the results with customisable dashboards and reports.

How to Plan for Business Process Optimisation?

Initiating business process optimisation means that some things will be changing. Without proper communication, this could cause fear amongst employees, especially those who may fear that technology is going to take over their job.

To make sure that the new processes and tools are welcomed and used, there are change management considerations required beforehand. For example, be sure to share:

• The business goals of the process
• How this change will help make it easier on everyone
• The constraints that exist and will continue to exist within the process
• Why the process should be improved
• How to eliminate the current weaknesses of the process

What is an Example of Business Process Optimisation?

Let’s see how business process optimisation can work in action with some process optimisation examples:

Rebate Management

If your company deals with rebates and is still using spreadsheets, then you’re losing a lot of valuable time. Without process optimisation (and an automation solution), it’s likely the case that your financial team is unable to scale rebate management because there’s only so much time in a day.

Additionally, you want to standardise the process but with multiple hands involved, you run the risk of various actions being performed. Alternatively, you can execute business process improvement by automating the rebate management process.

This results in increased performance as calculations are done in seconds as opposed to days, the ability to scale the process, and time savings. Check out how a tool like SolveXia helped this global beverage bottler and distributor to replace more than 57 spreadsheets and process over 250,000 transactions monthly.

Travel Reimbursement

If you’re running a business where employees travel for work, then you likely have to cover their expenses. The paper-based process can cause unnecessary complexity and chaos.

Accounting teams and employees may misread or misenter data, which can mess up the entire reimbursement amount. Companies who notice this process is costly from both a financial and efficiency standpoint look to digital systems that reduce errors and streamline the process.

How to Choose the Right Business Process Optimisation Software?

With many tools to choose from when planning your business process optimisation strategy, it helps to have some guidelines to follow.

On your search, try to look for software solutions that encompass:

• Data and process automation
• Collaboration capabilities
• Analytics
• Easy-to-use interface
• Document management

SolveXia is a financial analytics and automation platform that entails all of the above (and more). You can optimise your processes through automation by using its drag-and-drop interface.

This means that you don’t have to know any code or even be tech-savvy to initiate entire processes because you can utilise its pre-built library of process building blocks.

Additionally, a tool like SolveXia will connect all your data sources to collect, capture, and cleanse data as needed to ensure processes are running smoothly and properly. With enhanced visibility and access to analytics, you can constantly perform process improvement as you see fit.

Closing Thoughts

In 2020, McKinsey and Co. shared that 66% of businesses have piloted business process automation. As a key ingredient for business process optimisation, it’s clear to see how and why automation (and digital transformation) can make all the difference when it comes to remaining competitive, capable, and ensuring customer satisfaction.

Business process optimisation should be made a constant practice in any type of business as continuously changing environments rely on innovation and automation to survive. Check out how a tool like SolveXia can help your business thrive by booking a demo.