Organizations constantly face both threats and opportunities that can necessitate changes in overall strategy. New customer demands, competitor offerings, developments in technology or changes in broad market conditions mean organizations must constantly be aware of opportunities and threats that can necessitate a change in strategy. When strategy pivots, Business Process Management (BPM) can inform the new strategy and ensure that opportunities are leveraged and threats are conquered efficiently and optimally.
Organizations are using BPM for strategic shifts related to introduction of new products and services and improvements in customer satisfaction. How can BPM work for you? Let’s look at a high-level example that everyone who drives a car can identify with - automakers’ efforts to shift from internal combustion engine to electric vehicles (EVs). While they each take different approaches, virtually all of the major automakers are transforming the fundamental way cars are powered with many committing to being all-electric by 2040 or even earlier. BPM can help automakers go from here (primarily producing gas powered cars) to there (primarily producing EVs) as efficiently as possible by mapping the processes necessary to successfully implement the transformation.
Whether it is the exploration of producing EVs or full adoption, automakers must map out how the new strategy effects functionality and how it will be implemented. Automakers must answer the following questions:
- How do we become an EV producer?
- Do we have the right people and skills to produce EVs?
- Do we have the right processes to produce EVs?
- Where are there gaps in what we know and don’t know?
- Does our current infrastructure and information flow support a shift to EVs?
- What are new roles for stakeholders?
Shifting from internal combustion vehicles to EVs introduces new challenges, new requirements and new people, processes and technology for automakers. Whether they are aggressively pursuing EVs or proceeding more deliberately, in order to successfully pivot to producing EVs, automakers must answer the questions above. When you face similar challenges, whether it’s a dramatic or incremental change in strategy, you face a comparable situation. A Business Architect can use BPM to help you succeed by mapping out new processes and how they will be implemented. Mapping provides a big picture view that helps you monitor and optimize outcomes.
Mapping
Business Architects look at the new strategy and map out the people, processes and technology required to implement it. Mapping and defining the process reveals answers to the questions above and helps the organization design new processes needed to pursue the strategy. It helps identify the modifications required, opportunities for efficiency and automation and provides a big picture view of what the new processes will look like. Once the new processes are mapped out, the steps required for implementation are determined.
Monitoring
Successful mapping provides a framework to measure and monitor effectiveness. Are targeted KPIs met? If not, the process mapping helps identify and address bottlenecks and inefficiencies. With solid process mapping in place, you won’t notice and respond to issues in an ad hoc way as if putting out fires. Instead, you can identify root causes and identify issues in the big picture context with a better understanding of the issue and how to address it.
Optimizing
Mapping and monitoring sets you up to continually assess and improve. If the process doesn’t meet expectations, or opportunities for improvement are identified, you can quickly implement needed improvements. To effectively optimize your processes and your BPM mapping, assessment should be ongoing so issues are identified and addressed as quickly as possible.
BPM Helps Every Step on the Way
When shifting strategy, BPM helps every step on the way from evaluating whether to shift, to implementing and optimizing the processes required to achieve your new strategy. Ultimately, BPM helps you get from here-to-there faster and more efficiently, whether you are rolling out new products or services or seeking efficiencies in how you do business.
