Any business operation is a collection of processes which transform input (raw materials, information, components) into useful output (product, services etc.) whilst using some of the businesses resources (labour, cash, facilities etc). These processes are the natural business activities that produce value, serve customers and generate income. Managing these processes to maximise the effectiveness and minimise waste is the key to the success of the organization.
Process flow Map
Most businesses grow over an extended period of time and the underlying processes evolve without necessarily ever being designed or even reviewed. The effect of inefficient processes being operated by departments that have their foundations in history can often be highly comical, unfortunately the effects on the bottom-line are usually no laughing matter.

Over the last few years re-engineering efforts have swept the country as companies pursue the promise of lower costs, higher productivity, higher profits and improved quality. In reality most of these efforts have been based around the statement... "We need to reduce the workforce by 10% across the board, having done that what can we do to fill the gap". It is not unusual for there to be little understanding of how the business actually operates such that when cuts are made and changes are forced through the resulting "Re-engineered" business is unlikely to operate any more effectively than before.

Our approach ensures that the "as is" situation is fully documented and understood before moving onto any ideas for improvements.

Process mapping is the first step of process management. Although there are a large number of methods which differ in detail, the fundamental approach is always the same, using these tools it is possible to document, analyse, improve, rationalize and ultimately redesign the way a business operates. In essence, using this approach it is possible to:

Identify all of the existing processes
Understand how these interact in to form the business system
Locate process flaws that create systematic problems
Evaluate value-adding and non-value adding activities
Rationalize the existing processes and improve flow
Identify processes that need to be re-engineered
Improve effectiveness and efficiency
Reduce employee frustration and improve customer satisfaction

Business Health Check: A Business Health Check is an intense, short duration review of the critical processes involved in a business or within an identified area of the business. Click here to find out more.

Business Turnaround and Recovery: Some situations require quick and dramatic action to rescue a business and to put it back on the road to recovery. Click here to find out more

All of the points above sound very attractive, as always, there is a catch. The process of process re-engineering needs careful application. The following key questions must be answered,

What is the objective?
Which processes should be considered?
What level of detail is appropriate

If your not careful you can spend hundreds of man-hours micro-mapping processes and never reach the stage where you have an overall view of the business. By clearly identifying the objective we can determine the appropriate level of mapping and review.

Our approach is to tackle the problem in stages, delving deeper into processes only if it is apparent that they will yield useful results, in this way we can produce initial "as is" results in days rather than weeks.

The level of effort required to subsequently re-engineer these processes is highly dependent on the state of the business itself, it must be said that re-engineering a business can be challenging and require real management commitment, however if done properly the effect on a business can be truly amazing. Give us a call to find out how we can help you.

Consulting with a Technological Edge