Thursday, September 6, 2007
What is Business Process Management?To stay competitive in the marketplace a business needs to be cost effective. This is largely accomplished by streamlining the operations of the business and making sure the processes are running at peak efficiency. All businesses run via processes and Business Process Management (BMP) is a technology developed to give businesses the framework in which to manage more effectively the processes that make them tick. BMP technology is able to automate the managing of processes in your business, but allows for human intervention wherever necessary.Most business processes involve more than one department and even different organizations. These processes rely heavily on the information from and participation of multiple systems. BPM technology is designed to facilitate these processes by integrating the various components into one streamlined system that runs smoothly and efficiently on a partially or completely automated flow of steps.BPM automates the flow of a process and it automates the extraction of information needed to ensure that the process is completed properly. When human intervention is needed, each person is notified at the appropriate time to implement the step or steps that must be provided.BPM is also able to provide tracking of results and allows a business to measure the success of operations. The flexibility is in place to allow for changes to be made within the process so that the improvements in the operations will create a better outcome.
What to Look for in a BPM TechnologyBPM technology for your business should include at least the following components:
• Design tools and user interfaces• API/framework layer• Data transformation• Process automation, workflow, and rules engine• Connectivity services• Activity management for your business
One of the main problems that businesses run into when they begin to consider BPM technology is they find out that they do not fully understand the current processes they have in place. There is a large amount of preparation involved when integrating a BPM solution into your existing business process framework and many businesses do not understand their processes well enough to model them in the new BPM solution. If the business processes are not well understood, then incorporating BPM technology into the framework of the business' processes may only create more confusion. However, if the processes of the business are defined properly during preparation for the BPM technology, then not only will the processes be fully understood, but weaknesses in the systems may be uncovered that can be rectified trough the use of BPM.A business must determine its needs first and then look at the available options for BPM technologies that exist. It is also important that, from the business end, there is executive-level sponsorship of the BPM implementation plan and that there is user buy-in. A business will also need a project team to follow through on the integration of BPM into the existing framework of their company and they will need a full understanding of all deployment considerations. Lastly, the business must have a realistic view of the milestones along the way. It will take time to implement the entire BPM solution.In your business case for implementing the BPM, you of course need to consider your Return on Investment (ROI) and in evaluating the success of the BPM technology for your business, it will be important to compare the actual results against the ROI predicted in the planning stage.
In addition to this, there are other ways to gauge the success of your BPM implementation. By calculating your total cost of ownership, you will be able to make a baseline comparison between your before and after results based on the total cost of running your business. Determining the operational efficiency will reveal the cycle time, the total amount of time needed to run a process, and the required resources, the total number of people and systems needed to support the process. The greater the cycle time and required resources, the less cost efficient the process. Unit cost reduction is another way to gauge the success of the BPM implementation. This allows you to determine the actual cost savings for the business, which affects the bottom line.
SummaryThe implementation of BPM technology can be an effective way for a business to streamline the processes that make them tick, which can greatly affect their bottom line. By integrating BPM technology into the process infrastructure of your business, you will be able to automate many of the steps needed to see a process through to completion. During the preparation stage of BPM deployment, a full understanding of the processes may lead to knowledge of how to make things work better.BPM technology makes sense for any business that runs on complicated processes. These businesses include, but are not limited to, financial services, insurance, government, healthcare, and manufacturing. BPM makes sense in a business world where the bottom line means everything.
Peter Peterka is President of 6 Sigma us. For additional information on Six Sigma Black Belt or other Six Sigma Online Training contact Peter Peterka.
Business Process Management – The Six Sigma Approach
Managing a business entails a wide variety of responsibilities and project managers have to be up to the task. Fortunately, there are Business Process Management technologies in place to help processes run more smoothly. However, Six Sigma does more than just help processes run more smoothly. Six Sigma is a methodology. It allows for continuous of improvement of processes, on a project-by-project basis.
Implementing Six Sigma into your business takes a high level of commitment, because it does not go project-to-project. There needs to be 100% commitment from all levels of management, especially upper management. Six Sigma is intended to be a methodology that is implemented throughout the entire organization, and without full support from the very top of the management chain down, the resistance to the change that is inevitable in any organization will triumph and Six Sigma will just be another business management project that had limited success.
What Makes Six Sigma Truly Different
Six Sigma is truly different from the average BPM technology because it is a methodology and a program of mentorship that begins with top management and funnels down to the people who really make things happen in an organization. With the full support of upper management, business managers are able to support their own teams of managers to learn and implement the Six Sigma technology.
There is intensive training involved prior to the deployment of Six Sigma and through out the process. Six Sigma likens the leaders of the implementation process to the belt levels in martial arts, because to implement Six Sigma properly requires dedication and training to ensure success. Greenbelts are those who have undergone two weeks of training in the Six Sigma methodology. Blackbelts undergo four weeks of training and they are able to oversee the Greenbelts. Then, the Master Blackbelt is highly trained to be the Six Sigma program manager for the entire organization. There is a chain of mentorship from top to bottom that will ensure that the deployment goes smoothly and that there is continued success with the program. In fact, deployment does not even begin until the appropriate people are trained to the Greenbelt level.
The business leaders become the Champions, and are there to support the Master Blackbelts. One key with Six Sigma is that the Champion does not just sit back and take a passive role. They are concerned with how the processes are managed. They are concerned with the method of implementation, not just the end results. And this is how Six Sigma intends it to be. They want to create a BPM that is designed from the needs of the business, by the Champions, based on hard numbers.
Six Sigma Methods
Six Sigma has two unique methods through which their product is deployed. The first one is called DMAIC – Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control. This is ideal if a business has an undefined problem within existing products, services, or processes. The second is DFSS – Design for Six Sigma. DFSS is still in the developmental stage. The aim of DFSS is to create a new product, service, or process that is defect-free in the eyes of the customer.
An organization determines its objectives in terms of numerical value to the company and then they take this information and the method they have chosen to the training table where the belt trainees will use these to amass knowledge and learn to put these objectives and methods into deployment.
Summary
Six Sigma's client list speaks volumes for the effectiveness of the Six Sigma method. These clients include Honeywell, Sears, GE, 3M, Home Depot, the Bank of America, and JPMorgan Chase. Six Sigma is also moving into the public and health care sectors.
Six Sigma is not a company that moves in and takes charge, deploying BPM technology based on what they see as the needs of the business. Instead, they allow the business leaders to tell them what they need Six Sigma to do and they essentially design Six Sigma to tailor fit the needs of their business. Not only do the allow this approach, but they train the business leaders and the staff of the company in the knowledge they need to see what needs to be done. Only then is Six Sigma deployed.
Peter Peterka is President of 6 Sigma us. For additional information on Six Sigma Black Belt or other Six Sigma Online Training contact Peter Peterka.
Chinese Government Pushing RFID Market To Bring Down Logistic Cost
February 1, 2006
The Ministry of Commerce declared that the external logistics in China had jumped by 30% annually to reach a high of 38.4 trillion RMB in 2004. The conclusion, that the growth of the national economy is progressively reliant on logistics is evident from the logistics demand coefficient (the ratio between the GDP and the logistic amount), which has touched 2.8. In order to be at par with other developed countries, the Chinese logistics manufacturing has to go a long way.
Chinese manufacturers are of the opinion that the retailers should bear the cost of the RFID tags as it benefits them. They firmly believe that they should be exempted from paying for these tags, as these tags help the retailers and suppliers to keep a track of their products. These wireless tags also help the retailers to manage their inventories more competently.
China is the largest supplier of source products to manufacturers worldwide. Out of the $ 200billion worth of goods imported by the US annually, nearly 70% are from China. The United States imported goods valued at over $ 120 billion from China in the first half of 2004, which constitutes a 23% rise from the previous year.
There are two important factors instrumental in the implementation of RFID in China. To begin with, the Chinese government is laying special stress on the country's underdeveloped logistics infrastructure, which is lagging behind, unable to keep pace with the development in the field of manufacturing over the decade. Secondly, the abundance of cheap labor has attracted manufacturers from all over the world.
The findings of a recently conducted market research report by RNCOS – a leading market research report company, on the RFID market in China, discloses that the RFID market is growing at a phenomenal speed having already crossed the 1.6Bn RMB mark last year.
According to the report by RNCOS "RFID: Outlook China", government support and promotion are the prime factors for rapid development of the RFID market in China. However, other factors could also become important driving forces for facilitating its development, e.g. formation of standards, lowering of prices, further maturing of technology, and further reinforcement of privacy protection.
The report recommends Venture Capitalists to keep a close watch on the RFID market due to the following reasons: there is enough space for new investors in the booming RFID market; RFID technology can easily be transferred into new products providing immense business opportunities.
The report published by RNCOS further states that though RFID technology has gained recognition globally, companies in South China are ignorant to the advantages of the technology and are reluctant to adopt RFID technology in the Pearl River delta area.
To purchase your copy: http://www.rncos.com/Report/COM27.htm
For more information about the report please visit www.rncos.com
