BPM Series: Benefits of BPM Systems

Business Process Management (BPM) systems offer benefits to business users, which are both quantitative as well as qualitative in nature. They can have direct impact on the topline and bottomline of the organization depending upon where they are used to automate and manage business processes. Some of the key benefits of business process management system are:

BPM systems improve process efficiency

BPM systems tie-together activities of the process and execute the process from start to end. Thus work moves from one desk to another without the performers of the task needing to pull the work from predecessors or push the work to followers. BPM systems send alerts & reminders as the work gets allocated to performers. They can escalate work to supervisors and carryout re-assignment of already assigned work to another performers in case of delays. Process supervisors can pro-actively take corrective actions and manage situations of delays and exceptions. BPM systems can even automate work, eliminating need for manual intervention. Thus, BPM systems minimize delays, and waiting time improving process efficiency.

BPM systems ensure optimum resource utilizations and improve productivity

BPM systems can organize, schedule and distribute work based on process parameters such as performer skills, performer availability, performer workload, work-item priority etc. As stated earlier work gets pushed to the performers and hence performers can utilize their time in value added activities rather than doing unproductive work like fetching, finding or pushing documents and work to the next performer. Thus, BPM systems identify and utilize resources optimally and also improve productivity.

BPM systems ensure process standardization

BPM systems ensure that every instance of the process gets executed exactly as defined. There is never any deviation between two instances of the same process.

BPM systems improve process control

Using BPM systems, process supervisors can easily track and monitor the status of various instances of the process being executed. They can take corrective action wherever necessary. BPM systems can also maintain audit log of every small change in the status of the activity within the process and the actions of the performers.

BPM systems enable process improvement

Using simulation tools, process designers can identify process bottlenecks and high waiting time activities. During run-time, process managers can easily monitor process performance and compare that with process performance measures and KPIs. Post execution, they can also query and analyse process data to identify and eliminate business issues. Thus, BPM systems provide tools, which can be used across the phases of the business process life cycle to improve business process performance.