Business Process Management (BPM) aims to formalize and optimize business processes through continuous improvement methods. BPM defines processes, maps them, identifies inefficiencies, implements improvements, and automates processes. It is done at the enterprise level using various methodologies and tools. BPM benefits include improved efficiency, control, communication, and setting the stage for digital transformation. Common BPM types are integrated, human-centered, and document-centered. Critical elements for successful BPM include defined leadership, standardized process improvement phases, metrics, organizational synergy, and change management.

1. BUSINESS PROCESS
MANAGEMENT AND METHODS

2. Business Process Management initiatives can help drive continuous process
improvement through a factory. In addition, they can be used in conjunction
with software platforms such as CRM, MRP, ERP.
Optimum efficiency has always been the goal of manufacturing companies.
Without it, a factory cannot remain competitive in its market as costly material,
labor and opportunity are wasted. To uncover optimum efficiency,
manufacturing companies work to revise and refine inefficient processes,
develop new processes and to manage those processes continuously.

3. To accomplish this, companies may turn to Business Process Management
methods to help them put the right processes in place. Business Process
Management (BPM) is part of general operations management where managers
utilize specified methods to discover, model, analyze, measure, improve,
optimize and automate their business processes. This can be a single
methodology or a combination of methodology and other tools such as
software such as ERP and MRP programs as well as other formal programs such
as TQM to achieve their goals.
Read more about Material Requirements Planning (MRP).

4. BPM seeks to align manufacturing processes with business goals. The system seeks to
improve existing processes and then maintain them through metrics that allow refinement
and adjustment. It is rarely department or factory specific and is usually done at the
enterprise level to capture optimum benefit.
A company-wide BPM initiative has three distinct levels:
1. Process Assessment – Also referred to as “process mapping”, process assessment is the
level where a manufacturer defines its core processes and focusses on documenting current
processes as a benchmark.
Levels of Business Process Management

5. 2. Process Improvement – As deployment teams begin to enact the elements of the BPM
program, they will identify inefficiencies by digging into the deeper level of how these
processes work and why. Once the full process has been intricately mapped, the team will
develop and then implement process improvements. At this level, formal methodologies
such as Lean or Six Sigma may be introduced.
3. Process Automation/Optimization – After the process has been identified and mapped
and after improvements have been applied, use of deep technology such as advanced
monitoring and control systems or advanced analytics can help monitor and measure the
system at a level faster than human intervention. This allows for further improvement and
optimizes the system through automation.

6. By formalizing process improvement in Business Process Management, processes can be
seen as having phases. Each deep dive takes a process from its natural and inefficient state
to one of ever-increasing efficiency until it has been optimized. By formalizing the process,
BPM provides a structure and a framework for analysis and action that can be used
successfully for any project.
Two methods for managing the phases of the improvement process are known as DMEMO
and DMAIC.
Process Stages

7. Phases of DMEMO are:
Design – Asks how a process is done and what steps need to be taken.
Model – Asks why a process is done a specific way and what can be done to improve it. It
also seeks to eliminate unneeded steps and automate the process.
Execute – This is the action step where adjustments are made for improvement.
Monitor – This phase tracks the process to verify results are as desired.
Optimize – This phase asks what more can be done to improve the process. If additional
improvements can be made, the phases can be repeated.
DMAIC is similar in scope and is most often used with Six Sigma methodology.

8. The phases of DMAIC are:
Define – In this phase, efficiency and process problems are defined in terms of the customer.
Measure – Here the current process is measured as is to provide a benchmark.
Analyze – In the analyzation phase, data taken from the process measurement phase is analyzed
to identify cause and effect.
Improve – Like Execute in DMEMO< the Improve stage of DMAIC is the action stage where
improvements are undertaken to change and optimize the process.
Control – The control stage in DMAIC is seen as the stage for identifying deviations from the
new process and providing an adjustment or correction.

9. Unsystemized and inefficient business processes can cost manufacturers money as well as
market share. In some cases, it can threaten a company’s existence. These inefficient
processes impact many key areas of the factory and may have a ripple effect to departments
outside of manufacturing such as purchasing, finance and maintenance. They can lead to a
greater number of errors, incomplete or missing data and can even affect company culture
and morale.
There are many benefits to a formal Business Process Management initiative in any
company.
Benefits of Business Process Management

10. These benefits include:
• Companies deploying BPM can gain control of inefficient and wasteful processes.
• BPM can also improve operational efficiency as all areas of the factory are managed
under a single, systemized structure.
• BPM provides a measurable and ongoing discipline for continuous improvement.
• Communication improves as data is unsiloed for the benefit of a unified system which
may include single software programs for managing previous fragmented and disparate
subsystems.
• It allows more control over production and items produced as they can be tracked
accurately through the production workflow.
• BPM can set the stage for digital transformation of a factory.

11. A Business Process Management initiative can take many forms. There are three common
types of BPM that include:
• Integrated – This is the most automated type of BPM and includes processes that can be
enacted with no human intervention between different software systems such as CRM,
ERP, Planning and Purchasing Systems, etc.)
• Human – In many manufacturing environments, operator and technician interface with
the elements of a BPM system are critical. A human-based BPM type may include ultra-
friendly use interfaces, simple alerts and notifications, intuitive dropdowns and simple
tracking mechanisms.
BPM Types

12. Document Centered – Reserved for BPMs that require a chain of handling for authority
such as contracts, safety requirements and compliance processes.
Most manufacturers will use these in combination but with a heavy reliance on human-
based BPM.

13. Business Process Management is a powerful way to formalize and systemize process
improvement. Some of the best-known methodologies include Six Sigma, Lean, BP Trends
and Hammer and Rummler-Brache. Each of these methodologies have been used
successfully by a wide range of successful manufacturing companies over the last few
decades.
However, each of these methodologies must have critical core elements such as:
• Defined Leadership – Who in an organization will manage the system and how are their
roles defined.
• Process Improvement – Process improvement must be robust and standardized, and
each phase must be defined and followed.
BPM “Must Haves”

14. • Metrics – All methodologies must have reliable, real-time metrics that can be used to
evaluate and make decisions.
• Synergy – The chosen methodology must align and have synergy with a manufacturer’s
core business goals.
• Change Management – Continuous improvement methodologies and the software and
technology tools that are usually used with them often result in a culture change. This
requires effective change management within the organization. If this is not understood
and planned for, the initiative may fail.
BPM initiatives can help drive continuous process improvement through a factory. In
addition, they can be used in conjunction with software platforms such as CRM, MRP, ERP,
and others to take that improvement to the next level. And in most cases, they can even be
tied in through API to these systems to leverage powerful analytics and other data
processing, machine learning and automated attributes as well.

16. https://manufacturing-software-blog.mrpeasy.com/business-process-
management-and-methods/
https://www.mrpeasy.com/