MODULE

• Business Process


  A set of logically related tasks performed to achieve a defined business outcome. A structured, measured set of activities designed to produce a specified output for a particular customer or market.
• Working definition of Business Process

  An organization's Business Processes clearly describe the work performed by all resources involved in creating outcomes of value for its customers and other stakeholders
• Business Process


  • About work: Transforms physical or informational inputs into outputs, comprised of a set of activities, describes all the work undertaken by an organization, may be highly structured and repetitive or loosely structured and exhibit high variation
• Business Process


  • About value creation: Creates measurable value for customers and other stakeholders, performance should be measured regularly to assess effectiveness and identify improvement opportunities, performance indicators should be measurable and comparable
• Business Process


  • About resources: Performed by a mix of human, IT, and equipment resources, all resources should have access to required knowledge and have clearly defined roles and responsibilities
• Characteristics of a Business Process

  • Has a goal
  • Has specific inputs
  • Has specific outputs
  • Uses Resources
  • Has a number of activities that are performed in some order
  • May affect more than one organizational unit
  • Creates value of some kind for the customer
• Different kinds of Business Processes

  • Within an organization (training, project management, procurement, IT support)
  • Between organizations (strategic alliance, collaboration, outsourcing)
  • Managerial (strategic planning, decision making, finance, leadership, organizational development)
  • Operational (order processing, inventory management, supply chain, manufacturing)
  • Activity oriented (customer onboarding, recruitment, complaint handling, customer service, social media posting)
• Business Process Hierarchy


  A way of ordering the various levels of processes, Michael Porter's Value Chain is an example
• Value Chain Analysis


  A technique used in identifying business processes in an organization as proposed by Michael Porter, activities within the organization add value to the service and products that the organization produces
• Two Sets of Activities under the Value Chain Analysis


  • Primary Activities: Inbound logistics, Operations, Outbound logistics, Marketing and Sales, Services
  • Support Activities: Procurement, Technology development, Human resource management, Firm infrastructure
• Functional Business Processes


  • Procurement & Manufacturing/Production: Purchase of raw materials and/or labor, Assembling the product, Checking for quality, Producing bills of materials
  • Sales & Marketing: Identifying customers, Making customers aware of the product, Selling the product
  • Finance & Accounting: Paying creditors, Creating financial statements, Managing cash flows
  • Human resources: Hiring employees, Evaluating employees' job performance, Enrolling employees in benefit plans
• Cross-Functional Business Processes


  Transcend boundary between sales, marketing, manufacturing, and research and development, Group employees from different functional specialties to a complete piece of work
• Business Process Architecture


  The hierarchical model of processes and systems companies use to transform inputs into outputs, a simplified flowchart of a company's processes in chronological order
• Workflow Management


  The identification, organization, and coordination of a particular set of tasks that produce a specific outcome, optimizing, improving, and automating workflows to increase output, eliminate repetition, and reduce errors
• Workflow


  A system for managing repetitive processes and tasks which occur in a particular order, the mechanism by which people and enterprises accomplish their work
• Business process hierarchy


  Divides core business processes into lower-level processes with detailed tasks or activities and graphically represents them. It shows the course of process breakdown from complex business processes, sub-processes, and process segments, to more detailed lower-level steps.
• Business processes


  • Can be simple or complex - simple processes often require fewer steps to execute whereas more complex processes not only involve more steps but are more likely to need to be governed by business rules
• Process documentation


  • Detailing who is responsible for each step and what exactly is required of them, to ensure processes are executed correctly and deliver value for the organization and its customers
• Types of business processes

  • Primary/Core
  • Support
  • Management
• Primary/Core processes


  Cross-functional processes that form the value chain and directly add value for customers. Their purpose is to serve the needs of external customers and generate income for the business.
• Support processes


  Enable core processes to be carried out. Despite not generating any income for the business, they assist internal customers and ensure that things get done.
• Management processes


  Involve planning, measuring, monitoring, and controlling the core and support processes. Their purpose is to make sure the business is running efficiently. They are responsible for ensuring compliance with regulations, addressing any opportunities or threats and ensuring the continued overall success of the business.
• Retail business process hierarchy

  • Operational Processes
  • Administrative Processes
  • Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Processes
  • Supply Chain Processes
  • Strategic Processes
• Operational Processes - Sales Process

  1. Customer inquiry handling

  2. Order processing

  3. Payment processing

  4. Shipment handling

  5. Returns and exchanges
• Operational Processes - Inventory Management Process


  1. Stock monitoring

  2. Replenishment

  3. Warehouse management

  4. Inventory valuation
• Administrative Processes - Human Resources Process

  1. Recruitment

  2. Onboarding

  3. Training and development

  4. Performance management

  5. Payroll
• Administrative Processes - Finance Process

  1. Budgeting

  2. Accounting

  3. Financial reporting

  4. Expense management

  5. Tax compliance
• CRM Processes - Marketing Process

  1. Market research

  2. Campaign planning

  3. Lead generation

  4. Customer segmentation

  5. Promotions and advertising
• CRM Processes - Customer Service Process

  1. Inquiry handling

  2. Complaint resolution

  3. Feedback management

  4. Loyalty programs

  5. Customer satisfaction surveys
• Supply Chain Processes - Procurement Process


  1. Supplier selection

  2. Purchase requisition

  3. Purchase order management

  4. Supplier performance evaluation
• Supply Chain Processes - Logistics Process


  1. Transportation management

  2. Route optimization

  3. Freight forwarding

  4. Customs clearance

  5. Warehousing
• Strategic Processes - Strategic Planning Process

  1. Mission, vision, and goal setting

  2. SWOT analysis

  3. Strategy formulation

  4. Strategy execution

  5. Performance monitoring and evaluation
• Strategic Processes - Business Development Process

  1. Market expansion

  2. Partnership and alliances

  3. New product development

  4. Diversification

  5. Mergers and acquisitions
• Business process modeling


  The activity of representing processes of an enterprise, so that the current business processes may be analyzed, improved, and automated
• Importance of understanding business processes


  • Increase process efficiency
  • Lower operating costs
  • Reduce errors
  • Increase agility
  • Monitor compliance
  • Measure process performance
  • Promote collaboration
  • Identify automation opportunities
  • Standardization
• Business process architecture


  The overview of a set of business processes that reveals their inter-relations, which may be extended with guidelines to determine the various relations between business processes. Provides guidance for the actual modeling of the involved business processes.
• Business process architecture describes the functional decomposition of an enterprise value chain, and provides value streams showing chains of cross functional end-to-end business processes in the operation of the enterprise's strategies.
• Characteristics of a business process

  • Scope
  • Purpose
  • Steps
  • Sequence
  • Team members
  • Outcome
  • Customer
• Task


  A specific job or activity carried out by an individual, often described by a Work Instruction or checklist, and the most basic unit of work.
• Process


  A set of connected tasks designed to change the form, fit or function of a product or service, often carried out by a work unit or team.