6 Absolute BPM Benefits in '24

Updated on Mar 1

4 min read

Table of contents

1. Increased Efficiency 2. Drive change 3. Assess process performance 4. Ensure Compliance and Security 5. Ease transfer of business knowledge 6. Enhance customer satisfaction Further Reading

Some researchers claim that if the processes were carefully monitored and had managed to comply with standards and regulations, they could have prevented six human errors leading to at least 30 deaths, $68 billion in damages, and the baffling environmental harm in Chernobyl. ¹

Typical business processes do not cause such disasters, but they can still be costly and time-consuming if not managed well. Business process management (BPM), also called process management (PM) helps analysts to monitor and manage processes, which allows them to:

Increase efficiency,
Drive change,
Assess process performance,
Ensure Compliance and Security,
Ease transfer of knowledge,
Enhance customer satisfaction.

This article focuses on these BPM benefits that can be achieved with automated process management, which is carried out with the help of management software or process intelligence software, such as process mining tools. These tools offer a fast and data-driven approach to process management and improvement.

1. Increased Efficiency

Any bottlenecks, problems, and delays occurring in processes slow down the workflow and prevent smooth and efficient process function, leading to waste of time and money. Yet, it is often difficult and time-demanding to identify these issues in daily operations and change them.

BPM enables analysts and leaders to have a greater vision of their processes, including each step, task, and employee in charge. As a result, it becomes easier to detect the inefficiencies and eliminate them. Thus, when the leaders notice redundancies in activities or time loss due to manual tasks, they can automate such tasks and increase productivity while decreasing errors and costs. According to Forrester, BPM can increase productivity by around 30-50%. ²

A bank that analyzed its back-office operations with the help of process mining detected manual and repetitive work that cost them time and money. Therefore, the bank automated over 50 processes, which increased the bank’s efficiency.

2. Drive change

New advancements in technology, new rules and regulations in the region the business operates, or competitors’ upgrades, generate a dynamic market. Such changes force companies to change quickly so that they remain competitive. However, it is not always easy to implement a modification, introduce a new app or service, and make the teams internalize the change.

Business process management allows strategists and business analysts to track the changes and refine them based on company needs, in a shorter time than usual, by clearly mapping the process flow. Business leaders can also predict the effect of the modifications on their operations since BPM provides precise documentation. As a result, organizations with BPM can gain the flexibility to remain competitive in the agile market.

For example, a travel agency that applied process mining to their service process management saw that they needed to change the execution order of their tasks and give customers the ability to switch their purchases.³ Such changes improved agility and speed in daily operations while increasing customer satisfaction.

3. Assess process performance

It can be challenging to analyze the complex processes, including several sub-processes, various steps, and tasks to be done by numerous employees.

BPM allows business leaders and analysts to monitor their business processes from the first steps until the process is completed. Consequently, the analysts can assess the overall process performance and measure the impact of each step and activity on their operational flow. With BPM, every single process, including tasks and activities, can be checked to make sure they are executed the way they are planned and designed.

For example, a sim card provider from Spain struggled to measure the performance of their customer-centered processes. ⁴ The company used process mining to monitor all their services that require first contact with customers, map customer journeys, and establish performance metrics.

4. Ensure Compliance and Security

Businesses consider compliance checks as a complicated and costly activity. However, the lack of compliance can harm the company’s reputation and cause financial damage due to the costly fines. Another implication of compliance is security since compliance allows companies to assess their risks for fraud and theft.

BPM facilitates process documentation and visualization of the process flows straightforwardly so that managers and analysts can ensure that their operations comply with the standards and rules. Moreover, analysts and leaders can create new process solutions and design the ideal processes by determining optimal conditions based on the process maps and insights obtained owing to BPM.

For instance, A German logistics company detected around 79% compliance risk in their credit collections management systems with process mining.

5. Ease transfer of business knowledge

Spreadsheets and emails are quite common in the business world to transfer information across employees and teams. Thus, when there are new employees onboarding, the employees go through all these spreadsheets and google docs prepared for them to understand business and their responsibilities. These files can exhaust the employees because they have to remember all the files, update the data daily, report the changes to others without missing any details and ensure everyone is on the same page with modifications or new input.

BPM streamlines the transfer of knowledge by mapping workflows and documenting processes. Analysts can be updated on minor changes in tasks or activities, which decreases the deviant cases, creates more consistent paths and fills the communication gap between departments. BPM also allows archiving and sharing the knowledge for training purposes, making a smooth onboarding experience for the new team members.

For example, a bank in Australia leveraged process mining to solve the communication issues between their front and back office, which positively affected the bank’s mortgage approval service.

6. Enhance customer satisfaction

Customer satisfaction is the main reason companies constantly search for improvement in their products and services. The analysts develop strategies and marketing campaigns to attract new prospects, improve conversation rates, and decrease churn rates. Although converting clients into long-term brand ambassadors is the dream of all companies, it often remains a dream.

A well-planned BPM can help businesses provide their services smoothly with fewer errors and more time-efficient operations. Also, such efficiency will generate more time allocated for customers. Eventually, all these positive outcomes will translate into an enhancement in customer satisfaction rates.

For example, Vaisala, an industrial engineering company from Finland, used process mining to manage its business processes. The company improved 59% of its operations by identifying process deviations. As a result, the firm reduced its costs and improved customer satisfaction.