Holistically evaluate and refine your business procedures for optimal efficiency and productivity

Last month, Forbes reported, “Humble business processes are having a renaissance. Today, business processes are at the epicenter of digital transformation.” 

Business Process Improvement (BPI) is getting exceptional buzz right now, but it’s not a new concept. 

For its origins, we can look all the way back to the mid-1400s when Venetian Arsenal shipbuilders devised ways to systematize and streamline, building more boats in less time. Fast-forwarding to 1913, Henry Ford used many of the same process principles to invent the moving assembly line, which enabled his company to reduce costs while producing more cars, faster. In 1950, Kiichiro Toyoda and Taiichi Ohno of Toyota took the next step with a series of innovations that allowed for equally smooth process flow but far more product variety—as well as high quality, low cost, low waste, rapid throughput, and simpler, more accurate information management.

A “wave of interest in business processes in the 1980s and '90s led to quantitative approaches,” says Forbes. Then, “A more systemic and technology-based approach to business process design, execution and orchestration gained momentum in the 2000s.”

Most recently, the Covid-19 crisis forced enterprises across virtually all sectors to shift gears on the fly and in many cases, reevaluate their entire business model. Many companies experienced growing pains in rapid digital transformation—new technological demands and applications came up against some disconnect and lag time with traditional processes that remained in place.

Process improvement doesn’t have one standard definition. It goes by several, nearly interchangeable names—including BPI, continuous improvement process, business process optimization, business process management, business process automation—with certain nuances and uses that apply to different companies, sectors, and situations. 

But in essence, they all refer to the same thing: a management practice that helps enterprises systematically evaluate and refine their procedures for optimal efficiency and productivity.

Process improvement doesn’t have one standard definition. It goes by several, nearly interchangeable names—including BPI, continuous improvement process, business process optimization, business process management, business process automation—with certain nuances and uses that apply to different companies, sectors, and situations. 

But in essence, they all refer to the same thing: a management practice that helps enterprises systematically evaluate and refine their procedures for optimal efficiency and productivity. 

Process improvement can be broken down into four main steps: 

1. Analyze the company’s processes and performance to identify inefficiencies and bottlenecks, as well as zero in on customer needs and pain points.
2. Redesign new processes to eradicate complexity and redundancy, increase speed, and reduce waste, friction, and errors; streamline workflows to get more done with the same team.
3. Implement optimized systems and technology to maximize efficiency, growth, profitability, employee productivity and morale, and customer experience.
4. Review and continually track performance and outcomes, making ongoing incremental improvements as needed.

BPI offers a wealth of meaningful benefits for your business, and there are numerous areas where it can focus, for example:

• Increasing speed / productivity / agility / scalability / reliability
• Lowering costs
• Enhancing product quality
• Boosting team performance and engagement
• Improving customer experience
• Ensuring compliance

The most successful BPI takes a holistic approach, starting with a company’s values and goals, and aligning its systems to support those ends. Though modern technologies are vital, they’re far less effective in a vacuum. In our data-driven, digital-focused economy, IT is expected to do more than offer support and maintenance; it’s depended on as a key driver of an organization’s growth and effectiveness. This requires a fully integrative approach, from software to systems to employee skills.

There’s no magic pill that will fix every broken system, but fortunately, today, well-established process improvement methodologies are plentiful, including Six Sigma, Lean, Lean Six Sigma, Kaizen, 5S, Values Stream Mapping, Total Quality Management (TQM), Toyota Production System, Theory of Constraints, as well as a host of strategies and tools currently at the vanguard. 

On the other hand, says Forbes, “for enterprise decision-makers, this cacophony of new concepts and drumbeats of vendors is deafening,” 

Lukasa is the ideal partner in your company’s BPI journey for exactly this reason. Our process improvement and modernization experts become “part of the family” to gain a 360º understanding of your business. Applying the most beneficial methodology and process tools for your particular needs and goals, we help you update disjointed legacy technology, streamline and harmonize all your operations for maximum efficiency, and ensure the comfort and collaboration of your entire team—supercharging your company’s productivity, growth, and profitability into the future.

About Lukasa - lukasa.com
Lukasa empowers small-to-medium-sized businesses by designing and implementing custom business and technology solutions that drive efficiency, productivity, and innovation, enabling them to stay ahead in today’s rapidly-changing competitive landscape.