You’re looking into process improvement, and BPM (Business Process Management) sounds like a great idea to fine-tune the way you work. But now, you discover a whole lot of buzzwords and terminology, and one of these is “end to end process.”
You’ve probably worked out what, exactly, the term means – the act of defining a process from start to finish. The moment you start trying to do this in practice, though, you’ll realize it’s not as easy as it sounds. We’ll look at why you need capture end-to-end processes, and how it can be done.
What’s the Point of Capturing an End to End Process?
Capturing an end to end process allows you to monitor and evaluate everything that your company does to achieve a certain result. Your goal is to make the entire process work as efficiently as possible.
This could take you on a journey of continuous improvement or Kaizen and that, in turn, could give your business a stronger competitive edge, increase profits, and enhance your company’s reputation.
Once you have found the way you want a process to work, you can even automate it. How much of your day is spent allocating work, following up tasks, and putting out fires?
How often do you find that something went wrong because someone decided to do their work in a non-standard way? Did you even set a standard? Are certain departments or functional tasks overburdened while work piles up holding up entire processes?
To make your processes function significantly better, you need to start somewhere – and mapping your processes end-to-end is the perfect first step.
Where does a Process Begin?
You might ask yourself where a business process begins – and if you aren’t asking yourself this question, it’s worth devoting thought to. The answer isn’t always as obvious as it seems.
Let’s look at the process of making tea. Does it begin when you turn on the kettle? No, it does not. The process of making tea begins when you go to the supermarket to buy teabags – or, we could even say it begins before that because before you went to the supermarket, you realized that you needed to add tea bags to your grocery list. If you’re a really big tea maker, it might even begin with choosing the farmer who produces the tea leaves!
To find the beginning of a business process, look for the trigger that sets it in motion. Manufacturing may seem to begin on the factory floor, but it begins long before that. How do you decide what to manufacture? When and how do you decide how much to manufacture?
These questions may be less relevant if you manufacture a reasonably standard item with predictable demand. In that case, you could consider beginning your end to end process at the point where you select suppliers of raw materials. The concept of “end to end” process thinking allows for some flexibility in how you view it.
Where Does a Process End?
Now that we’ve looked at where an end to end process begins, you’ll know that you need to look beyond the obvious. You’ll also know that the way you do business will influence where the end may be.
Using the example of manufacturing, you might decide that the process isn’t complete until your customer pays for and receives your products. After all, what’s the point of a manufacturing process if it doesn’t result in sales and satisfied customers?
In businesses using JIT (just in time) thinking, you might even make the sale before you begin manufacturing. In that case, delivery and a final contact point with sales to gauge customer satisfaction might be the last steps in your process.
You might even find that a business process is cyclical, feeding back in a circle so that the “last” step becomes the trigger for the “first” one.
Mapping Processes End-to-End with Software
Today, there’s software that helps with just about everything – and business process mapping is no exception.
Workflow management software can help you create digital versions of your processes. Other than the obvious benefit of getting a top-down view of the process, the software can also keep track of it and make sure your employees are doing everything right.
If you want to get the very best out of your business processes, give Tallyfy a try – it’s free to start!
Related Questions
What is an example of an end-to-end process?
For example, making a pizza from scratch is a perfect example of an end-to-end process. First, you order for ingredients, then prepare the dough, then add toppings, then bake, then deliver to customer. This includes everything from the moment an order is placed to when the final product ends up in the customers hands. A farm to door adventure through pizza making!
What is the end-to-end process system?
Basically, an end to end process system is a super-structured way of doing something from start to finish. It’s kind of like planning a road trip in which you chart each and every stop, gas station and tourist attraction on the way. This system ensures that all the steps in a process are linked and functioning together seamlessly, like a finely tuned machine. It helps businesses remain seamless and operate like a well-oiled machine.
What is the end-to-end order process?
It starts from when the customer says, ’I want to order that!’ The end-to-end order process is like following a treasure map. to when they actually receive the product. It encompasses placing the order, verifying that the product is in stock, billing, packaging, dispatching, and ensuring that the customer is satisfied with the purchased item. It’s basically like a full-time personal shopper who handles everything for the user.
What is the end-to-end process cycle?
As if performing a cultural cycle, the end-to-end process cycle is like a merry-go-round of tasks completing each other to drive everything home. First it involves planning what has to be done; then doing the work; then reviewing whether things are going well; and finally concluding things. But it doesn’t stop there! And round and around it goes, constantly seeking improvement. No matter what you do, you want to be really good at it, and it feels like a quest to greatness.
What challenges come with using end-to-end processes?
End to end processes are a bit tricky, they are a bit like riding a unicycle while juggling. One major challenge is ensuring seamless collaboration, especially between multiple departments. When there are so many moving parts, it can also be hard to quickly identify where things are going wrong. And, if one part of the process gets stuck, it can hold up everything else, like a traffic jam on a highway. Just figuring out how to keep everything up and running and versatile is also a bit of a mind-boggle!
Why should businesses implement end-to-end processes?
So businesses out there got to hop on the end-to-end process bandwagon, because it’ll be like giving their operations a superpower! It has them step back and look at the big picture, and see issues before they become disasters. End-to-end processes can also ensure things run smoother, faster and with fewer blunders — sort of like going from a bicycle to a sports car. They also increase customer satisfaction by giving customers a smooth experience from start to finish. It also makes it easier to see opportunities to save money and time, always a win!
Is BPMN low-code?
Even BPMN (Business Process Model and Notation), this unreadable thing, is not low-code but mostly low-code platforms use BPMN. BPMN is like a flow chart on steroids, a graphical language for depicting business processes. Enterprise-grade low-code platforms often leverage BPMN in order to allow users to create workflows without extensive coding. So BPMN is not really low code but an important piece of many low code recipes for process automation.
What is the difference between low-code and software development?
You can think about this like building a house. Conventional software development processes are building everything from the ground-up — cutting the boards, mixing concrete, and placing each brick. Low-code, though is akin to using pre-fab walls and modular components. It’s quicker and easier, but could be less customizable. Low-code platforms provide visual interfaces and drag-and-drop tools, enabling even nontechnologists to build apps. Traditional development provides greater control at the expense of deeper technical knowledge. Both have their place — low-code for the easier and by far better way to put a solution in place and to get citizen developers involved, and legacy for complex, highly customized software.
What is a BPM code?
There is no standard term BPM code but we can assume it might relate to the programming in Business Process Management (BPM) systems. This can mean the code behind the BPM software that runs on your machine, custom scripts written to automate specific processes, or even the “code” of best practices around process management. In contemporary BPM people often refer to this as visual process modeling (like our BPMN buddy) with a touch of code for any bespoke business rules or integrations. You can think of it as the secret sauce that transforms process diagrams into living, breathing automated workflows.
