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Tapping dynamic business processes

Joanne Carew
By Joanne Carew, ITWeb Cape-based contributor.
Johannesburg, 30 May 2013

The business world is changing - driving a move towards smarter, faster and more dynamic business processes.

So said Norwin Lederer, senior manager of PricewaterhouseCoopers, speaking at ITWeb's fifth annual BPM Summit, in Bryanston, yesterday.

While Lederer noted that business must acknowledge there are traditional requirements to be met, he stressed that the world is moving on and more social processes need to be integrated into business. "The rise in social business and the developments that come with it are changing this space, bringing old-world processes and new-world trends together."

According to Lederer, there are three pillars to dynamic business processes - improving efficiency, improving effectiveness, and becoming more agile. "You don't have to reinvent the wheel. You just need to make better use of successful processes that are already in place."

He advised companies to reduce, reuse and recycle their effective business processes. "Components that have a reliable track record should be reused elsewhere. If you have processes that already meet a need, don't be afraid to reuse them in other areas." Reusing something that works well is far cheaper and smarter than creating entirely new processes, he stressed. And this also makes customers feel more comfortable, as they will be working with something they are already familiar with. "Why do you think an American tourist visits China and chooses to eat at McDonalds? People like to stick with things they know."

While he encouraged companies to stick with processes that work, he also advised that businesses take risks and experiment, which is something most companies are not willing to do, particularly when it comes to business processes. "Innovation is critical should you want to create an environment where process management is dynamic."

Dynamic process management hinges around the customer, says Lederer. "People's attitudes are key to smarter, faster processes," Lederer said. "We have this old-school way of doing things meeting new-world innovations, and businesses have to use this to their advantage."

If it doesn't add value for the customer, stop doing it, he stressed. "Performing a task must tie back to a customer offering. If it doesn't serve the customer, forget about it."

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