Reliability and Redundancy in Production Management
Introduction Product quality determines the success with the product. One of the key drivers of quality is the performance of the product over a period of time. Performance of product is determined by the reliability and redundancy. Reliability increases the efficiency while redundancy increases the current capability and expectations. Any production organization sets a goal […]
Business Analytics – Meaning, Importance and its Scope
Introduction The word analytics has come into the foreground in last decade or so. The proliferation of the internet and information technology has made analytics very relevant in the current age. Analytics is a field which combines data, information technology, statistical analysis, quantitative methods and computer-based models into one. This all are combined to provide […]
Banning of Unregulated Deposits in India
The Indian government has been facing several cases of fraud every year. There are many chit-fund schemes like the Saradha scheme which have been used to dupe thousands of retail investors to the tune of crores of rupees. After facing severe criticism from the public for the inaction of the government to stop such schemes […]
Braked Acceleration: A Case Study of the Indian Automobile Industry
From Maruti to Mercedes: The Evolution of the Indian Automobile Industry The Indian Automobile Industry has come a long way since the Independence times wherein its growth has broadly mirrored the changing lifestyle aspirations and the economic boom amongst the Indian consumers. Indeed, while the Ambassador car was the symbol of the Indian Automotive Industry […]
Business Intelligence – Architecture, Components and its Benefits
Introduction The current business environment is constantly evolving. The global economic scenario is providing opportunities as well as challenges. The factors affecting business environment are consumer needs, globalization, and government policies, etc. In such a business environment, organization basically has four action steps. The organization can be reactive, anticipative, adaptive, or/and proactive. For this, organization […]
Business Process Improvement exercise is undertaken by organizations to improve their operational efficiencies, to remove redundant processes, eliminate wastage as well as to adapt to customer expectations and thus augments its operations to meet with the expectations.
BPI programs aim to bring about permanent changes to the processes through a sustained and planned implementation program.
Business operations consist of a maze of processes that are intertwined, overlap ping, extensions and combinations of functions and departments. All departments and functions have got to work in tandem with seamless integration to ensure that the business objectives are met within the stipulated time frame and with utmost efficiency.
Business Process Improvement can be successful only when it is spearheaded by the management and the concerned business unit heads. The management forms an Executive Implementation Team which in turn chooses the important and business critical process which needs to be addressed in the BPI program besides of course drawing up, approving and enabling budgetary sanctions and resource allocations required for the program. Thus the management becomes the sponsor of the BPI program and owns the responsibility of communicating the same all through the organization.
In the second stage, the EIT appoints a BPI Champion or a Process Owner is selected for the chosen process. Along with the Process Owner, a Process Improvement Team is also formed. This team consists of the Departmental Managers and facilitators of the process. The PIT team headed by the Process Owner undergoes BPI training to equip themselves with the concept, the methodology and the tools to be used for the BPI program.
Once the initial training has been completed, the next step that follows is to build a initial PIT Plan. The PIT plan consists of:
As explained above, any business operations will consist of several business processes. It is important to identify and determine that particular business process that is to be taken up for improvement. Each process will need to be identified with the boundaries explaining at which point the process begins and the point at which the process ends. Besides the process will also involve inputs and outputs to several other processes, departments or functions too. These will need to be identified in detail and the clear boundaries of the process on hand will need to be identified.
Example Fig. 1: Parts Management Warehousing Process
Example Fig.2: Part Picking Process in the Warehouse
Take the case of the above example. The Fig. 1 represents an overview of the Warehousing Process. The second Fig. 2 shows a detailed process flow of one of the activities that forms a part of the Warehousing Process. (Highlighted in Fig.1). As such in a proposed BPI program, several such processes can be taken up for improvement if they are found to yield efficiencies and make business impact.
In each of the processes identified, the Process owner draws up the starting point and ending point of the process that is being taken up for improvement and walks through the process with the process leaders in detail.
The PIT plan drawn up will contain information on the selected process, the boundaries, the start time and end time of the project, the details of process owners, the resources required and the action plan for the process improvement.
The initial PIT plan serves as a guide post for the entire program. As the PIT team gets involved in review of the process in detail, the operating assumptions and the entire process itself can undergo changes in line with the customer expectations or the set goals.
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
