Organisations today are living through uncertain times. In an incredibly competitive market climate that is more connected and complex than ever, the imperatives to be compliant, resilient, and innovative weigh heavy upon businesses, irrespective of their size. As Jeff Bezos puts it, “in today’s era of volatility, there is no other way but to re-invent.”
However, is it possible to re-invent or transform something that cannot be comprehended or perceived in the proper context? It is why, despite spending a fortune on the best gear and services for Digital Transformation, businesses often fail to stay on top of disruption. Their proverbial Achilles Heel is the absence of reliable process insights on which the results of Digital Transformation can soar.
Process Mining: A Digital Transformation Enabler
It is where process mining technology comes into play. It takes a deep dive into business processes to reveal operational gaps, bottlenecks, and vulnerabilities that Digital Transformation should prioritise to deliver the desired outcomes. The technology consumes operational data like event logs to render a graphical representation of workflows, readily pinpointing areas that should have the attention of the process planners and auditors.
Arguably authentic and dependable process intelligence that supports clarity is no short of a catalyst for Digital Transformation. In fact, such is the efficacy of the technology that Deloitte Process Mining Survey 2021 reported nearly half of the respondents considering it a key lever to drive their Digital Transformation agenda, and an overwhelming 84% acknowledging its value for their business!
The faith is not misplaced. Today with process mining, it is possible to power a wide range of Digital Transformation precursors that were earlier based either on assumptions or on precarious models at their best. Evidence-based oversight has improved:
– Process discovery: Process mining has replaced conventional discovery approaches that were often time-consuming and factually inaccurate. With an objective understanding of process cycles, it is now feasible to assess opportunities for improvement, digital interventions, and their likely outcomes with greater confidence.
– Process Compliance: Process mining platforms can intuitively compare actual process performance with industry best practices and standard thresholds. It instantly reveals the hotspots of non-compliance and deviations that are in imminent need of a digital makeover.
– Process Enhancement: Process mining solutions come equipped with research tools like Variant Analysis, Straight-through Analysis, and Reworks Analysis. Consequently, it can objectively point out areas that can positively impact the operational culture using digital constructs like Automation or IoT.
– Process Modelling: Process mining equips process architects and planners with a trove of real-world operational data, allowing them to pre-empt pitfalls and design resilient and fault-tolerant processes.
– Improved Decision-making: Process mining contributes toward more robust Shop Floor to Top Floor integration, fostering an informed operational decision-making culture. Process intelligence allows leaders to identify specific inefficiencies, analyze root causes and make amends with almost surgical precision instead of going for costly process overhauls. Apparently, process mining has contextualised digital interventions like never before.
Final Notes
The benefits of process mining are compounding and pivotal to the success of Digital Transformation projects. It won’t be an overstatement to claim that despite investment in flagship enterprise management tech, a digital revamp will most likely go off the rails if not channelized and braced using objective process intelligence.