Business Process Management – Not just for the enterprise

A recent study has been carried out by IBM on attitudes to business process management (BPM). The survey, conducted by YouGov, spoke to 650 senior business decision makers from small, medium and large UK firms. One of the most significant findings was the difference in attitudes to BPM between small and large firms. The survey found, perhaps unsurprisingly, that the larger the business, the more likely they were to have plans in place to update their business processes in the next two to three years – demonstrated by 70% of those businesses with 250+ employees having BPM plans in place, compared with only 31% of those with less than 50 employees.

BPM is centred on making processes efficient and flexible in response to the company’s expansion. The implementation of faster and more effective business processes aligns all aspects of the company and, as such, usually results in improved client services. 85% of the senior business decision makers identified ‘line of sight’, ‘visibility into work occurring across your organisation’ and ‘clear understanding into how your business is performing’ as key to a business’s success. However, despite the majority believing this, very few SMEs practise what they preach as they are under the impression that they cannot afford to implement systems that aid in BPM.

Document management systems however are one means by which to create a transparent, streamlined business – a major pre-requisite for effective BPM. By consolidating all documents electronically into one central system, employees are able to access client information that would otherwise be difficult to lay hands on, and therefore deal with any queries directly. Time spent on manual processes is dramatically reduced with companies often seeing a return on their investment after the first year – challenging the wide belief that BPM solutions are only affordable to the enterprise and demonstrating real value for companies of all sizes. 

Stamping out business costs?

Ouch! There can’t be many of the day-to-day business staples that suddenly rise by in excess of 30% but that’s what’s happening to the humble stamp. For a standard letter size, first class stamps are to rise from 46p to 60p. and second class stamps from 36p to 50p. Then there’s the uplift for the bigger letters and packets too. Ofcom’s taken the brakes off so we’ll be getting used to postal service charges increasing as Royal Mail seeks to balance its books whilst simultaneously investing in major modernisation.

For those issuing paper invoices, contracts and correspondence or marketing literature then the franking machine will be costing you a lot more this year. For professional firms like accountants this is a particular headache. In these days of social networking, e-commerce and even old-fashioned email the continuing volumes of paper based documents can be a surprise. However, the fact is that post can be a significant cost for some businesses. This is another burden which makes it all the more difficult to keep a lid on costs.

Of course, dealing with documents electronically removes this. Storing and actioning all correspondence, invoices etc via document management solutions is a logical approach. When something simply has to go out by post then it should be the exception rather than the rule, email and e-commerce the norm. Secure portals and digital signing tools further cement the move away from post. We’re delighted that we’re on the cusp of launching a joint initiative to market with accountancy web and content specialists PracticeWEB to enable portal connectivity. Having security and immediate access in the office and for clients and suppliers joins up the way we work, without the inherent delay of post and without bumping up costs 30% at a time.