State of the Nations 2021: Nordics

Signavio is now part of SAP.

State of the Nations 2021: Business Transformation in the Nordics

Tecwyn Hill

White Paper

Signavio is now part of SAP.

Table of Contents 1. Executive summary

3

2. The path to transformation

3

2.1. Managing risks and controls

4

3. A process-driven organization

5

3.1. Process mining and automation

5

3.2. End-to-end transformation

6

4. The goal of transformation

6

4.1. Business and IT alignment

7

5. The drivers of transformation

7

5.1. The role of the C-suite

8

6. Process governance & COE

8

6.1. Applying individual modeling regulations

9

7. Process owners 8. Continuous agility 8.1. Collaboration delivers value

State of the Nations 2021: Business Transformation in the Nordics – Signavio GmbH

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1.

Executive summary

“Thanks to Signavio, we have taken a big step from ‘Why can‘t we continue with the processes in Word documents?’ to ‘Wow, that‘s amazing.’”

Andre, Capterra user

Business process management (BPM) helps you understand the way your business processes work.

Instead of being content to scan the surface, you can dive in and bring up game-changing insights from the depths of your data. In the same way, collecting and analyzing information on how organizations actually use process management helps reveal the bigger picture of its impact across industries and regions.

This paper offers insights and suggestions based on an exclusive research report that examines process maturity levels and the ways business leaders in the Nordics use the power of process management to optimize their businesses. The research was conducted in businesses with over 1,000 employees and unlocks the region‘s ‘current state‘ for business process management. It reveals where Nordics companies are currently evolving their processes and where they want to reach — ready for the next step along the transformation journey towards IoT, machine learning, intelligent cloud ERP SAP S/4HANA, and the Intelligent Enterprise.

Over 50 C-suite executives, IT specialists, business transformation specialists, VPs, managers, and directors responded to a range of questions about how and why they use process management solutions. Plus, the results highlight how they quantify effects and evaluate success, and their challenges during BPM implementation. .

2.

The path to transformation What are your organization‘s top 3 business transformation priorities?

(Please select 3) 53 out of 53 answered

1 2 3

Operational Excellence

84.9%

/ 45 resp.

Manage risk & controls

62.3%

/ 33 resp.

Optimizing your customer journeys

62.3%

/ 33 resp.

In the Nordics, the drivers of transformation revolve around tech innovation and operational upgrades, governance, and changes in customer demands. As a result, companies are looking at how they can be more forward-thinking and strategically oriented to drive operational excellence transformation and support the customer-facing functions by delivering higher value and productivity.

But why? From the data, it‘s clear that there‘s been a disconnect between operational excellence initiatives and customer experience for too long.

State of the Nations 2021: Business Transformation in the Nordics – Signavio GmbH

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Operationalizing customer experiences by connecting customer journeys with the processes/systems, metrics and roles that underpin them helps companies improve and transform. This is because taking a 360° view of business processes reveals the inside-out view and how consumers see your business.

This Customer Excellence (CEX) outside-in perspective helps enterprises align an entire organization behind critical customer/employee outcomes.

Plus, by leveraging journey analytics and sentiment analysis, business leaders can make smart decisions about which customers to serve, turning customer experience ambition into an operational reality.

2.1. Managing risks and controls However, from the data, we see that the need for faster innovation and transformation creates an environment with significant uncertainties. It is more complex than ever to assess risk and then take control.

Organizations in different sectors must deal with varying risks, depending on what they do, how they work, the technology and materials they use, and so on. However, the impact of things going wrong is often similar — lost time and money, damage to reputation and infrastructure, and in the worst cases, potential injuries to staff or customers.

A process-oriented approach to building a risk and controls framework lets you tailor your risk management planning to how your organization operates, including the risks unique to your industry and your business.

In this regard, BPM technology provides compliance teams with the automation, transparency, and control they need to ensure effective risk management. In practice, that means they can: >

Ensure complete transparency of process across the business

>

Help implement active and preventive risk control

>

Define control measurements to detect potential risks before they can escalate

>

Provide ongoing optimization of processes to reduce risk

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3.

A process-driven organization Where do you feel your organization is in terms of becoming a ‘process-driven‘ organization?

53 out of 53 answered

1

We are already taking steps to become a far more process-driven organization by automating key processes, and have process mining techniques in place to extract relevant thresholds

39.6%

/ 21 resp.

2

We are at the start of our journey and have simple tools to model across the business

26.4%

/ 14 resp.

We have designed certain processes e.g. O2C/P2P

20.8%

/ 11 resp.

3

Whether planning to restructure existing processes, support transformation projects, or take the first steps towards becoming a process-driven organization, it can be challenging to know where to begin, let alone how to achieve results quickly. The breakthrough across the entire organization often fails because the added value of the initiative is not adequately communicated.

For many organizations, communication and collaboration are not simple processes, particularly within organizations with a mindset that fears change. Therefore, how you deal and communicate with employees dictates how successful any business transformation will be.

Remember, successful BPM implementation can only be achieved if the initiative is supported by management. Therefore, find a sponsor to get C-Level on board and then define the implementation scope to meet goals and targets. Setting clear and manageable KPIs is vital for employees to understand what is expected and achievable.

In fact, this step is so important we can flip the script and consider the three major reasons for BPM project failure: >

Lack of C-level engagement: the BPM initiative is not supported at the top.

>

No focus: the goals & planning are not realistic and you cannot show results.

>

User acceptance: there is no buy-in from process users due to unclear parameters.

3.1. Process mining and automation Are you thinking big enough? Understanding the benefits of process mining and the importance of process transparency can revolutionize business by offering the information, visibility, and quantifiable numbers needed to improve processes. But how do we turbocharge our skill set, organizational network, and understanding?

Process mining enables business leaders and front-line managers to use data for effective decision-making.

Businesses can fully integrate process mining into their business process management approach and have real-time visibility to their operations. This way, decision-makers can identify bottlenecks, spot inefficiencies and fix broken processes.

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In addition, only once processes are modeled can you make informed decisions about where automation can best be deployed. Taking the time to capture processes also helps you build a data-backed business case for opportunities such as robotic process automation (RPA).

3.2. End-to-end transformation By harnessing raw data and continuously monitoring end-to-end processes, we gain insights into potential risks and ongoing improvement opportunities, too. The powerful combination of process discovery, process analysis, and conformance checking supports a collaborative approach to process improvement, giving you game-changing insights into your business. For example: >

Which incidents would I like to detect and act upon proactively?

>

Where would task prioritization help improve overall performance?

>

Where do I know that increased transparency would help the company?

>

How can I utilize processes in place of gut feeling/anecdotal evidence?

4.

The goal of transformation What do you hope this business transformation will enable you to achieve?

(Select up to 3 options) 53 out of 53 answered

1 2 3

Achieve cost savings

75.5%

/ 40 resp.

Better serve our customers

62.3%

/ 33 resp.

Become a process excellence organization

49.1%

/ 26 resp.

By becoming a more process excellence fuelled organization, you can better monitor the processes that underpin the way your organization works — from finance and HR, to manufacturing and sales.

Businesses reap the benefits of efficiency and effectiveness that arise from a single coherent process landscape that crosses IT system boundaries.

Plus, the application of process mining and customer journey modeling — especially when linked to underlying business processes — offers the bundled capability of better operational understanding and outside-in customer perspective, connected to the processes that deliver them. So, by connecting process mining with a customer-centric view across producing, marketing, selling, and providing products and services, Customer Excellence becomes a strategic catalyst.

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4.1. Business and IT alignment While delivering Customer Excellence, the C-suite needs to hire and then develop staff that genuinely add value to the organization‘s culture and mission. They also need to offer the resources and support required, then get out of the way so their employees can succeed! Meanwhile, too many departments aren‘t using all their features and functions, and ergo, IT teams pay for licenses and fees that aren‘t generating business value.

So looking forward, no matter how big or small a business is, better aligning business and IT can deliver tangible and intangible benefits (like speed and performance) to hit revenue/costs and operational targets efficiently, and meet customers‘ expectations of innovation and experience.

This continuous strategic loop means enterprises function better, make more profit, and see better ROI because they achieve their goals with less effort. While there may be no standard way to align successfully, an organization where IT and business strategy are in lockstep can improve agility and operational efficiencies. This battle of the ‘effs‘, efficiency vs. effectiveness, has never been so central to business survival.

5.

The drivers of transformation Where in your organization is your business transformation being driven from?

53 out of 53 answered

1 2 3

Office of the CEO

41.5%

/ 22 resp.

Business / Business Process Transformation

13.2%

/ 7 resp.

9.4%

/ 5 resp.

Centre of Excellence

Business transformation and digital reinvention are all about changing how a business operates, becoming more agile, data-centric and capable of responding to change rapidly.

However, many are still missing key elements when it comes to implementing change, with a lot of companies building their transformation projects from the bottom up. This explains why 70% of digital transformations fail.

In order to succeed, they must be led from the top, with every member of the board having a critical part to play. Digital transformation has to be a collaboration of minds, and leadership from every board member is essential.

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5.1. The role of the C-suite From the Head of HR to the CIO and CEO, everyone must be engaged with the digital transformation project in some way. For example, the CEO must take the lead, set a direction and decide where they want the business to go. The role of the CIO should be to look at how all the information flows might change and who owns that information.

Insights: The order-to-cash process, aka O2C or OTC, is critical for the C-level in an increasingly digital economy. The more efficient and accurate the process, the better the company‘s operational performance, customer satisfaction, and cash flow management. By monitoring and highlighting deviations from that standard process, businesses can increase order and invoice handling speed and efficiency. This means: >

Increasing customer satisfaction by improving on-time deliveries

>

Accelerating end-to-end throughput time by identification of delays and bottlenecks

>

Early identification of orders at risk of late delivery, allowing for corrective measures

>

Improved customer responses due to transparent fulfillment processes.

6.

Process governance & COE Do you have process management organization and governance structures established to lead, coordinate, and support process efforts for the organization?

53 out of 53 answered

1 2

Yes

67.9%

/ 36 resp.

No

32.1%

/ 17 resp.

Business transformation initiatives can quickly grow in size and complexity beyond initial specifications.

However, the collaborative documentation of processes allows a foundation to be laid for optimal process and decision management. This means improved ways to capture, connect, govern, and communicate how work is done, resulting in a higher level of consistency and efficiency throughout a company.

To achieve this: >

Process modeling must be standardized and presented transparently within the process architecture

>

Employees require reliable points of reference and best practices

>

Management needs to be able to view and evaluate processes in a decentralized way.

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Signavio is now part of SAP.

6.1. Applying individual modeling regulations For companies already using standards like the modeling language BPMN 2.0, consider taking it a step further with configurable modeling regulations. This helps an organization reach the highest level of transparent and standardized process design. It ensures every employee has the right BPMN elements and tools they need. Standardizing operations also expedites the approval process and keeps uncertainty to a minimum.

Insights: Workflows can help streamline, govern and automate repeatable business tasks, minimizing room for errors and increasing overall efficiency. This, in turn, dramatically improves your business turnover. Managers can make quicker, smarter decisions, and employees can collaborate in a more productive and agile way.

7.

Process owners Do you currently have owners for all processes in place?

53 out of 53 answered

1 2

Yes

43.4%

/ 36 resp.

No

56.6%

/ 17 resp.

Succeeding in business — and staying successful — isn‘t easy these days. To survive and thrive, companies must be able to adapt to and even benefit from change quickly. Companies need effective technology enablement to transform themselves.

To meet these imperatives, many companies seek ways to free up funds to reinvest in growth and innovation programs, form new alliances and partnerships, and simplify their operations. Frequently, companies elect to launch technology-enabled initiatives to support business transformations, but usually, initiatives are large and complex, affecting vital end-to-end business processes.

For example, many organizations struggle with standardization vs. customization of IT systems and how best to deliver organizational value. Plus, program leaders may lack the critical skills needed to drive organizational change triggered by these programs.

Insights: Organizations can set the stage for a successful tech-enabled transformation program by designating global process owners (GPOs). GPOs oversee the design and implementation of the end-to-end processes most affected by the program, helping ensure processes are designed in ways that best meet the needs of everyone involved. To do so, GPOs must have decision-making authority for sign-off on all related business policies and procedures. They also establish close working relationships with leaders throughout their processes‘ functions and with business users.

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8.

Continuous agility What are your biggest business transformation challenges?

53 out of 53 answered

1

2 3

Driving cultural change and embedding new ways of working within the organization

71.7%

/ 38 resp.

Aligning of departments, functions and stakeholders

62.3%

/ 33 resp.

Having the right technology in place to allow for transformation

49.1%

/ 26 resp.

Business transformation is often confused with operational excellence and continuous improvement.

However, viewing transformation efforts as simply an extension of improvement can be a mistake.

Simply put, improvement efforts can often lead organizations to do the wrong things faster and cheaper — rarely do improvement efforts cause a shift in thinking.

Yet, in any given market, the pace, volume, complexity, and cost of change represent major threats, as well as opportunities. When you add to this the pressure from regulators and the risks associated with compliance, most people accept that there has to be a better way — a way that better connects strategy with execution and enables continuous translation between the two, allowing you to remain compliant while becoming more agile.

8.1. Collaboration delivers value In short, any BPM solution needs to be collaborative and inclusive. Many BPM initiatives start with the best of intentions but rapidly begin to stagnate when the project becomes the exclusive domain of highly-trained process experts working in isolation. For BPM to reflect the world as we find it, particularly with the rise of remote work, process initiatives need to expand their focus away from process design and into a more human-centric approach.

This helps foster a culture of understanding and acceptance while breaking down silos.

By having the right technology to allow transformation, you combine all the key elements for operational excellence and custom-first thinking. This means, efficient process governance and workflow management, powerful process mining, robust process modeling, and customer-centric thinking tied to a collaborative single source of process truth.

These components deliver a model-driven and process-aware mindset within your organization, in lockstep with customer excellence at scale.

Find your own ‘a-ha moment’ with a personalized demo.

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