Process management study: How decisive is process measurement for corporate success?

Even in times of the Corona pandemic, the importance of active process management has continued to grow. A recent process management study by the management consultancies BearingPoint and BPM&O shows the importance of process management in companies. Most of the respondents were companies from Switzerland, Germany and Austria. The study also shows what has changed in the assessment and the associated goals compared to the previous studies in 2012, 2015 and 2017.

83 percent confirm the high importance of process management

The continuing high importance of process management is again confirmed by the companies. Since 2012, the proportion of organizations that consider process management to be very important has actually almost doubled from 19% to 35%. The preoccupation with process management is driven primarily by the continuing focus on cost optimization and efficiency improvements (48 percent) and coping with digital transformation (40 percent). Other drivers such as quality assurance, legal changes and changing customer requirements also play a role, but these vary greatly according to company size and industry.

Matthias Roeser, Partner at BearingPoint: "Process management has gained importance across all industries in Switzerland over the last two years. The focus of process management changed from cost optimization to the realization of digital transformations. Our study shows, for example, that compared to 2012, three times as many companies are satisfied with the digitalization of processes achieved through process management."

Process management study shows reasons why targets are so rarely achieved

In terms of the achievement of objectives through process management, the study notes a clearly positive trend compared with previous surveys, but the targeted cost savings in particular still fall short of expectations. According to the study authors, this is due on the one hand to overly high expectations on the part of the companies with regard to possible cost savings, and on the other hand to a lack of expertise in identifying, quantifying and implementing suitable measures to reduce costs and increase efficiency.

Sven Schnägelberger, Managing Director at BPM&O: "The competence requirements on the topic of process management have changed significantly in recent years. Whereas ten years ago the focus was on process documentation and isolated process optimizations, today process management teams have to deal with organizational development, strategic process management, process controlling, LOW code process automation, robotic process automation and process mining technologies. Therefore, the (further) development of competencies is essential to be able to achieve the set goals."

Added value through process management - increased pressure for measurable results

The pressure to demonstrate measurable results with process management is increasing, the study emphasizes. Qualitative added value, such as greater transparency, better collaboration and a clear understanding of roles and tasks, is usually no longer sufficient to justify the necessary investments. Rather, the added value must be regularly demonstrable through measurable results. According to the study, two-thirds of the survey participants have already recognized the importance of benefit measurement and can usually demonstrate clear benefits. According to the study, 39 percent of the companies see the biggest hurdle for the introduction of benefit measurement of process management in "enforceability in the organization."

Process mining is the trend, but only a few companies dare to use it operationally.

Process mining is currently being promoted on the market as a new innovative option for process analysis, optimization and, in some cases, process automation. According to the study, the vast majority of companies have already dealt with the topic of process mining, but many companies are still in the discovery or evaluation phase in this area. Only a few organizations dare to take the next step toward operational use (18 percent). One reason for this is that many companies are deterred by the high initial investment and cannot yet see the great added value that process mining promises to offer. However, the high level of satisfaction among companies that are already using process mining illustrates the high added value potential of this innovative method.

Source: Bearing Point Switzerland