How to Facilitate Business Process Mapping | ERP and HCM Process Improvement | Value Stream Mapping

[Music] hi everyone my name is Brian Locke Aruba I'm a manager with third stage Consulting Group we're here today with another in our series of videos to walk through the concept of process mapping with you now we know with our audience we're gonna have people with different levels of experience with this so this is is this is aimed to show a few things for you certainly if you've never been involved in process mapping sessions this will be good for you to get a rough idea of what it's about and to understand how different roles can interact in a session and some of the types of things you can draw out of it so we're gonna be using a very simple example here so it's not one that's necessarily going to be as tied to some of the biggest gains you could get out of process mapping but it should be one that's kind of familiar the idea is just we're gonna be going through the procurement process for ordering laptops in a small business so we will be able to walk through what that process looks like hopefully it's relatable and you'll be able to see through the help of our participants how we would go about this process and some of the things we would draw out of it so I'll introduce to you our two participants in this so first of all playing the role of the department head ordering laptops is Cameron carpenter hello everybody and playing the role of our procurement manager is Adam Cheatham hello okay so what we're gonna do I will start sharing my screen and we are going to be building a Visio process map on the fly and there are a lot of tools out there you can use for something like this Visio is a Microsoft tool that a lot of people are familiar with and have access to so again we're just gonna be doing kind of a simple map here and walking through what a session like this might look like so I've got this map up and now I'm gonna shift into the mode of facilitating the session with our participants here so we like to start is to say okay so Cameron we're talking about the process of procuring a laptop this is going to start within the within the business area so we we want to identify what's the event that triggers this that notify are the beginning of the process so I would think in this case it's something along the lines of just identifying a need for a new laptop whether it's a new hire or a or someone who needs a laptop replaced yep that's correct Brian and if if I were to need to learn new laptops typically it's for new hires computers that go out of date or if we have one that malfunctioned so that's typically where we first stars just identifying great okay so let let's have you walk through the process and Adam please jump in as you have things to add on this but and think largely the process will flow starting from from Cameron moving to Adam and then and then back so Cameron what's the first thing you do once you buy that if I just need alright so after I've identified the need I typically will research potential laptops with the specifications that are needed in our department I specifically like to look up a Mac look Mac laptops they tend to work well with our applications and what we're using what we're doing so I'll research that then I'll dig once I find that appropriate laptop I'll start to research our research and look for supplier typically I just go find about two or three different suppliers look for the best price option and then really after that I just fill out a purchase requisition form and I take that purchase requisition form with the computer information supplier and I drop it off on Adams desk procurement so let me stop you for a second there kam and first of all as I'm mapping this on the fly please jump in if there's anything that's not representing exactly how you think it's flowing so what kind of information are you capturing on this purchase requisition form so on the purchase requisition form it'll be the the specs of the laptop themselves how many I'm meeting to order for my department the department I'm in and and then my supplier information from who I found the supplier that's typically what's filled out on that requisition form can you mention MacBooks are preferred for you the Apple computers can you tell me why cuz as a company we would typically like to have you know the the PCs the Windows environment it's easier to use they're a bit less expensive and we have quite a few more options and sourcing them anytime what about Mac books is helpful for you for us on art in our department with the applications and things we use we typically have better luck working with the MacBook platform the lifespan of the computer seems to better and works well with with our employees in its more personal preference so is that lifespan do you have data on that and is that something that we're confident offsets the costs necessarily increase because as Adam said we have a higher price for those I guess it's just a question of do we know for actually saving money based on that or or not do we have any visibility to that I would have to look at I don't I would have to look at or ask Adam for the information from the last time you ordered the laptops we don't really track that stuff so okay you know something that from my perspective that I have a budget that I had to manage and that is a part of the conversation here with regard to particular laptops that code for one department or the other cams department seems to want the more expected expensive laptops when everybody else does flying with the PCs so just trying to figure out why it is we need those okay so noted that here is a pain point we don't really have the visibility and we're kind of flying blind in terms of making decisions on are we buying the right laptops that are helping us and you know certainly I would think if they're very specific application needs that are only functioning on one platform or another that would be something that's called out in this fax but otherwise you know we may be able to look at streamlining this to be able to you know make better decisions for the organization so both comfortable with that we have just a little more research to do to figure out what's the best options are we also put on there the it's not just a lack of visibility analyze Fay versus initial cost is the difference in functionality between apples of PCs okay excellent addition I think if you're looking into that a little bit more you'll see why I want the back books versus the PCs for our department okay well it seems that's an area to we should if the paper form does that have anything that's asking so it's asking for the specs but as there are the justifications for that is that identifying programs that are needed like how does that have the level of depth we need to be able to make those decisions now currently no and there there isn't any policy in place that tells you what specific laptops you're supposed to use I don't have a specific supplier I'm supposed to look for on my end other than that everybody else uses PCs we want this a debate on the Mac per second see just know we need some data around right agree to disagree okay so is the Flex base in the form to call out key needs and sorry I think there was another one that matters lack of like there's no my policies yeah on this ease in place for which suppliers we're supposed to be looking through okay I'll figure to supplier I mean always helps when you have some identified for me but I'll do my own research and as part of the procurement department I have relationship so those folks I feel gets better deal okay so is that the first step in your process Adam or well let's call it out first I imagine there's some steps of reviewing the form but yeah so vending our suppliers in your department I do so I'm glad that that's helpful but from this point what I'll end up happening those you know can will drop that paper off on on my desk if I'm in my inbox and I'll good as part of the other things that I review I'll review that in line with what comes and once I get to it my first step is to just kind of take a look at comparing the need against the the requests and we have a new hire in this case and we don't have enough laptops it's usually a pretty clean and clear cut I take a close look at the specs and the number that we need and I start to look for fits within the my vendor network on what it is I can I can supply you know the Mac books are usually a little bit more difficult for me not only in that they're more expensive but my network has fewer fewer people in it that sell Mac books so I tend to lean towards the PCs I look at the specs and and for often I'm able to find a PC that fits those specs and so I'll usually go down the route of identifying the vendor and then or create a purchase order in our system for these these laptops in this case and then that'll go through its approval process on our side and make sure that no cameron's department heads have are aware of the need for laptops and the spend is going to come out of there their budget and their GL and from there once I have the process handled appropriately which usually by email I will issue the purchase order to the vendor so one thing to note as you're watching here obviously there's some stuff that's bumping up against each other so always tend to clean these mops up after the fact that we want to make sure we're capturing things and if you have atoms I've been translating the things you've been saying into discreet boxes and steps here let me know if anything's missed or not represented as it needs to be I was with those suppliers and selecting the laptop purchase I do work to match that with specifications of the of the requests right so Cameron has particular needs for software as well as performance and things like that you know sometimes he wants more desktop oriented things sometimes he wants laptops so in this case we're speaking the way I talk but that doesn't mean that I couldn't get a request for a desktop as well that will go through the same process so Cameron from your end do you feel like your ended up getting and let's forget the Mac versus PC debate here for the tube if you generally feel like you're getting the right machines that are matching what you need or do you have some issues around this I mean they they work and get the job done typically but sometimes we have issues with some of the applications that we use on the PCs might scrape workarounds get some stuff done I do know that I do have an issue because it seems like there's just a long period where I have no visibility and how long it's taking to get these laptops ordered anyways regardless of whether a PC and you know why whether it's me knocking on the door sending emails a lot I have no clue you know I I might have a new employee stuff doing nothing because they're waiting on a laptop Adam are you aware of this challenge that's happening with the department's of not happiness and I mean when I get the the emails I usually am able to find the purchase order request in my in my inbox and I'd you know if it's it's coming up soon or if it's urgent I'll try to pull it up but as amongst the list of things that I have to do is order laptops for camp so so maybe that's something we're missing our purchase requisition form then is priority levels I mean because I I don't think I send you priority levels tagged in the headlines when I email you so and it may be some things aren't identified as priority then at that point and getting a word fast enough yeah that's that's true issues it would certainly help to know why you're ordering laptops other than just that you need these these orders so if we had that if we added that to the form request we could probably that could probably help help things you know if it's a if it's a replacement that might be a bit less urgent than than a new higher right unless the muscle computer completely broken but if we're just looking for upgrades right okay great so let's let's just close the loop on this process work it to the end I think until at least the laptop is received and in front of the employee who meets it and then we can circle back in terms of if we have any other pain points or opportunities we want to identify so so after submitting the PIO to the vendor we've got a period to wait here and then laptop coming in what's the process around that well when the laptop arrives you know I usually get a notification says that your order has been delivered it's usually quite a long ways after when I'm actually invoiced for it which is a pain point of mine because most of the time I get invoiced upon shipment as opposed to a pawn receipt but I will once I get the laptop I'll look at the receipt I'll look at the invoice and I'll look at the purchase order to make sure that they all match and like camera no that his computer or computers are are waiting for him and pretty much from that point I go and pick up the laptops from Adam and then I just had to confirm them that they're the correct laptops because like we said before I might put in a request for a MacBook with certain specs but I might get a PC and so at least the specifications with those laptops need to match or be somewhat similar so one thing today what we're gonna do what we're not going to do as much as we could do in a deeper dive session would be to go a little further into some exception pads here what if the laptop doesn't come in what if it doesn't meet the specs how do we follow up and we're also not going into some of the follow up processes like paying out the invoices and the accounts payable side of things so you know for the purposes of this we're just going to call this an endpoint around it without some of those other branching pads we might do on a deeper dive and then just say laptop use please so let's make sure we've covered some good pain points here some of them we have some opportunities identified of what we're gonna do around changing the form some of them we still need to follow up outside of this meeting where I could've solved the problems if necessarily looking into the cost and the lifespan now and then you know challenges around vendors getting the invoices off sooner than the laptops are those aren't all here and as I said I'll be cleaning this up before providing but any any other thoughts on pain points any other opportunities to make this process better that either of you see you know as we're talking about getting into a new system here I'd like this process so I'll be electronic and that way I can see something where I know how many purchase requisitions I have in this case you know if we take Cameron's great idea of priority I can also see that the electronic approval process can be a little bit more well documented that would be helpful for me as well so that I know when the approvals aren't coming through but sometimes camp follows up with me sorry man it's with your boss I'm coming so go go and that guy you know so those types of things that visibility for sure right yeah that's one you know there's there's different routes we might have in that there may be some tools whether it's some opportunities within Outlook or whether it's ticketing systems if others in the organization are using them or it might require a purchase of it could be a pretty small scale purchase or it might be able to be something rolled into a larger initiative so this is one that I think we just have to spend some time outside doing some research into what's the way we can go ahead and convert this to an electronic process and make sure we're not over engineering it because it's not you know technology solves some of these problems and can address them but some of them it looks like our ones we've been able to identify just cleaning up the process a bit will help okay any any other thoughts on on pain points or opportunities before we wrap it up I would say you know we've identified two with Adam having already a list of suppliers from his end that there's it's not necessary for me to have to research supplier so it might be able we might be able to remove that oh I didn't see that on there so duplicate of step yeah but we're putting then we could put that solution and your suppliers this step maybe we should we should look at that and get a little bit more into detail on that because yeah I have suppliers that have laptops but if if cams looking for something that's a bit different you know being the fits of marketing department that needs something a bit more advanced than just a MacBook you know whether it's a maybe video equipment for making commercials or whatever that might be I don't have I don't necessarily have a supplier for everything so hims having that starting point for me is it eliminates a good amount of work on my end if if I don't have a supply Network I do have a supplier Network I'll use it so seems there might be some options here - I'm just wondering if cam you have employees starting you have similar needs to maybe have some templates and some baselines that Adam can reference and then be able to you know aim to duplicate some of the same purchasing he's done and maybe if that applies across some departments as well there could be some bulk ordering opportunities right I also see an opportunity where we could maybe have an approval process or like a loop back to me when you've selected the laptop based on your supplier your research so we can kind of come to an agreement on what's being ordered maybe if I have options because if I don't have the choice of the MacBook versus PC then what PCMR seeing maybe if I have a couple options that least I could be a part of that decision for my department so maybe only if the laptop is not exactly what you've requested then to have a step double bit back where other items in particular because that could go I could go for like you said any video cameras Hardware anything that I might need great okay so I think that'll wrap it up for this session on the process map so I'm gonna go ahead and stop sharing the screen and now kind of back to the to the video to those of you watching this so this again this was a brief illustration the savings and opportunities identified out of this or just on a small scale but trying to show the types of things that can happen when you get people talking to each other and working on a process and and you don't just have procurement looking at in the vacuum you don't just have the hiring manager filling out form you're getting you're getting people looking at these things together and please note as well you know this is again a simple example it's also at a certain level of detail as you go through process mapping there are various reasons under which we're gonna do it sometimes it's just ongoing maintenance of your processes sometimes it's because in areas ripe for improvement sometimes it's part of a bigger technology initiative and even in those big initiatives you're going to have different along the way on how this goes so this exercise while in structuring concept will be very similar no matter what the circumstances we'll see some some differences depending your you could be let mapping at very different levels and trying to get into some more detail so again just a flavor of what this can look like how it would go about would really be specific to the project you have and the needs with that I will give an opportunity if Adam were cameras would like to add anything further around around what they got out of this experience or how it relates to what they've seen in process exercises in past oh my end I'm good I will say I'm actually a PC guy as hard as all the bad guy will know I think just process improvement in general it works really well for organizations you should always be looking for areas of where there's pain points that you can identify opportunities to clean up a process or make things more efficient and better so it should be an ongoing effort not just something you do on big initiatives so I'd also emphasize it it's good to have the cross-functional teams together right you know - if Brian had gone and talked to Cameron and then come and talk to me and then I've gone back to talk to Cameron you know some of that conversation gets lost particularly in the collaborative nature of what we can make these adjustments now and that might that might help out quite a bit as opposed to having to be dependent on technology in a way that says well let's just take cameras process and then plug it into atoms and then have it spit back out to camp you know the level of the aha moments that come and come through other people seeing what is it happens upstream and downstream is usually something that is worth the exercises in and of itself right yeah it's something else to point out to the complexity of a process that the interactions becomes much greater when you get more than two people engaged you know even in a simple example we didn't even have an IT representative who you would have then had some more complex changes and then if you get into a very very elaborate end to end business processes that might involve a dozen departments who are touching on each other you're gonna see that much more complexity that much more benefit from getting people together and talk through and they're gonna they're gonna take longer to work through those issues but there's gonna be a lot of value doing so so with that we have that all wrap it up for this video we thank you for watching and following along with this and see you next time Thanks thank you thank you [Music]

Channel: Third Stage Consulting Group

Views: 1,351

Rating: 5 out of 5

Keywords: business process mapping, business process improvement, business process management, ERP implementation, hcm implementation, process workshops, procurement process, Value stream mapping

Id: 5wFkTxjomUI

Length: 24min 42sec (1482 seconds)

Published: Wed Apr 22 2020