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8/6/2019 Business Process Management Taking ERP Beyond Departmental and Data Centric Boundaries
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Business Process Management:Taking ERP Beyond Departmental and Data-Centric Boundaries
Business Unified™
A White Paper by Exact Software
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A White Paper by Exact Software
1 ©2004 Exact Software, Inc.
Taking ERP Beyond Departmental
and Data-Centric BoundariesThe ERP technology boom in the 1990’s gave organizations a means to start obtaining
much needed operational visibility but was limited to product and order processing with
other related functions and thus did not provide a complete, consolidated view of their
entire business. In today’s global enterprise, numerous business processes occur each
day that are outside the scope of ERP—from filling out a purchase request, to interacting
with business partners, to assigning documents for review and approval: the effectiveness
of each one, and the overall efficiency of your organization, is dependant on integrating
these different tasks throughout your entire business and with ERP systems.
Business Process Management (BPM) is a term that many organizations are using to
define a means to solve the challenges facing a company’s procedural needs in tying
these different operations together. However, as technology vendors are establishing BPM solutions, they often fail to focus on the entire organization, leaving certain
segments of the enterprise fragmented and fending for themselves.
This White Paper will provide the essential background required to understand how
Business Process Management has evolved and how, by understanding BPM as a
philosophy and concept, not a technology solution, companies can bring the
employees and processes that live outside of your ERP system into the organization.
Executive Overview
All businesses embrace processes. Whether these processes are documented on
spreadsheets, Post-It® notes, or in employees’ heads, they are what keep businessmoving forward on a daily basis. Companies first turned to ERP solutions in an attempt
to capture the data and information associated with their business processes. However,
the expectation that ERP solutions could impact all the processes required to run a
business efficiently has never materialized.
With the typical ERP solution reaching approximately 15 to 20 percent of an organiza-
tion, ERP never transcended into a solution for the entire “enterprise”. It has been
this failure of ERP that has been the primary driver in the rise of a new generation
of solutions, led by a diverse group of providers all claiming to deliver BPM. It is due
to this diverse group of solutions, that a clear definition of BPM has never truly been
established. Therefore, a diverse group of limited functionality solutions are all
claiming to deliver true BPM.
The goal of BPM should not only focus on solving processes through technology, but
also on a cultural shift within a company that encourages the sharing of information.
BPM promotes the notion that a business moves forward based on the collective infor-
mation that is stored, shared, and circulated amongst employees. Making information
available to all those who can utilize it, and enhancing on the investment that some
businesses have already made through the implementation of ERP solutions, allowing
for greater efficiencies throughout the entire value cycle of a business.
The goal of BPM should
not only focus on solving
processes through
technology, but also on
a cultural shift within a
company that encourages
the sharing of information.
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2 ©2004 Exact Software, Inc.
The Evolution of ERP
ERP solutions were designed to achieve automation across several departments of an
organization, to help facilitate the manufacturing process. ERP addressed the issuesof raw materials, inventory, order entry, and distribution, but was unable to extend to
other staff members who were working on sales, marketing, services, non-transaction-
al relationships with external partners and vendors, and other non-inventory, non-order
operations. ERP did not tie in any customer relationship management (CRM) capabilities
that would allow organizations to capture customer specific information, nor did it
work with the development of Websites or portals for customer service orders. Call center
or quality assurance staff could not tap into the ERP solution, nor could this solution
handle document management, such as cataloging contracts and purchase orders.
As the idea of the extended enterprise emerged, it raised serious questions about how
to most effectively integrate partners, service vendors and the entire value cycle with
documents and workflow driving the business and capturing all the information
involved. Today’s enterprise has evolved and expanded beyond internal influences
and organizational boarders. With global expansions, economic downturns, mobile
workforces, and a partner-driven economy, there are many real-time demands on busi-
nesses. Internal demands and competitive pressures have necessitated a consolidated
view of the organization—both internally and externally—to ensure supreme cost and
process efficiencies. Unfortunately, this consolidated view of the organization can not
be accomplished solely through ERP deployment, leading to the materialization of the
BPM philosophy.
The Emergence of BPMIn the era of the extended enterprise, organizations are now being asked to focus on
initiatives they never had to before. The ability to capture, store, and locate information
has become critical. Increased regulatory factors and compliance issues are forcing
companies to provide a broader view of their businesses. To accomplish this task, it
has become clear that horizontal, as well as vertical management techniques are
required—techniques supported by specialized technology solutions.
Businesses are also being pushed to operate in what is rapidly becoming known
as “zero latency mode,” or more recognizably: “Internet time.” Customers, partners,
and even internal constituents are demanding real-time access and visibility into
the processes running the company. Instant access to critical information createsan environment in which businesses are better prepared to react to changes, and
can adopt a “plan anytime” mind set.
What is being promised by vendors of BPM solutions is the ability to operate in
real-time. They talk about the capacity to replace manual processes and create new
efficiencies across the enterprise. They highlight the ability of BPM solutions to
enhance decision making, while at the same time reduce overhead. They extol the
BPM: Taking ERP Beyond Departmental and Data-Centric Boundarie
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virtues of simplifying complex, mission-critical business processes. BPM promises
to help manage organizational change, keep businesses agile, and become a strong
foundation for ongoing improvement. BPM solutions also promise to centralizecorporate information, seamlessly integrating with previously deployed ERP systems,
becoming a critical element of overall business success. BPM providers have made
a great deal of promises that they have yet to deliver on, which is why a clear vision
beyond all the BPM clutter is needed to offer businesses what they truly need, and
should be looking for.
Taking BPM to the Next Level
What most organizations, and most BPM vendors, do not realize is that to obtain full
value from BPM solutions, enterprises need to utilize an integrated suite approach that
extends seamlessly across the enterprise, providing a holistic view of the business.
The majority of BPM solutions available today look and behave more like extensions
of the “islands of automation” paradigm often associated with ERP deployments. They
do not go far enough toward understanding that business processes are intrinsically
linked, and that a “departmental approach” to BPM will eventually fall short of the
intended goals. Companies, and their technology vendors, need to understand that
business processes should not be viewed within the confines of departmental or even
organizational boundaries. As we have already discussed, businesses are becoming
increasingly horizontal and role-based, and thus, the rules for structuring these
organizations must be based on how people interact on a daily basis.
P o r t a l a n d W e b s i t e
R a w M a t e r i a l s
M a n u f a c t u r i n g
I n v e n t o r y
O r d e r E n t r y
D o c u m e n t M a n a g e m e n t
W o r k f l o w
P r o j e c t s S a l e s H R
L o g i s t i c s
F i n a n c i a l s
ERP
Database
e-S ynerg y
3 ©2004 Exact Software, Inc.
BPM: Taking ERP Beyond Departmental and Data-Centric Boundarie
The Exact Software Business Operations System (BOS) combines the ERP functionality of Macola ES (or any existing ERP solution)
with the extended process capabilities of e-Synergy, to provide a comprehensive, collaborative platform for the entire organization.
Operating on one database, the Exact BOS makes information immediately accessible to those in the value cycle who need it most.The addition of Exact Event Manager to this system enables business activity monitoring and exception management functionality
across the entire platform.
EXACT Business Operations System
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33
2
1
23
123Clearance
Clearance
Clearance
User Security Level
Document Security Level
4 ©2004 Exact Software, Inc.
Exact Software has long understood that BPM cannot achieve its fullpotential until both ven-
dors and their customers begin to look at their businesses from a different perspective and
redirect the belief that business processes exist in a vacuum. With the introduction of theExact e-Synergy solution, ExactSoftware provides companies with the means to unify the
people, processesand knowledge that matter most to a business. The result is the creation
of an accurate, up-to-the-moment view of the organization, that enhances decision-making,
analysis, scenario planning, and ongoing management across the organization. It is thisphilos-
ophyof unification of the overall businesswhich drivesthe successthatBPM hopesto achieve.
Exact Software’s integrated solution set, consisting of Exact e-Synergy’s Web-based
collaboration platform, Exact Macola ES ERP solution and Exact Event Manager offers
companies the technology foundation from which to implement a truly effective and
all inclusive BPM strategy.
How does Exact accomplish this where other vendors fall short? To begin, Exact Softwareis able to support a holistic view of the enterprise. Powerful integration capabilities
within the platform enable companies to unify the enterprise across departmental and
functional boundaries, providing new clarity into the processes that drive the business.
The ability to see where processes intersect, how they impact each other, and the
workflow that drives them provides a clear picture of the business—leading to major
cost savings and operational efficiencies.
Exact also creates an environment in which companies can not only model, but effectively
streamline workflow and automate manual, unsecured processes into a secure central-
ized environment. Since access to information and documents within the Exact Software
environment are based on roles and a rules-based schema, business managers can
control access to data on a need-to-know and need-to-access basis for projects andoutside managed operations. This roles and rules-based approach eliminates the
“islands of automation” inherent in most, if not all, ERP and BPM deployments.
BPM: Taking ERP Beyond Departmental and Data-Centric Boundarie
With Exact e-Synergy, information is accessible
to all via the product’s collaboration platform.
With all employees operating off of one platform,
security can be an issue. The e-Synergy
document security model demonstratesthe role based security functionality within
Exact e-Synergy. Items saved are given certain
security clearance ratings, and only those
who possess the defined rating or higher
are able to access that material.
e-Synergy Document Security Model
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5 ©2004 Exact Software, Inc.
In the new era of regulations and compliance, real-time access to the vital information
driving the business is crucial. Exact Software has replaced the traditional reporting
paradigm with one that offers continuous monitoring capability. CEOs, departmentheads and other managers can manipulate hundreds of Exact’s pre-defined report
“views” in real-time or create their own. Access to information and flexibility to view
and understand it in the ways that are most relevant provide the ideal environment
needed to best manage every aspect of your business.
Moving Toward a People-CentricBusinessOperations System (BOS)
Exact Software believes that businesses must view the software and technologies that
run their enterprises as a tightly integrated Business Operations System (BOS). A natural
outgrowth of today’s BPM solutions, a BOS is characterized by a comprehensive work
environment, only achieved through seamless, total integration of the data, informa-tion and processes—internal and external—crucial to the business. The comprehensive
work environment will be accessed by a self-service desktop that can be easily person-
alized to provide the most useful information to the employee, the information needed
to best do their jobs on a daily basis.
Further, the desktop, through application integration, will link organizations together.
Providing not only a holistic view of the business, but a holistic view of how people
throughout your entire value-chain (i.e. employees, partners, suppliers and customers)
are interacting within and across your organization.
But most importantly, a true BOS will be built on powerful workflow. Workflow that provides
each employee, based on their roles and responsibilities, with a process-centric viewof the business. Workflow that does not depend upon a crude “send”-only model like
email, but on a business-rules system which automates the flow of communication
and tasks. Workflow that can ensure that assigned tasks are completed, or elevated if
need be. Workflow that can be used in conjunction with advanced alert management
technology to make certain that potential problems do not become crises.
Exact Software offers companies all of this today. Exact’s e-Synergy works with an
organization’s ERP solution to provide a holistic view of a business, as well as its entire
value cycle. e-Synergy is able to share information with the ERP solution as well as tie
in additional functionality that manages, processes, and stores information across the
entire organization. With Exact, 100-percent of a company’s employees (as well as
external stakeholders) can access information critical to their job function if they
meet the required security criteria. Exact’s e-Synergy has enabled users to create a
higher level of efficiency, which has allowed them to realize a competitive advantages
in the marketplace.
BPM: Taking ERP Beyond Departmental and Data-Centric Boundarie
CEOs, department heads
and other managers can
manipulate hundreds of
Exact’s pre-defined report
“views” in real-time or
create their own.
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6
Summary
Technology has made great strides in offering businesses greater efficiencies. The
problem with the majority of BPM solutions is that they were too specific in function tobring these efficiencies to all employees. Through such implementations, all depart-
ments were operating on individual plains in regards to the solutions they were using
to address their specific needs.
Exact Software believes that through unifying these individual plains which depart-
ments and employees are operating, yet another level of efficiency can be reached. In
essence, technology can be combined to create a platform which an entire business
can utilize and operate off of. Such a platform can also extend beyond the organization
to involve anyone who may be associated with the company’s value cycle.
Exact Software, through its family of products and ability to integrate with other indus-
try leading back-end solutions, provides today’s organization with the means to imple-ment a Business Operations System from which to most effectively and efficiently man-
age the demanding requirements of the entire enterprise. Exact Software provides a
complete, holistic view of businesses on a standard platform. More importantly, Exact
Software offers unprecedented levels of centralization, communication and collabora-
tion between individuals, departments, locations, vendors, partners and customers.
Through greater centralization of critical business information for real-time decision
making, companies put themselves in a better position to boost profitability and
reduce operational costs, increase accuracy and timeliness of cost allocations, and
ultimately maximize financial decisions that shape the future of the company.
For more information about how Exact Software can have a positive impact on your
business operations, please visit www.exactamerica.com or call 1.800.468.0834.
BPM: Taking ERP Beyond Departmental and Data-Centric Boundarie
Exact Software offers
unprecedented levels
of centralization,
communication and
collaboration between
individuals, departments,
locations, vendors,
partners and customers.
Exact Software North Americawww.exactamerica.com
1.800.468.0834 Ext. 2650