Businesses new streamline their operations and adjust processes in order to be successful. A business process refers to a standardized set of activities targeted at accomplishing a certain task, such as accepting a customer’s order. Business processes play a major role in organizations by forming the foundation for the creation of products and services, adding value, and generating competitive advantages (Baltzan, 2019). Managers need to understand business processes to have complete knowledge of how their company operates and what changes need to be introduced to make it more competitive. Systems thinking is an approach to monitoring the entire business system by viewing multiple inputs being transformed to generate outputs. Systems thinking and business processes are similar, yet the former is more specific, while the latter enables managers to see the complete picture of the company’s operations. Managers also need to review As-Is and To-Be process models since they let them see the current state of operations and the possible results due to the application of changes to it.
Customer-facing processes help companies to make products or services for the organization’s external customers. Business-facing processes refer to those which are invisible to external customers yet crucial for effective business management. Although both types of processes are important, the latter is impossible without the former. An example of a situation requiring adjusting business processes is finding different ways to travel the same road. Discovering new possible methods through automation can enable organizations to find better ways and thus reengineer and streamline their business processes. Supply chain management refers to the processing of information flows between and among activities in a supply chain. It is important for the maximization of total supply chain effectiveness and corporate profitability.
The five basic supply chain activities are planning, sourcing, making (producing), delivering, and returning. A supply chain inventory visibility system is a method allowing enterprises to track their inventory and receive alerts when the situation deviates from the expected course of action. Customer relationships are important to organizations because, without clients, companies cannot exist, and therefore every business has to focus on their customers to survive in the information age. An enterprise resource planning system is a framework facilitating collaboration between departments and enabling them to communicate.
Reference
Baltzan, P. (2019). Business driven technology (8th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.