There is a lot of noise in the technology world, and this noise can make things confusing. It’s especially true for the non-geeks, who would prefer to focus on their business and just take advantage of Business Process Improvement technology to move their work forward.
You’ve likely heard such terms as “BPM,”, “BPI”, “Approval Workflow”, “AP Automation”, “Procure-2-Pay”, and so on.
We understand that these concepts can be confusing. That’s why we want to help you understand these terms more clearly today, so that you’ll be better positioned to use the tools available to you to easily achieve your business goals, improve your team’s operational efficiency, and ultimately grow your business.
What is BPM?
BPM is an acronym for “business process management.” Different experts have defined business process management in different ways, so there’s no industry-approved definition. Here, we will try to define it in the easiest way to understand.
“Business process management is the practice of reengineering and optimizing an organization’s business processes for improved performance, increased efficiency, and effectiveness.”
What is a business process?
A business process is a set of related tasks, performed to accomplish a specific organizational goal. It can also be defined as a series of logically structured activities that produce a specific service or product for customers.
A perfect example is when a purchase requisition is created, approved, or rejected based on specific policies and compliance…if approved, a PO is then generated and issued to a vendor. The vendor supplies the goods or provides the services as needed and then sends an invoice. The accounts payable department receives the invoice, then, through AP Automation; the invoice is matched to the PO, processed and paid after a series of approvals.
Depending on the structure of your organization, and the policies adopted; business processes can be complicated…usually consisting of different participants doing different things at different stages.
But there’s a simpler concept out there called: Approval Workflow.
Don’t confuse business process with approval workflow.
Business process is not workflow. Workflow is more straightforward than business process. Think of BPM as an umbrella term, on which workflow is only one component. Workflow is more about taking a single piece of work from initiation to completion. Approvals direct the workflow, depending on approval or rejection; i.e., if approved a PO Requisition will be processed and a PO will be generated, whereas if it is rejected, it will be re-routed back to the originator of the Req, or whomever is delegated as the next person(s) in the routing flow.
While a business process encompasses numerous related activities that cut across various departments involving multiple workflows, participants, and stages; workflow deals with how individual processes are coordinated. That is, which tasks, information, or documents are passed from one participant to another for action, following a set of procedural rules, and Approvals.
ISS Group has been assisting organizations for the past 20 years with their BPM strategies by digitizing business processes and implementing Business Process Improvement (BPI) solutions.
The speed at which technology moves require companies to continue change and improve processes. But change is more than installing new software and hoping your team figures out how it will make the business better – because now you have to utilize technology to design workflow around knowledge, emotional intelligence and teamwork rather than simple transactional work. The speed at which change is required calls for applications that can be implemented quickly and cost effectively to improve specific processes and deliver an ROI within a few months. Companies must embrace business process technologies if they are to remain agile, competitive and profitable.
We were pleased to say that through the implementation of our BPI solutions, of our clients are now utilizing today’s connectivity technology and communication channels, specifically the Internet (or Cloud), Mobile Devices, and Social Media networks, together with Rules-based Workflow Technology, to achieve the following results:
- Improved Sales Performance and Customer Experience
- Improved Employee Productivity
- Improved Pricing Controls
- Improved Financial Controls
- Reduced Auditing Costs
- Reduced Process Cycle Time/Costs
- Improved Process Flexibility and Standardization
- Improved Process Visibility/Tracking
- Elimination of Redundant Data Entry
- Improved Process Controls
- Elimination of Paper Forms
ISS Group’s BPI solutions include:
iApprove: Rules-based Process Routing and Workflow
- iApprove™ is a solution for digitizing business processes such as Capex requests, Customer Claims, Scrap Authorizations, Price changes, HR requests, etc. iApprove has been developed utilizing Progress OpenEdge Technology, together with the ISS Group iFramework™ and AART™ (Advanced Approval Routing) technologies for rules-based process routing and workflow. iApprove™ provides functionality to maintain web-based ‘Process Forms’ for routing the form via the Cloud and Mobile Devices to one or more people within your organization based on a set of user defined rules and any or all of the data in the form. Workflow instructions are provided to the Process Members who receive the form, and an action takes place upon approving the form (i.e.; updating QAD data, creation of an eMail or Text message alert, creation of a QAD transaction such as a PO or Sales Order, …).
iCommissions: Sales Commission Calculator
- iCommission™ is a commission calculator providing the functionality to assign an unlimited number of Sales-people to a QAD Customer, group Items and Customers for easier maintenance of commission rates, calculate split commissions for a QAD invoice line item, assign multiple commission rates to the same QAD Item for different Customers, configure override commission rates for a specified timeframe, and maintain a history of calculated commissions for reporting and analytical purposes.
iPurchase: Purchase Order Requisition Management
- iPurchase™ is a full-featured PO Requisition Management Solution providing the functionality to create electronic PO Requisitions and QAD Purchase Orders. Utilizing the ISS Group AART™ technology for approval routing of PO Requisitions, iPurchase™ creates QAD Purchase Orders in real-time upon Requisition approval. iPurchase™ provides Supplier eCommerce Shopping (Punchouts), Supplier Catalog Management, eMail Alerts and eMail Requisition Approval, Mobile Functionality, Project Budgeting & Spend Tracking, Requisition Inquiry, QAD PO Change, QAD PO Inquiry/Re-print, Purchasing Analytics, and more…
iQuote: Sales Quote Management
- iQuote™ is a Customer Sales Quote Management Solution providing the functionality to create electronic Sales Quotes and QAD Sales Orders. iQuote™ utilizes the ISS Group AART™ technology for internal routing of Customer sales quotes for review and approval, and creates QAD Sales Orders and/or Customer Price Lists upon quote acceptance by Customer. iQuote™ provides the functionality to create sales quotes for new Prospects or existing Customers, create a sales quote for new or existing Items, allows multi-line sales quotes and QAD volume discounting, creating a new sales quote from quote history and quote templates, and more…
iRFQ: Supplier Request for Quotation
- iRFQ™ is a Supplier Request for Quotation Management Solution providing the functionality to create RFQ’s for one or more items to be sent to one or more Suppliers simultaneously, and the functionality to store the Supplier pricing data returned by the Supplier within Supplier Catalogs that can be used for shopping in the iPurchase™ Solution. iRFQ™ utilizes the ISS Group AART™ technology for routing RFQ data for review and approval prior to sending the RFQ to the Supplier(s), and provides tools for tracking the ‘life’ of an RFQ.
iVoucher: Supplier Invoice Reconciliation
- iVoucher™ is a Supplier Invoice Reconciliation Management Solution providing the functionality electronically reconcile Supplier Invoices with Supplier PO’s and Receipts to create QAD Vouchers for payment. iVoucher™ automates the invoice reconciliation process for both PO and non-PO invoices and provides functionality including E-Invoicing, OCR invoice import and capture, invoice pairing and matching with QAD PO’s/Receipts, workflow for dispute resolution, tools for searching, coding and approving Invoices, Invoice and related documents storage/retrieval and a Procure to Pay (P2P) Portal (to be released in January 2017).
All of our Solutions are integrated with QAD EE and SE, and are 100% Web-based providing (24×7 access).
Click here to view a copy of a presentation of a Webinar delivered this past June 16th by ISS Group to learn how QAD User organizations such as Avery Dennison, Laird Technologies, AFGlobal, John Crane/Smiths, Somero Enterprises, Superior Essex, and many others have adopted our solutions for initiatives such as Approval Workflow, Sales Quote Management, Procurement, AP Automation, and more, to stay competitive and avoid falling behind.
Who is ISS Group?
ISS Group delivers Solutions that Digitize Business Processes to Connect People and Processes via the Cloud, Mobile devices, and Social Networks
55 Madison Ave, Suite 400
Morristown, NJ 07960
Toll Free: 888-547-7476
Direct: (973) 729-0013
