Perspective
Optimizing key end to end processes and functions can drive significant benefits to operational scalability, profitability, and the customer experience. These programs can be highly effective at driving out customer defects, reducing manual intervention and rework, and positioning the firm for more efficient and effective business growth.
What are the triggering events to initiate an end-to-end streamlining effort? Some of the triggering questions which we hear from our clients include:
- Why are our customer experience related defects on the rise? What immediate steps and longer-range plans can we put into place to reduce customer defects?
- Where do we have near term opportunities to optimize end-to-end process flows, reduce manual handoffs, eliminate rework, accelerate cycle times, and improve the overall customer and associate experience for core sales and service processes?
- What strategic initiatives can be executed to drive out customer experience defects and improve internal efficiencies needed for us to generate sustainable operational scalability?
- Where can we lean out end-to-end processes and digitize, where appropriate, to promote operational excellence?
End-to-end process streamlining initiatives should include at a minimum:
- Business Diagnostics – identification of key process improvement opportunities and rough order magnitude savings potential from operational streamlining and realignment, including third party spend reduction targets
- Low Hanging Fruit – quick-hit initiatives which should be executed as soon as possible to generate immediate business benefits and provide near-term relief while longer-term improvement strategies are being developed
- Strategic Opportunities – which will deliver significant improvement to the end-to-end customer experience, reduce external and internal defects, accelerate cycle times, and eliminate manual handoffs and rework.
- Process View – which maps out the detailed process model and activity sequences required to ensure standard, repeatable processes for the critical areas and functions
- Organization View – which maps out the detailed organization model and activity sequences required to ensure high performing teams for the critical areas and functions
- Technology View – which lays out the detailed technology enablers required to eliminate rework and improve the overall customer experience
Key Success Secrets
End to end process streamlining provides a virtuous circle of savings. Individual initiatives will identify early savings wins, which can be used to fund strategic initiatives such as business process management systems. The business benefits from strategic platform implementations generate additional savings, which then fund the next wave of end to end streamlining work. Business benefits generally build with each new wave of savings.