As the financial crisis unfolds, the implications for companies are becoming clearer. Companies need to:

• improve operational efficiency, and
• manage risk more effectively.

As the financial crisis unfolds, the implications for companies are becoming clearer. Companies need to:

• improve operational efficiency, and
• manage risk more effectively.

How can this be achieved? - by focusing on the critical processes in the business. Profitability can be improved and risk reduced and it does not require process redesign to achieve significant operational improvements.

Gartner claims that by "making the current-state handoffs, timings and responsibilities explicit, productivity improvements of more than 12 percent are normally realized." Business Process Management Success Hinges on Business-Led Initiatives, Gartner, 26July 2005. This can be achieved quickly and easily by simple process mapping. Risk is also reduced by a common understanding of processes, handoffs, timings and responsibilities.

Many organizations have documented, managed and improved their business processes by implementing formal process management systems. A study by Surrey University of 222 companies showed:

• profit margins - more than twice the industry average,
• return on capital employed (ROCE) - averaged more than double the industry average,
• sales per employee - 40 percent higher, and
• profit per employee - three times the industry average.

The first step is to quickly gain a common understanding of your key business processes through process mapping and identifying process simplification opportunities. Simplification can produce quick gains with minimum resources and upheaval to the business.

4TQToolKit Process Management software provides the tools for you to quickly and easily process map and simplify your operational processes.

For further information, go to www.axioninnovations.com.au