Trends & success factors 2012

Business Process Excellence: Trends & Success Factors 2012

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Process Excellence Week - Where the Process Excellence community shapes its future 16-19 January 2012 – Orlando, Florida, www.pexweek.com

Executive Summary
The last few decades have seen companies adopt a host of different approaches to improving the quality and efficiency of their output: Total QualityManagement, Business Process Reengineering, Lean, Six Sigma, Business Process Management, Business Performance Improvement, etc. Most are represented by their own three-letter acronym and have a host of associated technical jargon; some have fallen out of favor, while others are gaining ground. What all these methodologies have in common is a focus on process – an activity through which something(whether tangible or intangible) is transformed into something else. At a fundamental, process excellence is about improving the way that businesses create and deliver value to their customers, regardless of what acronym may be applied to the challenge. The backdrop for process excellence this year is an uncertain global economic climate. The latest report issued by the InternationalMonetary Fund (September 2011) begins with one simple but ominous sentence: “The global economy is in a dangerous new phase.” Increasing fears over debt in the euro-zone,

sluggish economic growth and above average unemployment in developed countries led to a summer of turmoil on the stock market and persistent fears that another recession is around the corner. Against this backdrop, PEX Networkset out to create a snapshot of where Process Excellence is headed in 2012 with the following questions in mind: What impact has recent economic uncertainty had on process improvement practitioners within companies? What are general trends experienced by process improvement practitioners in terms of approach, focus, and toolset in both general (industry wide terms) and in terms of companymaturity? What is it that makes some programs more successful than others?

Key Findings:
 Companies are relying on shorter cycle times for process improvement projects with a significant increase since 2005 of respondents reporting average project length of 90 days or less  Lean and Six Sigma methodologies remain prevalent although nearly 50% fewer respondents report the use of SixSigma methodology than in a similar 2005 PEX Network survey  Businesses that rate their deployments as “highly successful” tend to have customer satisfaction as a key driver and metric of success.  Short term cost cutting is associated with process improvement programs that have been rated as “unsuccessful” or “highly unsuccessful.”

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In October 2011, PEX Network conducted anonline survey in which nearly 700 practitioners participated. The results of those surveys form the backbone of this report, although interviews with industry experts and practitioners conducted throughout 2011 and previous survey data also inform the results of this report.

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Process Excellence Week - Where the Process Excellence community shapes its future 16-19 January 2012 –Orlando, Florida, www.pexweek.com

Contents
Executive Summary ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 2 Key Operational Excellence Trends................................................................................................................................................................................................. 5 Background to the Survey ........................................................................................................................................................................................................... 5 Overview of Process Excellence in 2011...