A White Paper by Exact Software

Business Process Management:

Taking ERP Beyond Departmental and Data-Centric Boundaries

Business Unified

A White Paper by Exact Software

Taking ERP Beyond Departmental and Data-Centric Boundaries

The ERP technology boom in the 1990s gave organizations a means to start obtaining much needed operational visibility but was limited to product and order processing with other related functions and thus did not provide a complete, consolidated view of their entire business. In todays global enterprise, numerous business processes occur each day that are outside the scope of ERPfrom filling out a purchase request, to interacting with business partners, to assigning documents for review and approval: the effectiveness of each one, and the overall efficiency of your organization, is dependant on integrating these different tasks throughout your entire business and with ERP systems. Business Process Management (BPM) is a term that many organizations are using to define a means to solve the challenges facing a companys procedural needs in tying these different operations together. However, as technology vendors are establishing BPM solutions, they often fail to focus on the entire organization, leaving certain segments of the enterprise fragmented and fending for themselves. This White Paper will provide the essential background required to understand how Business Process Management has evolved and how, by understanding BPM as a philosophy and concept, not a technology solution, companies can bring the employees and processes that live outside of your ERP system into the organization.

The goal of BPM should not only focus on solving processes through technology, but also on a cultural shift within a company that encourages the sharing of information.

Executive Overview
All businesses embrace processes. Whether these processes are documented on spreadsheets, Post-It notes, or in employees heads, they are what keep business moving forward on a daily basis. Companies first turned to ERP solutions in an attempt to capture the data and information associated with their business processes. However, the expectation that ERP solutions could impact all the processes required to run a business efficiently has never materialized. With the typical ERP solution reaching approximately 15 to 20 percent of an organization, ERP never transcended into a solution for the entire enterprise. It has been this failure of ERP that has been the primary driver in the rise of a new generation of solutions, led by a diverse group of providers all claiming to deliver BPM. It is due to this diverse group of solutions, that a clear definition of BPM has never truly been established. Therefore, a diverse group of limited functionality solutions are all claiming to deliver true BPM. The goal of BPM should not only focus on solving processes through technology, but also on a cultural shift within a company that encourages the sharing of information. BPM promotes the notion that a business moves forward based on the collective information that is stored, shared, and circulated amongst employees. Making information available to all those who can utilize it, and enhancing on the investment that some businesses have already made through the implementation of ERP solutions, allowing for greater efficiencies throughout the entire value cycle of a business. 1
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BPM: Taking ERP Beyond Departmental and Data-Centric Boundaries

The Evolution of ERP

ERP solutions were designed to achieve automation across several departments of an organization, to help facilitate the manufacturing process. ERP addressed the issues of raw materials, inventory, order entry, and distribution, but was unable to extend to other staff members who were working on sales, marketing, services, non-transactional relationships with external partners and vendors, and other non-inventory, non-order operations. ERP did not tie in any customer relationship management (CRM) capabilities that would allow organizations to capture customer specific information, nor did it work with the development of Websites or portals for customer service orders. Call center or quality assurance staff could not tap into the ERP solution, nor could this solution handle document management, such as cataloging contracts and purchase orders. As the idea of the extended enterprise emerged, it raised serious questions about how to most effectively integrate partners, service vendors and the entire value cycle with documents and workflow driving the business and capturing all the information involved. Todays enterprise has evolved and expanded beyond internal influences and organizational boarders. With global expansions, economic downturns, mobile workforces, and a partner-driven economy, there are many real-time demands on businesses. Internal demands and competitive pressures have necessitated a consolidated view of the organizationboth internally and externallyto ensure supreme cost and process efficiencies. Unfortunately, this consolidated view of the organization can not be accomplished solely through ERP deployment, leading to the materialization of the BPM philosophy.

The Emergence of BPM

In the era of the extended enterprise, organizations are now being asked to focus on initiatives they never had to before. The ability to capture, store, and locate information has become critical. Increased regulatory factors and compliance issues are forcing companies to provide a broader view of their businesses. To accomplish this task, it has become clear that horizontal, as well as vertical management techniques are requiredtechniques supported by specialized technology solutions. Businesses are also being pushed to operate in what is rapidly becoming known as zero latency mode, or more recognizably: Internet time. Customers, partners, and even internal constituents are demanding real-time access and visibility into the processes running the company. Instant access to critical information creates an environment in which businesses are better prepared to react to changes, and can adopt a plan anytime mind set. What is being promised by vendors of BPM solutions is the ability to operate in real-time. They talk about the capacity to replace manual processes and create new efficiencies across the enterprise. They highlight the ability of BPM solutions to enhance decision making, while at the same time reduce overhead. They extol the

2004 Exact Software, Inc.

BPM: Taking ERP Beyond Departmental and Data-Centric Boundaries

virtues of simplifying complex, mission-critical business processes. BPM promises to help manage organizational change, keep businesses agile, and become a strong foundation for ongoing improvement. BPM solutions also promise to centralize corporate information, seamlessly integrating with previously deployed ERP systems, becoming a critical element of overall business success. BPM providers have made a great deal of promises that they have yet to deliver on, which is why a clear vision beyond all the BPM clutter is needed to offer businesses what they truly need, and should be looking for.

EXACT Business Operations System

Database

ERP
Ra wM ate Ma Inv nu en fac ria tor tur ls y ing Ord er HR En tr y

e-Synergy
Fin Log an Pro cia Sa isti Do Wo jec Po ls les cs cu rkf ts rta low men l an tM dW an eb age site me nt

The Exact Software Business Operations System (BOS) combines the ERP functionality of Macola ES (or any existing ERP solution) with the extended process capabilities of e-Synergy, to provide a comprehensive, collaborative platform for the entire organization. Operating on one database, the Exact BOS makes information immediately accessible to those in the value cycle who need it most. The addition of Exact Event Manager to this system enables business activity monitoring and exception management functionality across the entire platform.

Taking BPM to the Next Level

What most organizations, and most BPM vendors, do not realize is that to obtain full value from BPM solutions, enterprises need to utilize an integrated suite approach that extends seamlessly across the enterprise, providing a holistic view of the business. The majority of BPM solutions available today look and behave more like extensions of the islands of automation paradigm often associated with ERP deployments. They do not go far enough toward understanding that business processes are intrinsically linked, and that a departmental approach to BPM will eventually fall short of the intended goals. Companies, and their technology vendors, need to understand that business processes should not be viewed within the confines of departmental or even organizational boundaries. As we have already discussed, businesses are becoming increasingly horizontal and role-based, and thus, the rules for structuring these organizations must be based on how people interact on a daily basis. 3
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BPM: Taking ERP Beyond Departmental and Data-Centric Boundaries

Exact Software has long understood that BPM cannot achieve its full potential until both vendors and their customers begin to look at their businesses from a different perspective and redirect the belief that business processes exist in a vacuum. With the introduction of the Exact e-Synergy solution, Exact Software provides companies with the means to unify the people, processes and knowledge that matter most to a business. The result is the creation of an accurate, up-to-the-moment view of the organization, that enhances decision-making, analysis, scenario planning, and ongoing management across the organization. It is this philosophy of unification of the overall business which drives the success that BPM hopes to achieve. Exact Softwares integrated solution set, consisting of Exact e-Synergys Web-based collaboration platform, Exact Macola ES ERP solution and Exact Event Manager offers companies the technology foundation from which to implement a truly effective and all inclusive BPM strategy. How does Exact accomplish this where other vendors fall short? To begin, Exact Software is able to support a holistic view of the enterprise. Powerful integration capabilities within the platform enable companies to unify the enterprise across departmental and functional boundaries, providing new clarity into the processes that drive the business. The ability to see where processes intersect, how they impact each other, and the workflow that drives them provides a clear picture of the businessleading to major cost savings and operational efficiencies. Exact also creates an environment in which companies can not only model, but effectively streamline workflow and automate manual, unsecured processes into a secure centralized environment. Since access to information and documents within the Exact Software environment are based on roles and a rules-based schema, business managers can control access to data on a need-to-know and need-to-access basis for projects and outside managed operations. This roles and rules-based approach eliminates the islands of automation inherent in most, if not all, ERP and BPM deployments.

e-Synergy Document Security Model

3 2 1
Clearance

Clearance

Clearance

Document Security Level User Security Level

With Exact e-Synergy, information is accessible to all via the products collaboration platform. With all employees operating off of one platform, security can be an issue. The e-Synergy document security model demonstrates the role based security functionality within Exact e-Synergy. Items saved are given certain security clearance ratings, and only those who possess the defined rating or higher are able to access that material.

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BPM: Taking ERP Beyond Departmental and Data-Centric Boundaries

CEOs, department heads and other managers can manipulate hundreds of Exacts pre-defined report views in real-time or create their own.

In the new era of regulations and compliance, real-time access to the vital information driving the business is crucial. Exact Software has replaced the traditional reporting paradigm with one that offers continuous monitoring capability. CEOs, department heads and other managers can manipulate hundreds of Exacts pre-defined report views in real-time or create their own. Access to information and flexibility to view and understand it in the ways that are most relevant provide the ideal environment needed to best manage every aspect of your business.

Moving Toward a People-Centric Business Operations System (BOS)

Exact Software believes that businesses must view the software and technologies that run their enterprises as a tightly integrated Business Operations System (BOS). A natural outgrowth of todays BPM solutions, a BOS is characterized by a comprehensive work environment, only achieved through seamless, total integration of the data, information and processesinternal and externalcrucial to the business. The comprehensive work environment will be accessed by a self-service desktop that can be easily personalized to provide the most useful information to the employee, the information needed to best do their jobs on a daily basis. Further, the desktop, through application integration, will link organizations together. Providing not only a holistic view of the business, but a holistic view of how people throughout your entire value-chain (i.e. employees, partners, suppliers and customers) are interacting within and across your organization. But most importantly, a true BOS will be built on powerful workflow. Workflow that provides each employee, based on their roles and responsibilities, with a process-centric view of the business. Workflow that does not depend upon a crude send-only model like email, but on a business-rules system which automates the flow of communication and tasks. Workflow that can ensure that assigned tasks are completed, or elevated if need be. Workflow that can be used in conjunction with advanced alert management technology to make certain that potential problems do not become crises. Exact Software offers companies all of this today. Exacts e-Synergy works with an organizations ERP solution to provide a holistic view of a business, as well as its entire value cycle. e-Synergy is able to share information with the ERP solution as well as tie in additional functionality that manages, processes, and stores information across the entire organization. With Exact, 100-percent of a companys employees (as well as external stakeholders) can access information critical to their job function if they meet the required security criteria. Exacts e-Synergy has enabled users to create a higher level of efficiency, which has allowed them to realize a competitive advantages in the marketplace.

2004 Exact Software, Inc.

BPM: Taking ERP Beyond Departmental and Data-Centric Boundaries

Summary
Technology has made great strides in offering businesses greater efficiencies. The problem with the majority of BPM solutions is that they were too specific in function to bring these efficiencies to all employees. Through such implementations, all departments were operating on individual plains in regards to the solutions they were using to address their specific needs. Exact Software offers unprecedented levels of centralization, communication and collaboration between individuals, departments, locations, vendors, partners and customers. Exact Software believes that through unifying these individual plains which departments and employees are operating, yet another level of efficiency can be reached. In essence, technology can be combined to create a platform which an entire business can utilize and operate off of. Such a platform can also extend beyond the organization to involve anyone who may be associated with the companys value cycle. Exact Software, through its family of products and ability to integrate with other industry leading back-end solutions, provides todays organization with the means to implement a Business Operations System from which to most effectively and efficiently manage the demanding requirements of the entire enterprise. Exact Software provides a complete, holistic view of businesses on a standard platform. More importantly, Exact Software offers unprecedented levels of centralization, communication and collaboration between individuals, departments, locations, vendors, partners and customers. Through greater centralization of critical business information for real-time decision making, companies put themselves in a better position to boost profitability and reduce operational costs, increase accuracy and timeliness of cost allocations, and ultimately maximize financial decisions that shape the future of the company. For more information about how Exact Software can have a positive impact on your business operations, please visit www.exactamerica.com or call 1.800.468.0834.

Exact Software North America www.exactamerica.com 1.800.468.0834 Ext. 2650

2004 Exact Software, Inc., MAS1533: 11/2004