CorPeuMCorPeuMCorPeuMCorPeuM
  • Home
  • Contact
  • Strategy TALK

Rethinking the planning process part 2/7

    Home Yannick Peeters Rethinking the planning process part 2/7
    NextPrevious

    Rethinking the planning process part 2/7

    By yannick peeters | Yannick Peeters | 0 comment | 27 December, 2019 | 0

    In the last blog we looked at the basis of all planning and the areas that are under management control. In this blog we will take a closer look at organisational business processes that should provide the foundation of all plans.

    Focus on Business Processes

    Rethinking the planning process starts out by undertanding the organisation’s business processes. Every organisation has them through which goods and/or services are produced for its intended customers. How well these are performed within the prevailing economic environment will determine the level of success it will achieve.

    Each industry has a different set of processes. For example, a manufacturer buys raw materials and through a series of processes will transform them into a finished product. Each process ‘adds value’ to the raw materials so that at the end of each sub-process the original materials are now worth more than what they were at the start.

    For a service organisation such as a software vendor, value is added in the form of knowledge, functions and presentation capabilities, which transforms a computer into a more valuable piece of equipment. For example, a relatively low-cost PC with the right software is able to control a production facility that previously would either have been impossible or required a team of expensive staff to operate.

    With a ‘not-for-profit’ organisation or government department, the business process concept is just as valid. The main difference is that the focus will be on the delivery of a service that may be quantified in measures other than monetary. But that service is still delivered through a range of ‘value-add’ business processes.

    Core and Support Processes

    Business processes for any organisation can be grouped into core processes and support activities, where:

    Core processes are those that directly relate to the delivery of products/services to the intended customer. This includes how products or services are sourced, developed, manufactured, marketed, sold, delivered and supported. It is these activities where typically most organisational value is generated.

    Support activities are those that enable the organisation to operate legally and in an effective manner. This includes how suppliers and employees are paid, monies collected from customers, the way the organisation is financed, and how it meets its legal and statutory responsibilities.

    Both core processes and support activities are typically implemented (or managed when outsourced) by operational department(s) that have specific responsibility for carrying them out.

    Sometimes the boundary between a core process and a support activity is not always clear. For instance, meeting satisfactory minimum standards of health and safety fosters compliance with the law (support) but also ensures orderly an orderly production process and maintains commercial reputation. The key point to understand is that an organisation needs both.

    ‘Core’ processes tend to be similar within an industry, while ‘support’ activities are often common to all organisations. Below is an example of the high-level activities for a manufacturer:

    Sample activities through which an organisation creates and supports value

    In this example, there are 5 core processes, many of which can be expressed as a chain of linked activities. The revenue process is responsible for the way products or services are promoted, sales enquiries are handled, and the tasks that lead to a sales order. The product development process is where the organisation ensures it has a pipeline of new products it can sell, which in our example includes tasks for conducting market and product research, through to designing and conducting product trials. The production process is concerned with how raw materials are turned into products and delivered to customers, while the Customer Service process determines how the organisation interacts with clients once they have received the products or service.

    Supporting these core processes are a number of support activities that include how the organisation ensures regulatory compliance, how it generates funds to operate, the IT infrastructure required, and so on. Each support activity has a number of tasks (not shown in the graphic) that may or may not form a chain, however each provides a vital service that enables the core processes to operate effectively.

    Not all activities or tasks have to be fulfilled by the organisation. For example, some aspects of production could be outsourced to another company, as could Helpline and IT support functions. Competitive advantage is gained when these processes are either performed more effectively and / or help to generate a higher level of value for customers.

    The role of planning is to ensure these processes are conducted in an efficient and effective way. In the next blog we will look at a way in which this can be modelled. For those of you who can’t wait, you can download our new white paper that covers all the blogs in this series.

    If you Can not wait for the next parts, you can download the white paper: ” Rethinking the Planning Process”

    No tags.
    yannick peeters

    yannick peeters

    More posts by yannick peeters

    Related Post

    • Introducing The Finance Transformation Nine Box

      By Anders Liu-Lindberg | 0 comment

      Every company is filled with transformation projects in all areas as they continue to adapt to competition, changing demands and a rapidly developing world. However more than any department, you will find transformation projects in Finance.Read more

    • Why Every Company Needs A Plan-On-A-Page

      By Bernard Marr | 0 comment

      In order to be successful and deliver results, organisations need a good strategic plan that is concise, accessible and easy to understand. Many companies make the common mistake of thinking their plan has to beRead more

    • STRATEGY QUOTES: MY TOP 5

      By Jerone De Flander | 0 comment

      Strategy Quote #1. Strategy is a pattern in a stream of decisions” —Henry Mintzberg   Strategy Quote #2. The essence of strategy is choosing what not to do.”  —Michael Porter   Strategy Quote #3.  We don’tRead more

    • 7 BUSINESS STRATEGY PRINCIPLES EVERY LEADER SHOULD KNOW

      By Jerone De Flander | 0 comment

      1. Business Strategy = compete to be unique, not to be the best Strategy is not about being the best, but about being unique. Competing to be the best in business is one of theRead more

    • The CFOs Roadmap To Transforming Finance

      By Anders Liu-Lindberg | 0 comment

      The idea that Finance should transform into an automated, digitised and value adding function has been around for years. Heck, I’ve written so many articles about it myself that it shouldn’t come as a surpriseRead more

    • Part 1/4:  Moving on from Excel

      By yannick peeters | 0 comment

      Blog 1:  Moving on from Excel According to surveys, Excel is still the dominant tool used by organizations for planning. There are many reasons why this is the case, ranging from the fact that everyoneRead more

    • Part 2/4:  Moving on from Excel

      By yannick peeters | 0 comment

      In my last blog, I started to outline how planning becomes more complex as an organization grows.  And as that complexity increases, how traditional planning tools such as Excel start to fail.  But for manyRead more

    • Part 3/4:  Moving on from Excel

      By yannick peeters | 0 comment

      In the last blog, we looked at the range of planning needs within a typical organization.  This requires capabilities well beyond what Excel is able to support.  Not because it is a bad product –Read more

    Leave a Comment

    Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    NextPrevious

    Categories

    • Anders Lindberg
    • Bernard Marr
    • gary cokins
    • Jeroen De Flander
    • Strategy Experts
    • Yannick Peeters

    Tags

    bernard marr business performance business processes business strategy Corona corpeum Covid-19 CPM dimensions future KPI Management mistakes Model OAM Operational Performance Planning Process platform predictions Strategy strategy execution Technology
    • Home
    • Contact
    • Strategy TALK
    CorPeuM Copyright | All Rights Reserved
    • Home
    • Contact
    • Strategy TALK
    CorPeuM
    We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.OkRead More