Low cost business process management solutions 

Karen Guglielmo

Some companies are developing their own business process methodologies — such as GE WorkOut and fast track decision making (FTD) — to cost-effectively streamline processes and address the rapid changes in the market. But why? Aren’t the proven Six Sigmas, Lean and other business process methodologies of the world doing the job?

IBM’s 2009 Global CIO Study, released this week, revealed that more than half of the 25,000 CIOs surveyed said they plan to implement low-cost business processes this coming year. I started to wonder which low-cost business processes they were talking about and why they were suddenly on the rise. I did some research and came across two business process methodologies that could be considered “low-cost” — the GE Workout business process and fast track decision making.

The GE WorkOut business process isn’t new. GE developed it in the late 1980s as a way to help its own organizations and others become more lean, efficient and responsive to changes in the market. The GE WorkOut process works by bringing together a cross-functional team to solve a business challenge in 90 days. Taking on an issue identified by senior leadership, the team creates a plan with actionable items that must be implemented within the 90 days.

Companies using the GE WorkOut process — including L.L. Bean, Frito-Lay, IBM and Metropolitan Life Insurance — are doing so to streamline and simplify processes, eliminate non-value-added work and speed up the decision making process, according to C.A. Schifman and Co., a training and consulting firm. The process also allows companies to break down silos and improve employee morale. Click here to continue reading about low cost business process management solutions.

Articles on business process management at KellyRShort.com