Business Process Overview

Why Would Anyone Want to Improve a Process?
There are a lot of possible reasons, but the most common ones are:

• Make more money
• Handle more business with the current staff
• Be better than the competition
• Lower costs
• Automate some aspect of the business
• Do things faster

BestFit Solutions can help you to better Process Management and Business Automation, but a lot of the work will be yours.  Read further to find out what we mean.

What is Process Management?
It is adjusting business processes so they better serve the company.  All businesses, even the smallest, have business processes.  In small companies, the process description might be ‘Give it to Millie.’  Beyond that, the business owner might not know what Millie does next – but Millie does.  Managing this process would have to begin with questioning Millie to see if there is a better way to do what she does. 

You Cannot Improve a Process Until You Know It
Every business uses a variety of processes to handle most of the day to day activity. The most easily recognized internal processes are: Accounts Receivable Billing, Accounts Payable, Inventory Management, Order Fulfillment, etc.  There are also external processes, such as, Quotations or Shipping.

Each of these processes contains multiple steps used to accomplish these tasks. They may be well thought out, planned, and well documented. Or, as is the case in many in most small businesses, they are informal processes (Like Millie’s).  To improve a process, you must first be able to know what is presently being done. 

Process and People
The usual way new staff members learn a process is through the "Training" that new staff receive when they are hired. Unfortunately for most businesses, this means that whatever bad habits, quirks, or shortcuts that the person doing the training has, becomes the accepted method for the new staff member. Good or Bad, that’s what happens.  In capturing the ‘Real’ process, you must be able to differentiate between the process and the people.  Until that happens, improving the process will be difficult.

Document What You Do
Once the process is completely understood, it needs to be documented.  Only after this is done can it be examined and improved – or automated.  Here is an example:

What are the benefits?

• Elimination of redundant steps
• Smoother work-flow
• Reduced processing time
• Increased sales
• Increased profits
• Better customer service
• And many more . . .

The software tools of today are vastly improved over those of just a few short years ago.   There are a multitude of technology advancements that can be used to streamline sales  and customer service processes. Fax on demand, Internet, intra-net networks for customers, sales force contact management programs - these are just some of the more dramatic tools developed in recent years.

Forbes Magazine recently ran an article that reported that in circumstances where contact management software was successfully implemented, sales force productivity rose between 10 and 40%.

Giving Small Companies a Big-Company Edge
Without going into the technicalities of how it is done, BestFit Solutions uses a variety of software to optimize the client’s processes.  Which tool depends on what the client wants to do.  Simple requirements generally need simple processes.  If that is what the client needs, then that is what we will recommend.

BestFit Solutions has found, and in some cases sponsored, software that can do all that big company software can do – on a small company’s budget.  If the client’s needs fit that type of software, then that is what we will recommend.  Should a client need centralized data and sophisticated work-flow, we can do that.  If a client cannot afford the end-game solution now, but wants to structure their processes to eventually take them there, we can do that.

In this small space it isn’t possible to explain all of the possibilities.  Explore this site to find out more, but know that you see only the tip of the iceberg.  Should you seek even more information, either email us at info@bestfitsolutions.com or call.  There is no obligation.  We will be happy to help you find out what you want to know.