Best business practices

Comarch ALTUM Business Process Management solutions change the way users work with the system. Actions initiated by one user may automatically call for a response or action of other people involved in the business process. In case of no response, you have many options including reminders, alerts, and more, which ensure that the process does not stall.

One of the benefits of Comarch ALTUM BPM is its flexibility. Nearly any process within your business can be clarified, standardized, or automated using the editor application. Comarch ALTUM includes a number of commonly-used predefined process templates coming out-of-the-box. You can use them as-is or customize them to your needs. One of the most commonly used processes is undoubtedly the sales process. With Comarch ALTUM you can automate and customize it, for example as follows:

Sales process

When an employee registers an order from a customer, he fills out a sale order form. The system saves the sale order as a draft and then checks stock. Now there are two possible scenarios:

• Product is in stock

In this situation a message is generated for the salesman with information about the order, asking for its confirmation. The customer will also be informed of receiving the order, with a request to pick up the items (or with information about the expected delivery date). On the other hand, in order to facilitate the work of warehouse personnel, a SOR document is generated into the buffer, which will be approved at the time of the item’s actual release.

• There is no stock in the warehouse

In this situation, the system first checks if the product is already ordered (in other words if it is in transit) - and if so, whether the ordered merchandise is reserved.

If the goods are ordered in a sufficient amount and are not yet reserved, the system returns to point 1, except that:

- The client is requested to pick up the goods at a date which takes into account the time needed for goods to arrive

- An SOR document will be generated right after the articles are physically in stock (after a POR document is created)

If the goods are not ordered, additional processes are launched, performing the following steps:

1. Checking the way the goods have so far been ordered, and then:
   
   
2. Performing a sales analysis of the product in a given period of time (the parameter set up in the process definition), in order to detect whether the lack of stock was caused by a single sales order or due to a continued increase in the demand for the commodity.
   
   
3. Depending on the results of the analysis:

- the system proposes a single purchase order for goods, taking into account one or more factors, i.e.: the lowest price, the last vendor, the lowest cost of transport or the lowest total value of goods and transport costs or the shortest delivery time.

- in the event of permanent changes in market demand, Comarch ALTUM suggests adjusting the existing minimal and optimal warehouse stock levels (if previously set). After the proposal is accepted, the system generates a purchase order, taking into account the factors previously mentioned.

When inventory is restocked, Comarch ALTUM follows up and finishes the process according to point 1.

There is a great many ways of using BMP that lets you manage your tasks. Here are some other examples:

Automated Discounting

This process template allows you to generate an automatic discount when a customer’s purchase reaches a pre-determined total. For example, let’s say you would like to give a 15% discount to all customers who make a purchase of more than $50,000. The system can automatically apply this discount. You can also create lower discounts for lower totals or create several other types of discounts using any business rules you like.

Complaint Process

This process is activated when a customer wishes to return an item that they find unsatisfactory. In the return process the invoice number is entered along with the name of the article and the reasons for the complaint. Your employee determines which warehouse is to receive the returned item. The article is then either delivered to the supplier or sent for repair. In the meantime, the employee dealing with the complaint receives a message which gives two options for further action: returning money to the customer for the faulty article or informing them about the time required for the repair. Once the repaired article is delivered to your company, it is sent back to the customer. The process is completed once the customer either receives the money for the faulty product or receives the repaired product.

Business Trip

This process is activated upon request of an employee embarking on a business trip. The employee fills out an application which must be accepted by his superior. The employee then settles the expenses: transport, accommodation, meals and the per diem. Expenses must first be accepted by a supervisor and then by the financial department. Business trip costs are automatically entered into the books. At each process stage the participant may add comments which will be made available to other participants.

Process editor

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Improve business results

The combination of Comarch ALTUM Business Intelligence tools with BPM processes delivers a powerful enterprise management support tool. The analyses available in the Business Intelligence module help you locate bottlenecks that can be eliminated by improvement or redesign of business processes which can be done in BPM engine. The BI – BPM combination assures you that your company’s operations run as smoothly as possible.

Make sure all your employees follow best practices

Research provided by the London School of Economics shows that organizational changes bring about much better results when supported with IT solutions that help execute new strategies. The automation of complex business processes by the BPM platform of Comarch ALTUM enables you to implement best business practices at your company helping to deliver the process changes that lead to better work organization and increased effectiveness.

Save time and resources

With Comarch ALTUM, some of the tasks which until now have been performed by people can be organized as automatic tasks and executed by the system, so that employees do not need to be involved at every stage of the process. Instead, they can act as quality controllers for automated actions. Because you will recognize significant savings in the time spent by employees, you can reassign them to more challenging tasks boosting their effectiveness and lowering your costs.

Minimize data errors made during daily operations

A group of dedicated, qualified employees is an indispensable asset to any business. However, research also suggests that the human factor is the most frequent cause of mistakes at work – sometimes with very serious consequences. Automated processes minimize employees’ involvement in routine, everyday actions and therefore reduce the risk of mistakes. The system will also monitor the accuracy of the data that is entered by employees, sending alerts when there is an atypical event, and assisting you in ensuring that deadlines are met.

Process editor

Technology

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