How Business Process Management Can Help Small Businesses

What is Small Business Process Management?

Business process management can help small businesses in two ways: (1) identifying repeatable processes and (2) automating them.

Automating repeatable processes (straightforward ways of doing things that you do over and over again the same way) saves time and money by removing guesswork, making training easier, and allowing you to take a break from running your business without the whole thing falling apart!

Business process management takes into account the things you do every day to make your business run and lays them out visually, so you can see just how your business looks when drawn out in a diagram. This is a great way to discover your repeatable processes. When you work with a small business process consultant, you talk through your business processes, where you can trim activity and where you can ramp up activity, so that your business can run more smoothly and be more profitable.

For example, if you own a small cafe or flower shop and every Monday you take inventory and order supplies, it would be ideal to find a way to automate at least part of that process. Or, if you run a small organization of 50 employees or contractors, it would be ideal to automate the help desk system or supply ordering process. If you are a solo entrepreneur, you can automate billing, setting up accounts, tasks you send to your virtual assistant, article writing or blogging, responding to basic questions or concerns, or even your social networking!

Small Business Process Automation in Action

You probably will recognize some or all of these things, but you may not have learned to implement them in your own business. This is where a business process consultant can help. Which of these is right for your business? All of them? None of them?

• Automated or semi-automated supply ordering (e.g., food, office supplies, etc.)
• Automated new account creation
• Frequently Asked Questions booklets or page on your website
• Help desk system for internal employees or outside clients
• Project management software
• Time tracking systems for yourself, employees or contractors
• Billing management systems
• Online postage/printing shipping labels

There a hundred more we could add to this list. What have you automated in your small business?

Business Process Outsourcing Gain a Competitive Edge in the Market

Business process outsourcing helps businesses gain a competitive edge by enhancing their overall efficiency at reduced cost. Every business has to perform tasks that are time-consuming and tedious, but need special skills to execute. These day-to-day activities, if performed in-house, could interfere with the way they conduct business. Outsourcing the work to a reliable service provider helps them get the job done expertly, thereby enhancing their efficiency and saving valuable time.

Business Process Outsourcing Solutions

Business process outsourcing solutions are available for a wide range of activities that include:

• Transcription (medical, legal, business, media and general) • Medical billing and collections • Collections on medical accounts receivable management • Software development • Website designing • Search engine optimization • Corporate branding • Document conversion • Legal coding • Legal research • Animation • Form processing • Data entry • Web-based EMR • Teleradiology

Improving the Bottom Line

Back office procedures including data and document processing tasks offer numerous benefits:

• Business process outsourcing results in substantial cost savings. When back office operations are outsourced, business firms save money that would have been spent on recruiting and managing manpower to do the job in-house.

• Back office work is handled professionally when it is outsourced. Service providers have the right kind of resources, including manpower and technology, to deliver professional results.

• Outsourcing processes considerably reduces the managerial responsibilities of business executives. They can focus on core business functions more efficiently, improving sale leads and revenue.

Reputable Provider for Best Deals

Outsourcing non-core processes to a reliable provider helps business firms streamline their functions. Experienced providers offer custom-made process outsourcing solutions at affordable charges to help business firm stay competitive in the business arena.