Question - What should be the sequence of 'Procure to Pay' BPO vis a vis ITO Services for a n-Tier Global Supply Chain Organization ? - Query Answered By Kaytek Consulting Director on one of the Global Offshoring Forums 'Procure To Pay' Process Sequencing of BPO (Business Process Outsourcing ) versus ITO (Information Technology Outsourcing) Services for n-Tier Supply Chain Organization - Some thoughts on sequencing the same in 3 stages :
Stage 1 - The Business Sub-Processes across the 'Procure To
Pay' Cycle over the n-tier supply chain would need to
be first standardized and made uniform across the chain,
if not already so. Stage 2 - The technology platforms across the n-tier Supply chain (consisting of suppliers at various tiers)
have to be made uniform or mapped to a standard uniform
interface. Outsourced ITO services would help achieve the same in the organization and with business partners who are part of the chain.
Selection of the right technology component here would be crucial in terms of support to the above uniformly defined Business processes (in Stage 1).
Stage 3 - Once Stages 1 and 2 are completed, then Outsourced BPO services
could help in operationalizing and execution of the Business processes
defined in Stage 1 on the technology platforms defined in Stage 2. Why is understanding Process elements important ? In an enterprise, work consists of multiple Processes, Sub-processes, Activities and Tasks.
These can be either manual or automated or both.
At one location or distributed globally. Effectively understanding these 'Process' elements is the key to Productivity Improvements.
In the visual above, a work activity can be described as a simple interaction between men, machines and methods.
Understanding the interfaces between persons and processes across the organization is extremely crucial. Ultimately, standardizing these processes and interfaces would lead organizations to have person independent processes for efficient operations and productivity growth. Benchmarking of an Organization's Business Processes vis-a-vis it's leading competitors globally as well as it's desired future vision must be done before finalizing an IT Strategy Road map & the IT Solution Requirements.
The Process