Why Manufacturers Need Process Mining — A New Type Of Big Data Analytics
Historically, manufacturers have worked with management consultants to improve their IT-driven processes and core operations such as purchasing, logistics, and production. The practice is often lengthy and expensive. They also typically rely heavily on the existing operations teams to collect data and provide context often resulting in significant disruption to the organization and processes being analyzed.
Thankfully, a more efficient and affordable method for driving business optimization has emerged: Process Mining, a new type of Big Data Analytics. Powered by machine learning and artificial intelligence, Process Mining technology leverages the digital footprint manufacturers leave behind in their IT systems and provides complete transparency into how processes are working in real life. For instance, it can pinpoint delays in invoicing after an order has been shipped. It can also identify where automation would help speed up delivery and reduce cost, or where vendors are not meeting their commitments and the specific resulting impacts.
Process Mining is essential for ambitious, fast-growing manufacturing organizations because it can reduce inventory costs, identify production bottlenecks, improve on-time delivery, optimize logistics between production sites, distribution centers and end clients, and reduce reworked and scrapped inventory due to mistakes or failures in the process. Additionally, Process Mining can improve manufacturers’ capital and team utilization by ensuring materials are available when they’re needed to avoid downtime.
In order to determine if they need Process Mining, a manufacturer should ask themselves a series of questions:
Getting started with Process Mining is easy. Start by picking a few core processes and then let the software do the difficult work of visualizing the processes and highlighting specific variances impacting KPIs such as throughput times. For instance, process mining may highlight the fact that specific vendors are not meeting their lead-time commitments and the ripple effect is causing significant production delays. Perhaps it will highlight the “maverick buyer” in your organization that is purchasing materials and then inputting the PO after the delivery is on dock.
