Business process management is a field of management, a branch of management studies. Its focus is on the improvement of the performance of a business process management by improving the processes involved in the operation of that business. It optimizes the business processes to increase efficiency within the organisation. This kind of approach enables a business to be more adaptable to change than the traditional top down hierarchical approach. Implemented consistently, it can improve the functioning of an organisation, as well as its revenues and profitability.
This kind of management is defined by some as 'a systematic approach to making an organisation's workflow more effective, more efficient and more capable of adapting to an ever changing environment'. A business process itself can be defines as a set of activities that are required to accomplish a certain goal within the organisation. BPM is a division of infrastructure management, which ensures the optimum utilisation of an enterprise's resources and core operations. If there is an effective business process management in place, it will give the enterprise an edge over the competition.
A management must be effective and deliver operational efficiency, business visibility, excellent customer experiences and an ability to be responsive to change. It is an important tool in the hands of business managers. Today there are many business process management programs from leading software giants like oracle and sap that offer BPM programs to run a business efficiently. They can be customised to suit the needs of individual businesses. They are user friendly and provide optimisation tools and help integrate the entire gamut of business processes. The processes can also be monitored on a dashboard and enhance the management capabilities of end users.
A unified management system can reduce the cost of doing business and improve revenues, efficiency and profits. The system can also vary from the very simple to the very complex, depending on the size, and scale and the requirement of individual businesses and depending on the number of processes and the extent of monitoring required. There is scope for a great deal of customisation. It is also to be understood that business process management is not a one time exercise. It is an ongoing program that needs to understand changes in the business environment and respond to it rapidly. It is essentially a process of continuous evaluation and improving of an enterprise. It is one of the important things to remember.