PT-1 Communications' implementation of an automated workflow package
greatly increased the efficiency of their fulfillment process. As the
company experienced rapid growth, it encountered difficulties in
rapidly responding to customer demand. The legacy process was
spreadsheet-based, and required personnel in multiple offices to fill
out various fields in the spreadsheet, which was then printed and
carried to other employees who shipped phonecards to the customers.
The process was time-consuming and was impossible to track. As a
result, they "...were constantly running the risk of losing
documents."
Implementation of the automated workflow package allowed PT-1
Communications to reduce expenses and make more money. This was
accomplished first of all by completing orders 90% faster. This
allows the same number of people to service a larger number of orders.
It also allows the company to convert an order into cash faster by
fulfilling it more quickly. Presumably, PT-1 Communications was able
to reduce its costs to process an order dramatically because of the
increased efficiency, and probably was able to service the 154% sales
growth with the same number or fewer employees than were required to
service the lower number of sales using the legacy process.
The other major advantage to the use of the automated workflow package
was the ability to track where each order was in the fulfillment
process. The legacy process made it possible for orders to be lost,
which resulted in delays in fulfillment and possibly even the loss of
the order altogether if the lost documents never were discovered by
anyone. Also, by allowing management to see where orders are in the
process, plans can be made to add personnel based on facts regarding
fulfillment times rather than suppositions, and management can more
readily project near term cash flows based on order fulfillment
progress.
The concept of workflow management is being widely applied throughout
software products, regardless of their purpose, in order to facilitate
efficient usage by the user. A more narrow definition of workflow
management, that of document management, still has attracted a large
number of vendors.
Here are three examples of vendors of workflow management software in
its broadest sense. If you need more, I have provided resources
listing a very large number of software vendors in this space, along
with descriptions of their product offerings. Oracle and SAP AG are
other well-known companies having a presence in workflow management.
Here are a few well-known vendors in this space and their products:
(taken from http://www.waria.com/databases/wfvendors-M-Z.htm
"Workflow/BPR Tools" Workflow And Reengineering International
Association)
"Microsoft Corporation
One Microsoft Way
Redmond, WA 98052-6399
206-882-8080 Fax: 206 836-7329
Product(s): Electronic Forms Designer 1.0
Electronic Forms Designer allows programmers to use the Microsoft
Visual Basic programming system to create electronic forms for users
of Microsoft Mail for Windows. Forms produced with the Electronic
Forms Designer are integrated with the mail system and can be
integrated with other applications to create workgroup solutions."
http://www.waria.com/databases/wfvendors-M-Z.htm#Microsoft_Corporation
"Microsoft Corporation"
"Sterling Software Inc.
Product(s): MAXIM
MAXIM is a flow and organizational diagramming tool which links
processes to the organizational units (roles) which have
responsibility for undertaking the work. The products and documents
which the process utilizes or produces can also be linked into the
model. The Organizational Flow Diagrammer shows the way in which work
traverses organizational units and the hierarchical nature of most
organizational structures. User-defined process measures may be stored
within the repository. The product supports both OLE 2.0 and DDE."
http://www.waria.com/databases/wfvendors-M-Z.htm#Sterling_Software_Inc
"Sterling Software Inc."
"The Vantive Corporation
Product(s): The Vantive System
The Vantive System comprises five integrated applications that
automate and integrate customer support, help desk, quality
assurance/engineering, sales, remote customers and suppliers. These
applications share a common enterprise database collectively, all the
data from multiple departments about a company's customers, its
products, and how customers use those products. All applications
feature extensive problem-solving help, workflow management, and
reporting functionality. The Vantive System is based on a
client/server architecture for high OLTP performance and is highly
portable and scale able across popular platforms."
http://www.waria.com/databases/wfvendors-M-Z.htm#The_Vantive_Corporation
"The Vantive Corporation"
Resources to find additional software vendors:
http://www.wfmc.org/membership/list.htm "List of Members" Workflow
Management Coalition
This resource lists the members of the Workflow Management Coalition,
"a non-profit, international organization of workflow vendors, users,
analysts and university/research groups" http://www.wfmc.org/about.htm
"Introduction to the Workflow Management Coalition," along with links
to their web sites. A number of software vendors are listed.
http://www.waria.com/databases/wfvendors-A-L.htm "Workflow/BPM Tools"
Workflow And Reengineering International Association
This resource has a listing of Workflow/Business Process Management
tool vendors, along with brief descriptions of their products.
"For an-depth and detailed comparative analysis of selected workflow
vendors, review the Workflow Comparative Study 2003 by Martin Ader"
available at http://www.waria.com/books/study-2003.htm "Workflow
Comparative Study" Workflow And Reengineering International
Association
I hope you have found the above information useful. Please request
clarification if needed.
Sincerely,
Wonko |
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