Process Optimization with AI

Have you ever seen a walking path that gets you from point A to point B…but it’s the long way around? Sure, the architect thought it was a good design, but it’s not the way we want to go, so we take a different path – a shortcut. The result? A journey that isn’t working the way it was designed. Customers are often faced with multiple choices – multiple paths – to accomplish a goal and this can create issues that require process optimization. Poor business process intelligence can negatively impact the overall customer experience as well as business performance and efficiency.    

For example, don’t you hate it when you call customer service to do something simple, such as update an insurance claim, and the options the interactive voice response (IVR) gives over the phone doesn’t meet your needs or expectations? You hit zero hoping to get an agent but that puts you into a process that asks you to enter basic information, like your phone number, last four digits of your social security, and your zip code. OK, you enter the info and hope it routes you to an agent. Instead, it sends you back into a system that asks the same automated questions. You tap zero repeatedly and then the IVR disconnects.  

If the customer journey that the business designed isn’t the one the customer needs or uses, it’s a failure for the customer and a defect for the enterprise, a defect that dilutes the customer experience, resulting in increased costs, customer attrition, and negative growth. But your business process doesn’t have to be so dumb.

What is process optimization? 

When it comes to dealing with business processes, you simply can’t anticipate every possible path a customer or employee might take. This can lead to too many possible variations and a process that doesn’t even come close to solving the actual problem. It can be tricky getting to source of the problem. How do you find the processes gone awry? And then, once you identify them, how do you fix them?  

Process intelligence doesn’t have to be a contradiction of terms. By using data analysis tools and techniques to gain insights into business processes, you can make sure the solutions you come up with fix real customer and employee problems. Start by collecting and analyzing data related to the processes in question, with the goal of identifying the source of the problems, the bottlenecks, and areas for improvement. Then by using process mining, organizations can begin to peel back the layers of the process in question and find opportunities to use AI and automation to streamline their business processes. By leveraging process optimization, you can then make data-driven decisions and improve workflows across the enterprise.  

The benefits of a superior process intelligence  

Process optimization and intelligence enables businesses to achieve a higher execution capacity—helping companies do more with less. By bringing together process mining and analytics, AI, and automation, companies can make the most of their existing staff, machines, and time.