It’s the perfect time to invest in process intelligence

HFS analysts recently attended the London and New York stops of Celonis’ World Tour. Aside from being packed with customer success stories, product demos, and interesting guest speakers, there was one key theme across the events—the business outcomes are proven, and there has never been a better time to invest in process intelligence.

Process intelligence is becoming increasingly accessible with a clear playbook for success

When a new technology emerges, organizations are cautious investing time and capital. Limited success stories and unrefined vendor narratives leave organizations lacking an understanding of the value new technology could drive throughout their business. Similarly, they have little insight into hurdles and how to overcome them. But even though process intelligence still seems like an exciting new technology without a catalogue of success stories, it’s different. Celonis’ events were packed with clients talking about their success and passing words of wisdom to their peers.

That’s not to say every organization has scaled up and industrialized their initiatives, but they have experienced early successes – and their success stories make process intelligence more accessible than ever before. One of Celonis’ clients from a leading British banking and insurance firm explained:

We can complete complex DNA testing to identify allergies, intolerances, and so much more. If we can unlock the most complex data in the world—humans—why can’t we do it with our businesses too?

—Head of Digital Transformation at a leading banking and insurance firm

Process intelligence can provide a helping hand in an organization’s time of need

Inflation has reached record highs, supply chains are in turmoil, and a recession is looming. As economic pressures mount, organizations should turn to process intelligence to drive process excellence throughout their firm, driving longevity in the process. Celonis and their client’s told us countless success stories, included one healthcare provider they estimate was losing $26 million annually by paying invoices twice and one global pharmaceutical company reported seeing $100 million in monetary value within six months of using Celonis in areas such as order-to-cash. These are significant savings and could become even more significant if we were to experience a prolonged global recession.

Despite the pandemic, many organizations remain unaware of their supply chains’ exposure to risk

The pandemic showed us that enterprises just don’t have the visibility, data, and insight throughout their supply chains to effectively prepare them for disruption, let alone realize all the other promises of transparency: efficiency, trust, sustainability, benchmarking, and monitoring. Because of this, Celonis reports that more and more organizations are turning to process intelligence – and HFS’ previous research shows significant demand for process intelligence to support their claim.  Another driver of growth in supply chains is the technology’s ability to  create digital process twins to use to strategize and model potential scenarios for stress-testing their supply chains. Given current global uncertainties, organizations should look toward process intelligence to unlock their supply chains, gain enhanced transparency, scenario plan, and insulate themselves from potential risks.

HFS believes the next step for Celonis and process intelligence is moving beyond Horizon 2, helping organizations address their own internal supply chains and adopting a OneOffice mindset, towards Horizon 3. This means enabling clients to look beyond their internal walls to unlock new pockets of value throughout the wider ecosystem. In reality, this looks like working with suppliers, customers, and partners—who can all realize the benefits of a more connected and transparent ecosystem.

The Bottom Line: Not investing in process intelligence might simply be reckless as the uncertain economic environment combined with inefficient processes and trapped value could be the perfect storm for a crisis

We may be living through a once-in-a-lifetime economic crisis, but executives can’t afford to bury their heads in the sand and ignore the significant risks. Process intelligence may help them address their shortcomings which could cost stakeholders significantly if left unaddressed – especially given current economic uncertainties.  The technology has never been so accessible, and vendors like Celonis are armed and ready to help with the latest R&D, experience, and partner connections. If you’re new to the world of process intelligence, the key message is to get started today and maybe even take the advice of another of Celonis’ clients, an automotive supplier:

Tackle the low-hanging fruit and start with one simple process to prove the value of process mining in your organization.

—Business Process Excellence Lead at a global automotive supplier