Process Improvement Flowchart
As-Is Process Flow Chart Evaluation
Select a process from an organization you work for or are familiar with. You will use this process in your Week 2 & Week 4 Signature Assignments as well.
Create a flowchart of the as-is process using Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Vizio, or Excel.
Sales representatives
Sales representatives
Customers
Customers
YES
YES
NO
NO
available
available
Stock check
Stock check
Request order change
Request order change
Order received
Order received
Invoice, shipment & complete order
Invoice, shipment & complete order
Goods pack
Goods pack
Evaluate the efficacy of your process using process improvement techniques.
Using the process mapping technique, the current As-in process may be insufficient to produce the maximum benefits that the employer wants the customers to have. At first, time factor in the processing of the order and returning the feedback may become slow and cause delays. Secondly, the employees might get burnouts due to performing different roles in the same department.
Process Improvement Flow Chart
Determine how the process can be improved based on the results of your evaluation.
The process can be improved through splitting the task to include one more department where responsibilities are shared by different employees to improve time taken to process the order.
Define metrics and measure the current process.
Value-added time, lead time and labor productivity are the measures which will be used to determine the status of the current process and why it is important to improve the process.
When the roles are performed from the same department, the employees might cause delays in processing a single order. However, expertise in working from a separate department increases efficiency and speed therefore increasing value added time.
Use process improvement techniques to improve the process. Create a flow chart of the improved process using Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Vizio, or Excel. Use your professional judgment to ascertain how the future process will perform according to your metrics.
Invoice, shipment & complete order
Invoice, shipment & complete order
Goods pack
Goods pack
Customers
Customers
Customers
Customers
Order received
Order received
Stock check
Stock check
NO
NO
Request order change
Request order change
available
available
Sales representatives section
Sales representatives section
YES
YES
Request goods package
Request goods package
Warehousing department
Warehousing department
Summary
Write a 525-word executive summary that includes the following:
A brief description of the process based on the flowchart of processes current state
The results of your process evaluation and how the weak points can be strengthened. Include a description of the process improvement technique(s) used.
A brief description of process improvements based on the process of the future state
How you anticipate the future process will perform based on metrics used to evaluate process current state
A description of your process improvement project to achieve the process future state
Summary
The process describes online retail that sells shoe imports. The purpose of the assignment is to examine the current process efficacy and point out the areas of insufficiency which are corrected through a suggestion for a better or improved process. As the online business is increasingly penetrating the current market, more customers are expected to adopt this trading line. The increase in customers in the market implies that more work is expected from the employees and the splitting of roles is imperative for different departments. Schneider et al., 2018 suggested that splitting of roles into departments is positively correlated with organizational performance. Therefore, there is a need for the current process to improve to a better one that incorporates split roles.
The current process evaluation focused on three key factors: customer satisfaction, the time taken to complete order, and employee burnout for performing different roles. According to Johansson & Nafisi (2020), mapping the process in the flowcharts is to identify the weak points and eliminate them by creating a better map. For example, after mapping the current process, the role-sharing in the sales department stood out to consume more time and often lead to employee burnouts. For that reason, the new process needs to include a different department for warehousing, which is concerned with packaging and transit for the orders completed.
The future of online business seems expanding and daily. Splitting the roles into departments seems to meet the organizational goals of delivering efficient services and optimizing performance. For example, when the time taken to complete an order improves, the company may sell more products. Also, reducing the risks of employee burnouts increases productivity and increases the value of the work done. In essence, there will be a balanced workflow that improves communication between the workers and the customers. That is, customer feedbacks will be addressed instantly and ensure, thus improving customer loyalty.
The improved process will have a multiplier effect on the business. Incorporating the warehousing department for the packaging of goods improves both times and ensures that the company employees do not suffer from burnout. The sales representatives would perform what they are experts in, whereas those in the warehouse will deliver their best. Performing repetitive tasks creates expertise in the organization and is directly related to quality and quantity improvement (Poleacovschi & Javernick-Will, 2020). This process will entail establishing a better company where the workers can proudly work and deliver the best services to their customers. The satisfied clients will become loyal to the company, and in the end, the company will expand further through word-of-mouth referrals.
The use of process mapping gets described among the best techniques for continuous improvement. The improvement of the current state of the organization does not mean an end to future change. With the growing market, there might evolve the need to develop the process even more. For example, the warehousing department might need to split into two to contain the transit section and the packaging. On the other hand, the improvement may mean that the company still expands to suit its operational objectives. Therefore, visualizing the future state of the process, I can predict that exact process mapping might deliver significant results when modifying the future expansion of the to-be process.
References
Johansson, A., & Nafisi, M. (2020). Process mapping in industry–the self-centered phenomenon and how it effects continuous improvements. Procedia CIRP, 93, 718-723. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212827120306491
Poleacovschi, C., & Javernick-Will, A. (2020). The importance of expertise visibility across organizational boundaries for individual performance. Engineering Management Journal, 32(1), 37-45 retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1080/10429247.2019.1661718
Schneider, B., Yost, A. B., Kropp, A., Kind, C., & Lam, H. (2018). Workforce engagement: What it is, what drives it, and why it matters for organizational performance. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 39(4), 462-480 retrieved from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/job.2244
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