What is a Business Process? Definition, Examples, and Advantages

Introduction

Business processes are the backbone of every successful organization. They guide teams through structured tasks and workflows, ensuring consistency, efficiency, and the delivery of quality results. Without well-defined processes, businesses risk inefficiency and a lack of direction.

Table of Content

• Introduction

• What is a Business Process?

• Types of Business Processes

• Quick-Start Ideas for Improving Processes

• Defining Systems

• Tying Outcomes to Metrics

• Process Improvement Lifecycle

• Business Process Management

• Conclusion

What is a Business Process?

A business process is a set of related and organized activities or tasks performed by individuals or technology. These tasks follow a defined sequence to create a service or product that addresses a specific business requirement. Business processes exist at various levels within an organization and are part of a broader operational system.

Business process structures can be simple or complex, based on the elements involved in the process. Through every business process, a business strives to achieve certain goals.

Some key attributes that distinguish business processes from other business tasks and activities are:

• A process is repeatable

• A process is flexible and not rigid

• A process is specific and has established start and endpoints

• A process is measurable

Examples of common business processes include:

• Employee Onboarding: Integrating new employees into the company culture and ensuring they have the necessary tools to perform their roles effectively.

• Order Fulfillment: Processing customer orders from receipt to delivery, ensuring timely and accurate service.

• Invoice Processing: Managing the receipt, approval, and payment of supplier invoices.

Types of Business Processes

Business processes can be categorized into three main types:

• Core Processes: Activities that deliver value to customers, such as product development, marketing, and sales.

• Support Processes: Activities that assist core processes, including human resources, IT support, and accounting.

• Management Processes: Processes that oversee and guide core and support processes, such as strategic planning and performance monitoring.

Quick-Start Ideas for Improving Processes

• Identify Bottlenecks: Look for areas where tasks are delayed or repeated, and brainstorm quick fixes to streamline those steps.

• Automate Repetitive Tasks: Use tools like workflow automation software to handle recurring tasks.

• Start Small: Choose one process to improve, such as simplifying the steps for customer onboarding, and expand your efforts once you see results.

• Engage Your Team: Gather insights from employees who work within the process daily to uncover practical improvement opportunities.

Difference Between Processes and Projects

A project is centered around creating something new or implementing a change, while a process is focused on generating value by repeatedly performing a specific task or series of activities. In simple terms, projects involve activities that you have never carried out in your business before, whereas processes consist of activities that you perform regularly.

For example, making your daily cup of coffee is a process. You consistently use the same ingredients in the same amounts every day to prepare it.

Difference Between Processes and Procedures

A process is a series of business activities that are connected to achieve a specific business outcome, while a procedure is a prescribed method for carrying out a process or a part of it. In other words, a process consists of defined actions, whereas a procedure provides detailed instructions.

For example, onboarding a new employee in your organization is considered a process. This process focuses on introducing the company to the new hire and helping them understand company policies, culture, and teams.

In contrast, onboarding documentation is a procedure. It contains a detailed set of instructions related to necessary documents, signatures, and agreements.

Difference Between Processes and Systems

Tying Outcomes to Metrics

Process improvements can deliver measurable results. Here are some examples:

• Reduced Costs: Automating invoice processing can cut labor costs by up to 50%.

• Increased Customer Satisfaction: Streamlining the customer complaint resolution process can reduce response times by 40%.

• Higher Employee Productivity: Simplifying workflows through process redesign can boost task completion rates by 25%.

Process Improvement Lifecycle

Our approach to process improvement follows these key steps:

1. Identify: Pinpoint processes that need improvement by analyzing performance metrics and gathering feedback.

2. Gather: Collect detailed information about the current state of the process, including inputs, outputs, and stakeholders.

3. Map: Create a visual representation of the process to identify inefficiencies and areas for improvement.

4. Analyze: Evaluate the process to determine root causes of inefficiencies and prioritize areas for change.

5. Re-engineer: Redesign the process to eliminate inefficiencies and incorporate best practices.

6. Review: Validate the new process design with stakeholders to ensure alignment and feasibility.

7. Measure: Implement the process and monitor its performance using KPIs to ensure continuous improvement.

Common Terms Related To Business Processes

We are listing a few common business terms that relate to business processes.

• Business Process Management: Business process management is defined as a discipline in operations management in which people use various methods to discover, model, analyze, measure, improve, optimize, and automate business processes. Use this detailed guide to learn more about business process management.

• Business Process Assessment: Process assessment is a systematic evaluation of an organization's processes to identify strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement. It involves assessing the effectiveness, efficiency, and maturity of processes to ensure they align with organizational goals and industry best practices. Read our detailed guide on process assessments. 

• Business Process Discovery: Business process discovery is defined as a set of techniques that build a representation of an organization's current business processes, which include their workflows, structures, and elements. Learn everything you need to know about process discovery in this article.

• Business Process Modeling: Creating detailed diagrams is crucial for visualizing and understanding processes. Flowcharts, mind maps, and infographics effectively depict steps and relationships, clarifying complex information. Clear symbols and labels simplify communication, support discussions, and enhance learning.

• Business Process Improvement: Business Process Improvement is defined as a management practice used to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of business processes by discovering, mapping, documenting, analyzing, and redesigning processes. We will learn more about why you should invest in improving your business processes further in this article.

• Business Process Handoffs: Business process handoffs are defined as the transfer of information, responsibilities, or people in your business from one entity to another. They are critical to the smooth running of your business operations in case of employee resignations, team restructures, etc. For more details, read our guide to business process handoffs.

• Business Process Automation: Business process automation is defined as the practice of using technology to automate complex and redundant business processes and workflows. It helps businesses save manual efforts, reduce costs, improve efficiency, and optimize process performance.

• Business Process Documentation: Business process documentation is the process of outlining a detailed description of how a process needs to be executed. It is a technique undertaken by businesses to make their processes learnable, viewable, and improvable. It primarily focuses on answering the question - 'how is the process implemented?'. Learn more about business process documentation with this detailed guide.

• Business Process Development: Creating innovative processes to adapt to changing business needs involves assessing workflows and collaborating with stakeholders. Methods like process mapping and automation enhance productivity and customer satisfaction. processes to achieve dramatic improvements.

• Business Process Optimization: A journey of refining and enhancing operational workflows, aimed at unlocking unparalleled efficiency and effectiveness. This transformative approach seeks to streamline every step, eliminate redundancies, and elevate performance to new heights, ensuring that resources are utilized to their fullest potential while driving sustained growth and innovation.

• Business Process Mapping: Business process mapping is defined as the activity of creating a workflow diagram of a process to gain a clear understanding of the process and how it overlaps with other processes. It is a business process documentation tool that uses visual aids to document and communicate the details of a process across the company. Read this guide to learn everything about business process mapping.

• Business Process Controls: Implementing checks and balances to maintain quality and compliance. This involves defining control measures that prevent errors, ensure adherence to regulations, and mitigate risks. These controls may include automated approvals, audit trails, and compliance reporting.

• Business Process Analysis: Assessing processes to identify weaknesses and opportunities. This includes evaluating process efficiency, identifying redundancies, and determining areas for improvement. Organizations use methodologies such as Six Sigma and Lean to enhance process effectiveness.

• Business Process Integration: Ensuring seamless collaboration across systems and departments. Integration connects different business applications and processes to enable data sharing and automation, reducing manual work and increasing efficiency.

• Business Process Simulation: Testing processes in virtual environments to predict outcomes. By simulating processes, businesses can identify bottlenecks, optimize workflows, and test potential improvements before implementing them in real-world operations.

• Business Process Transformation: Overhauling processes to align with strategic goals. This involves redesigning business workflows to better support organizational objectives, customer expectations, and technological advancements, ensuring long-term sustainability.

• Business Process Flow: Defining the sequence of activities in a process. A well-structured process flow ensures smooth transitions between tasks, clear role assignments, and minimized disruptions in business operations.

• Business Process Monitoring: Tracking performance to ensure processes meet targets. Organizations use dashboards, reports, and real-time analytics to measure efficiency, detect deviations, and make data-driven decisions for continuous improvement.

• Business Rules Engines (BREs): Automating decision-making within processes based on predefined rules. BREs allow organizations to enforce policies, ensure compliance, and enhance operational efficiency by automating approvals, calculations, and business logic.

Conclusion

By understanding, designing, and improving business processes, organizations can achieve operational excellence, adaptability, and long-term success. What’s one process you could optimize today to unlock exponential growth? Now is the time to take control of your processes and drive your organization toward intentional, sustainable growth.