Business process management (BPM) is a key component of many successful businesses in both the public and private sectors. A primary reason for this is that companies don’t want technology, they want solutions. Though many times BPM means implementing some sort of technology-based software that helps automate processes to improve efficiencies and reduce errors, the basic premise of BPM remains with processes and solutions that make organizations run smoothly and effectively. Companies within the energy sector, such as oil, solar, wind, etc, can use BPM as a means for getting lean results while the focus remains on the process solution instead of the technology that accompanies it. Solutions, however, can only take a company so far if they are not configured to address a specific sector’s challenges, as is with energy companies. Energy companies are highly regulated and they face many challenges with regards to compliance and risk. Additionally, for most energy companies, they are capital-heavy, meaning that they have lots of high-dollar assets such as pipelines, windmills, solar panels, etc, which means that being operationally sound is even more important for them than other sectors. To be operationally sound, which means that the company is running both efficiently and cost-effectively, energy companies must invest in business process management systems that are geared towards their unique needs. Since most projects within the energy sector cost millions of dollars, making decisions based on incorrect or outdated information can be very costly. A BPMS can help eliminate some of the risk of knowing where and how much to invest in specific projects by automating processes and turning real-time data into usable metrics that can inform key decision-making processes. Using data that is processed in real-time and that is tuned into the the industry’s needs could be the most important element that BPM can bring to the table for the energy sector. In addition to regulations and compliance issues, energy companies, such as oil companies, are becoming increasingly complex and must deal with an array of different business units that go all the way from exploration to retail. In order to create a central location for information sharing and to create unified process across all units, BPM can streamline processes and create procedures to help eliminate human error or inconsistencies throughout all phases of the organization. By creating cross-unit communication, units have more say over what affects their business practices and this can be useful in upstream and downstream units to help streamline the entire process from the top down. A striking statistic says that 40% of construction projects run longer than planned and/or significantly go over budget. Since many energy sector projects fall under ‘construction’, this is disconcerting. By implementing BPM, organizations can ensure that projects stay under control in both time and money because real-time data would inform key stakeholders of roadblocks and other issues well before they become serious issues and derail the project as a whole. With all of these ways energy sector companies can use BPM to improve efficiencies and save money, it’s shocking that more companies have not already implemented some form of Business Process Management System.
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risk, compliance, Energy sector, business process management, BPM, solutions, automate processes, oil, solar, wind, lean results, operationally sound,
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