Business Process Managem

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Improving Customer Service in the Manufacture & Service of Non-invasive Orthopaedics

IntroductionÖssur is a global leader in non-invasive orthopaedics. From its headquarters in Iceland, the company maintains a presence in the Americas, Europe, Asia and beyond where its mantra, “Life Without Limitations”, is embraced by some 2200 employees. Its pioneering of advanced technology improves the mobility and with it, the quality of life for millions of people. Össur’s expertise includes silicone, carbon composites, mechatronics and textiles and, most recently, the skills and know-how to produce cutting-edge lower-limb bionic technology, arguably the most significant advance to date in the global orthopaedic arena.

Both a manufacturer and distributor, Össur grew rapidly from 2001 to 2008. Thirteen acquisitions resulted in an increase in annual revenue from $25m to $350m. Profits have been stable since but economies of scale were not materializing. Management recognized there was room to improve services, streamline processes and improve IT architecture to achieve scalability and, increase future profits.

In 2011, Össur established a Global Process Development (GPD) program and a BPM team consisting of project managers and process analysts. Amongst the first wave of projects identified from initial 250 ideas submitted was the customer feedback (CF) process. With the aim of creating value for customers, work advancement for staff and increasing profitability, the CF project was commissioned as one five processes from a shortlist of seventeen.

The ChallengeA period of rapid growth from acquisitions had seen an expansion in product lines and with it increased complexity. The CF process had not been updated to keep up with these and other changes resulting in a declining capture rate, complicated registration process, and response times to customers which were too long. The CF project’s goals were to capture more feedback, improve CF registration time, speed-up internal investigation and resolution while gathering information from the CF process for product development and R&D. Ambitious targets of an increase in feedback capture by 100 percent and a decrease in resolution time by 60 percent were set.

The SolutionThe To-Be Customer Feedback process was presented to multiple stakeholders to ensure early buy-in and gather feedback on the outcome. Internal development work was done in Microsoft Dynamics Nav for the initial registration process while PNMsoft Sequence, an iBPMS (intelligent Business Process Management Suite) was implemented for the resolution workflows.

Project PhasesÖssur’s GPD program used a blend of BPM and agile methodologies where internal process could be split into seven phases: Planning, AS-IS, TO-BE, IT Selection, Design & Development, Rollout and Closure.

• After the planning phase, the projects started with the AS IS process mapping in all relevant locations, information gathered from the actual users of the process and the current process mapped in iGrafx. Change agents were chosen in each location to play an important role in change management throughout the project.

• The TO BE Process was designed in a three day face to face workshop with a selected group of relevant managers and users. The workshop was facilitated by a team of BPM and IT experts to ensure a deep understanding of process and IT thinking in the TO BE process. The TO BE process was then approved by all change agents and other relevant stakeholders.

• The IT Selection was driven by the requirements gathered and process design.

• In the Design & Development phase agile methodologies (SCRUM) were used in all development to make sure the TO BE process design was followed and change management protocols were observed.

• In the rollout phase the project teams focused on supporting process leaders/champions at each site to lead the training and rollout. These leaders then support the global process owner team for future development and improvements of the process.

• In the closure phase, the process is formally handed over to the global process owner team.

Business Outcomes & Benefits Results stemming from a new CF process included:

• Reduction in registration time for Customer Service from 5 minutes to under 1 minute.

• Doubling of feedback capture based on the new CF process/system.

• 70% reduction in resolution time when Össur receives product for inspection.

• Easier monitoring of the new CF process with process metrics monitored from dashboards that are part of the PNMsoft Sequence solution.

• More in-depth reporting from Sequence’s BI capabilities.

• Evaluation codes used for resolution of parts of the process provide the employee direction on where and how to inspect the product. The increase in feedback gathered is extremely valuable to address broken processes through on-going CI initiatives as well as for new product development.

Example results from the other projects within the program• Global Planning: Inventory level lowered by 13%, lowering

inventory carrying cost

• Order Entry: Employees on avg. 20% faster to enter orders with the customer on the phone

• Distribution: Payroll per shipment decreased by 10%

• Product Services: Estimated 30% reduction in cost of future loaner equipment

For Össur, process discipline and governance has increased within the company as a result of the increased BPM focus. Its adoption of a BPM methodology enjoys the full support of the executive team and is now being used fully or in part in many projects.

Össur’s 2014 goal is profitable market share growth. The three pillars of the Össur strategy house are innovation, efficiency and growth. The GPD Program is one of the global strategic initiatives within the efficiency pillar. Although the projects are focused on efficiency the goal with the program is to build the foundation for future growth by aligning key processes and increasing customer satisfaction.

The program is governed by Össur’s executive team with the Director of BPM reporting on program progress and having the opportunity to show the solutions, report on results and familiarize the team of the methodology of the program. As a result new process improvement opportunities have surfaced and the terminology of AS-IS and TO-BE is widely known within the company as the fundamental parts of a successful project.

Össur’s BPM and IT teams have worked closely together on GPD projects. As an indication of this is the recent promotion of the Director of BPM to the VP of BPM and IT which highlights the strong process perspective in projects and the focus to continue the beneficial business and IT cooperation in future projects.

Business Processes in Motion™, PNMsoft™, PNMsoft Sequence™, PNMsoft SCE™, and HotChange® are trademarks of PNMsoft Ltd. All other trademarks are acknowledged to their respective owners.

To request a demo visit www.pnmsoft.com/get-sequence-kinetics-demo

About PNMsoftAt PNMsoft we believe IT people could and should be the driving force in any organisation’s success, if they could constantly adapt its business processes to changing market conditions. PNMsoft Sequence™, our Intelligent Business Process Management Suite, uses unique HotChange® technology to enable rapid build and change of Intelligent Workflows applications, while maintaining lifecycle governance. PNMsoft Sequence CRM Edition (SCE) provides intelligent workflows for Dynamics CRM. PNMsoft is positioned on Gartner’s iBPMS Magic Quadrant.

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