What is a Business Process? Types, Functions and Benefits

In building a business, you certainly have a plan as well as a strategy to achieve the desired goals. There will be business processes that must be passed by utilizing all of the company’s resources.

Every company has definitely gone through a different process in achieving business goals. This is the core of the entire business operation.

For more details, let’s understand what is meant by a business process.

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What is a Business Process?

Business process is a series of activities carried out by the company to achieve goals. Generally associated with the product or service produced.

These activities will be arranged in such a way as to achieve real business goals.

There are those who apply it repeatedly in a standard way, but there are also those who continue to try to optimize it.

In a company or organization, the process will be divided into several sub-processes, with different tasks or activities in each part.

So it can be concluded, that the purpose of business processes is to achieve organizational or company goals in accordance with the needs of customers.

However, some experts have their own opinions regarding this business process. The business processes according to experts are:

1. Kelly R. Rainer

In Kelly’s opinion, business processes are activities that are interconnected in an effort to produce products or services that are of value to the company.

2. Magal and Word

Not much different, Magal and Word also interpret it as a series of activities to produce something. Where each process is carried out based on an event.

3. Hammer & Champy’s

They argue that the process is an activity that requires one or more inputs to produce output that is of value to the customer.

4. Rummler & Brache

Processes in a business are all activities carried out with the aim of producing products or services.

5. Weske

All activities that can be carried out properly with the help of information systems and also manually.

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Types of Business Processes

In practice, there are three types of processes in a business. What are the types? Here’s an explanation.

1. Main Process (Primary)

This process becomes the core of the company’s operations related to the main value stream in the business. There are three phases in this process, including:

  • Production
  • Marketing
  • Service to customers

By carrying out these three stages, a company has added value to the final offer and successfully delivered it to customers.

This means that business operations are running according to plan and goals.

2. Support Process (Secondary)

This process does not add value directly to the final product. However, this process focuses on preparing an environment capable of supporting the main process effectively and efficiently.

This support process ensures that the company’s operations continue. This means that this process focuses on serving the company’s internal.

3. Process Management

In practice, the management process requires the involvement of supervision, planning as well as monitoring.

This process will regulate all activities, management and strategic management of the organization or company.

The management process will determine standards as well as objectives that direct the main as well as supporting processes so that they can be carried out effectively and efficiently.

This process is used for business management through strategic plans, tactical plans and operational plans.

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Stages in the Business Process

In its implementation, there are several stages of the business process that you must go through. The goal is for everything to run in an orderly manner, so as to be able to achieve what has been planned and become a business goal.

These stages include:

1. Analysis of Business Activities

In this first stage, the owner and management of the company will grow in determining the business to be run.

This process will help you find out the actions that best suit your needs and future business goals.

2. Determination

After discussing and reaching an agreement, the management will then determine the activities or processes that will be carried out in the business.

This determination is usually related to operational costs so that the business can run, and generate profits as expected.

This determination will be made based on the results of the analysis and discussion that has been done before.

3. Implementation

After discussing and continuing with determining, then after that it’s time to implement or run.

All planning as well as business objectives that have been discussed and mutually agreed upon, will not be achieved without movement.

Then every part of the company must be able to carry out their respective roles and duties optimally, in order to realize what is the goal.

The use of  an integrated ERP application  will also optimize the implementation of the tasks of each team or division, because the resulting data will be more aligned, integrated and accurate.

4. Evaluation

The final stage in the process of a business is evaluation.

With evaluation, you can evaluate  business strategy  and employee performance.

Is it effective enough and give the maximum contribution to generate profits for the company.

It will be more effective if you carry out periodic evaluations at the end of the period.

That way HR performance as well as business strategy is always under control and can be optimized.

You can make strategic changes and also improve employee performance when it is needed.

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Business Process Functions

Business processes have an important function for the company. Some of its functions are:

  • Helping managers obtain solutions to overcome problems in the company during the process
  • Become an indicator tool for customers, to be able to predict when the process will start, end or run continuously
  • Help provide information to all workers involved, to know the duties and roles of each so that the process of the business can run smoothly and achieve goals

Business Process Benefits

After understanding the definition, purpose, function, type and also the stages, now we find out what benefits it provides.

The following are some of the benefits that can be obtained from the process that a business goes through.

  1. Can be used as a reference in projecting the business as a whole and also realtime
  2. Provide information regarding the condition of the company
  3. Increase the company’s competitive value, to be able to survive in the midst of business competition and various changes
  4. Enables companies to be more responsive to any challenges that can arise at any time
  5. Helping companies to more quickly identify the latest business opportunities as well as competitor movements
  6. More focus on the needs of consumers or customers
  7. Minimizing human error because placing the workforce according to their abilities
  8. The right process increases work efficiency and effectiveness, so that operational processes can be faster
  9. Through existing processes, it can maximize communication between companies and customers such as through research and also answering consumer feedback
  10. Simplify the evaluation process, so that the company will find it easier to find solutions to problems and also make improvements to existing deficiencies
  11. Prevent companies from being reactive which can lead to counterproductive conditions

From the explanation above, we can understand that business processes are an important part of a business before it reaches its goals.

Therefore, it is necessary to carry out business processes in the right stages in order to obtain maximum benefits and ensure that the company can survive and even continue to grow.

In order for business processes within the company to run better, companies are required to use technological assistance such as  accounting applications  to manage accounting finances,  attendance management applications  to manage employee attendance,  inventory applications  to manage inventory to  invoice applications  to manage business tax invoices.