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3.02 - A Process Model

The importance of establishing the fundamental business processes and in particular the processes which serve the end customer are emphasised in:-

Competitive Advantage by Michael Porter, Lucas Engineering Systems Handbook by John Parnaby and Re-Engineering the Corporation by Michael Hammer and James Champy

For many manufacturing business the simplest process representation has two key processes which serve the customer:-

  • The Product Introduction Process – which results in new products being developed to meet market needs.
  • The Operation Process – all the activities to make today’s products for today’s customer needs.

Support processes ensure that the key processes function efficiently, for example, Human Resource or Finance.

A Process model of Manufacturing

Individual businesses may not fit this model, but a simple starting point should be established before embarking on process decomposition or simplification.

This simple concept integrates well with the idea of natural groups or teams, a group of people organised around a process element and responsible for its effective operation and continuous improvement.

 
Further Reading