Businesses are continually seeking to improve performance and many are turning toward process management in order to make that improvement (Hammer, Stanton: HBR Nov-Dec '99). They wish to improve their quality, decrease their cost, increase their response to customer orders, and streamline their back office operations.

But how do businesses define these powerful processes? How do they get cross-functional teams energized about breaking down the barriers that make them comfortable with the status quo? How do they define what needs the improvement and clearly articulate how that improvement will occur?

The practice [some may say art] of process mapping is central to the full methodology of business process improvement. Process mapping highlights the current state of key business flows and is a key tool to accomplish the improvements businesses need to increase their competitiveness. Rich possesses eight years of experience in Business Process Improvement using process mapping. Its lead consultant has either led or facilitated teams who have improved:

• Procurement processes
• Customer shipping
• New product development
• Financial month-end closings
• Annual business planning process
• Production flow
• Business to business (intercompany) transfers
• Capital project delivery
• Product testing and dispositioning

More specifically, some processes have reduced total costs by 17% - 60%. Others have cut cycle time by more than half. Yet others have improved cross-functional flows in their organizations so well they have increased capacity by 30-50%.

Most recently, Richard is the President of the Board of Directors of the Central Indiana Regional Community League and assisted in a full-scale process mapping in an organization seeking simultaneous improvement in its Human Resources, Financial, Production and Product Development business units. He possess demonstrated experience in helping a broad array of business types, including manufacturers, hospitals, architects, financial institutions, churches, non-profit organizations, research institutions and others. Rich Gargas holds a Master of Science in Management from Purdue University and has recently co-authored the Performance Management Overview chapter in the just published Guide to Cost Management (Brinker, 2000).