19 Jan
Thomas Kuhn joined AGILITA in December and strengthens the team as a Management Consultant with his Process Transformation and SAP Signavio knowledge. Simon Hammer, CEO and co-founder of AGILITA Germany, asked Thomas about these very topics in an interview. He describes the benefits, challenges, and need for SAP Signavio and Process Management, what companies should consider when starting a transformation project, and how he approaches a project with customers in his role.
Simon: Thank you, Thomas, for taking the time for this interview. The simple question first: what does Process Transformation actually mean?
Thomas: First and foremost, it’s about understanding, analyzing, optimizing and monitoring business processes and workflows in their specific context. With SAP Signavio, or the Business Transformation Suite, processes can be analyzed for their suitability in the business context and redesigned taking requirements into account. Unlike in the past, this transformation is now happening primarily on a digital basis: the goal is to create new processes and business models with a customer-centric approach and to no longer reduce process management to process documentation and a “tireless paper tiger”. With the ongoing digitization of processes, data is playing an increasingly important role in the company. This corporate data is often also included in Process Transformation and today serves, among other things, as the most important source for identifying optimization potential. Classical process management approaches hardly reach the depth of insights we can derive from enterprise data today. These insights are an ideal starting point for digital transformation in the company. I like to quote Christian Klein, CEO SAP: “Business Processes are the DNA of SAP, that’s where the magic happens!
What are the requirements for a company that wants to implement SAP Signavio?
As with all transformation processes, the top priority is commitment: At least someone at executive level needs to be fully behind the project. A company’s employees are also affected and should be motivated to improve their processes. “Work smart, not hard” is the motto, and that takes courage to try something new. Further, there needs to be a problem to solve or a need to fulfill. The insight that challenges exist, the motivation to be able to change something and the courage to tackle it are the best prerequisites for starting such a project. The goal here is to achieve continuous process excellence and ensure agility. This only happens if you know your own business with its environment and the interactions in detail.
How do you and your team approach a Signavio project with the customer?
The customer always comes first. At the beginning of a project, it is about understanding it and, above all, knowing its challenges. Central to this is that the customer also understands exactly the problem situation in the company context. We make the problem situation, which often remains hidden and unspoken, transparent so that there is a general understanding. Then a possible solution is designed and the project is planned in detail. The “gap” between the actual and the target state is ultimately the content of the upcoming transformation with an analytical and structured approach. This sounds elaborate, but it’s not. The added value of a process-oriented approach quickly becomes apparent and at the end there is usually a pleasant “aha moment”.
Why should companies start this transformation today?
There are many triggers for transformation. The year 2022 has shown us: “Change is the new normal”. The world is constantly changing. Preserving our environment for future generations, adapting to ever-changing and revolutionary technologies while all companies and industries must simultaneously adapt to the impact of a global pandemic is equally important for businesses, supply chain adaptation, and personal lives. Change is happening faster and with greater impact than ever before. We know that the pace of change is relentless, and the challenge is how to keep up with it.
Where do you see the biggest challenges?
The technology is not the problem – everything you need is there. Make sure your transformation is customer-centric and not just technology-driven. A Signavio project only works if the employees are on board, if they are picked up and motivated: a mindset change is needed. In addition, vision, teamwork and collaboration are key factors to move from “best-practice” to “next-practice”, i.e. to address company-specific USPs (Unique Selling Proposition) in order to be the market leader and the first choice for customers.
And one final question: what is your most important tip for anyone who wants to walk the transformation path with you?
Create a vision, be bold, build “capabilities” around transformation, and don’t forget your customers. It is also important that the change becomes measurable so that I can control and adapt at any time – in other words, that I remain agile. Data plays a central role. This creates customer-centric innovation that brings a sustainable, evidence-based and measurable market advantage to the business.
