Seamus Walsh, Co-founder, VAZT Global, Inc.
Back in the early 80’s my first IT job was working 3 stories below ground operating 5 VM/MVS mainframes in a “time shared model”. This job opened my eyes to the fact that there was a way for very large companies to share computing space. I did not have any enterprise process experience and it was not until years later that the light bulb came on in regards to how companies across many different industries share processes and applications; the limiting factor was that there was no common language or taxonomy that allowed companies to operate in a standard way. Until now.
In business each person has a routine for their daily activities.They may have been trained by someone who told them how to do something a certain way or maybe learned to do it that way because the “system” required it. Whether it’s an accounts payable clerk or a CFO instructing the controller on how and why the books have to be closed early this month, routine sets in.At VAZT we looked at pervasive commonalities that exist in companies and the benefits derived from understanding how a certain set of processes can and are being performed by a peer group. This type of guidance is especially timely when the BPO providers are coming up with a “price” to perform these services as an outsourced solution.
With approximately 1,500 activities across the SG&A being inventoried, a market price, or what the cost of that process would be if performed by a third party, can be evaluated by process and service level. VAZT’s offering will allow our clients to benefit from a standard business process inventory and the measurement tools to determine the internal price and cost of future state service levels by process area.Skeptics hold to the vision of a complex world where chaos reigns. An inverse cliché is “business is business;” just ask the ERP providers how they fit square pegs into round holes. They had the foresight to develop applications and systems that accentuate commonality as opposed to what makes companies different. There are more common functions, processes and activities across SG&A than people admit. They may consider their way a differentiator.
Most companies think that their “legacy processes” need to be done a “certain way”. They have built inefficiency and ineffectiveness into a process based upon a legacy application, or perhaps even a manager who wanted to see it “their way”. Enter the VAZT business performance framework which breaks functional processes into component business models which offer a holistic yet separate approach for operating an SG&A function (Finance, HR, Supply Chain and IT). VAZT’s component model helps businesses represent SG&A functions, process and activities in a framework which is easily understood and easily explained.
The VAZT Business Process Utility Model is a new way of looking at how a business operates. It represents the functions, process and activities from a business standpoint.Most companies still hold to traditional views and operate strictly through compartmentalized structures: distinct business units, functions, or departments that share geographic or process responsibilities. VAZT’s Business Process Utility Model identifies the basic operational building blocks, essential business processes, and the requirements, relationships, and relative business value of people, processes and technology. This model provides an independent objective view of the value of a service delivery to any organization. Our methodology uniquely enables any company to view its operational effectiveness through an empowering perspective.
Through the lens of VAZT’s methodology, barriers to improved efficiency and effectiveness are recognized and addressed; and business decision makers get a clearer view of how best to make meaningful changes. They can develop and measure components of the business that create differentiation and value, identify capability gaps that need to be addressed, and identify opportunities to improve efficiency, increase effectiveness and lower costs across the entire organization. Our business process utility model makes it easier for businesses to identify and prioritize components that will yield the greatest impact, the best starting points for improvement. By engaging and applying VAZT’s Framework businesses will uncover the value that enables the focus to shift strategic differentiation.
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