How CIOs Use SAP Process Mining to Gain End-to-End Operational Visibility

Organizations are growing, and as a result, the CIO’s role of delivering clear operational visibility across disparate systems becomes increasingly complex-especially with SAP. SAP surface rich data, but the journey to surface this data in a meaningful and actionable way is fraught with challenges especially with traditional methods that do not help you identify inefficiencies or broken workflows.

This gives way to SAP process mining, providing CIOs with a means to achieve end-to-end process visibility across business units. With an increasing emphasis being placed on faster decision making and leaner operations, surface SAP process visibility will assist in generating value into enterprise agility.

In this article we will describe how CIOs are using SAP Signavio Process Mining combined with process mining consulting to achieve a level of process excellence. From monitoring procurement through to optimizing order-to-cash cycles, process mining provides businesses visibility beyond silos. For the first time, the CIO can transition from reporting reactively on their operations, to predictively driving their operations using process intelligence from their SAP system.

Keep reading to learn how implementing SAP process mining is not simply providing visibility, but also enabling intelligent, automated, and data-driven operations enterprise-wide.

What Is SAP Process Mining? A Primer for IT Leaders

SAP Process Mining is a method of examining, visualizing, and optimizing business processes relying on the extracted data from the execution of actual transactions that are logged in SAP systems. This differs from traditional BPM tools that simply enable an organization to think about improving a process step. Instead, process mining leverages the entire history of events found in SAP logs to reconstitute the actual workflows as they occurred, in real time.

CIOs typically find this very useful because a process mining system provides insights into more than just the ideal paths a process might take. It shows the true paths a process may take. For example, it may be presumed that an invoice is approved in three steps in standard operating procedures (SOP). When examining the data using process mining, it could show that there are seven manual intervening processes that took place in 40% of all instances—a red flag!

This technology answers questions that CIOs after answers:
Where are their processes slowing?
Are there variations from standard operating protocols?
Are there interactions that increase costs and/or compliance risks?

With genuine process insights at their disposal, CIOs now have the ability to view their operations in a way that only prior models could only imagine. The beauty of process mining from SAP is that the CIO knows exactly what their processes look like in terms of actual processes performed; there is no guesswork.

Through the use of SAP process mining, organizations do not simply get dashboards—they get the actionable truths needed to engender transformational change across procurement, finance, supply chain, and HR functions.

Utilizing SAP Signavio Process Mining for Real-Time Insights

SAP Signavio Process Mining is an innovative, cloud-based solution that connects independent business modules fully and seamlessly with both SAP S/4HANA and other SAP solutions. It is designed for speed and clarity, so CIOs and business decision-makers can see the detail of processes as they happen—not just retrospectively.

With Signavio, it is easier to identify deviations of actual process flows from target process flows, identify potentials for automation, and simulate the accomplishment of process changes prior to implementing the changes. This capability supports proactive decision-making, which is essential for many organizations that are pursuing digital strategies in transformative ways.

Use cases include:

• Identifying bottlenecks in the procure-to-pay process
• Increasing compliance by exposing policy breaches
• Providing better customer experience through existing feedback loops in real time

SAP Signavio Process Mining provides pre-built connectors to existing SAP landscapes and provides a fast road to value. The collaborative interface of Signavio also provides teams with the opportunity to work collaboratively to redesign the processes they have simulated.

For CIOs, SAP Signavio Process Mining is more than a visualization tool; it can function as a control centre that connects day-to-day business operations with strategic business priorities.

Why Process Intelligence in SAP Is a Strategic Advantage

Process Intelligence in SAP is more than process mapping, it ties data science, business logic, and visualization together for a competitive advantage. It doesn’t just tell you what happened; it explains why it happened and what to do moving forward.

For CIOs overseeing enterprise-scale SAP systems, regardless of industry, this capability delivers a considerable competitive advantage:

• Accelerated root cause analysis across SAP modules (i.e. order to cash)
• Enhanced service-level agreement (SLA) tracking and operational performance benchmarking for shared services

With Process Intelligence SAP capabilities, CIOs can benchmark operational performance, streamline workflows, and most importantly, feed insights into (or use as a baseline for) artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML) models for predictive analytics across SAP environments.

In short, process intelligence in SAP enables leaders to steward digital-first operations that are agile and efficient, while enabling accountability and continuous improvement.

The Role of Process Mining Consulting in SAP Ecosystems

Oftentimes, appropriately implementing SAP process mining requires expertise and proces mining consulting firms fulfill this niche. These consulting firms have expansive market knowledge and have depth regarding the SAP architectures, process frameworks, and change management aspects, which can expedite the time-to-value considerably for CIOs.

Consulting firms offer the following services:

• Prioritize use cases with high ROI
• Configure the connectors for SAP Signavio Process Mining
• Develop KPIs & process benchmarking
• Analyze and redesign processes based on findings

CIOs leveraging process mining consulting firms can gain quicker returns on their investments, mitigate risks, and ensure governance across departments. These consulting firms are often industry-based, which is critical in any transformation initiative- e.g., retail, manufacturing, BFSI, or healthcare. As per our document model on Transformation Initiatives, consulting firms also offer a team or resource to focus on training, and build momentum around a centre of excellence, to leverage process visibility long after the initial project is completed.

Whether it is for compliance, cost control or performance gains, the consulting community has the most important and enabling strategies when it comes to SAP transformation.

Driving SAP Process Visibility Across Cross-Functional Workflows

Processes in today’s organizations almost never exist in a single department. SAP process visibility across functions can separate solid organizations from great ones.

CIOs can use process mining to:

• Expose cross-functional inefficiencies (i.e. handoffs from procurement into finance)
• Review SLAs across teams and suppliers
• Avoid wasted efforts or workarounds

This end-to-end visibility supports organizations to transition from siloed execution to orchestrated operations. For example, if customer orders are taking longer due to procurement backlogs with approvals, process mining could show the connection in real-time.

When SAP process visibility is built into the operational DNA, organizations can benefit from less friction, more responsive organizations, and improved experiences for employees and customers.

It also simply improves governance because CIOs can have more confidence in how internal controls and compliance are being administered consistently in practice, and whether the risks of audit issues are being reduced in terms of important operational controls.

Considerations for CIOs Implementing SAP Process Mining

To enable successful SAP process mining a CIO should adopt a thoughtful and phased approach. Below are some important things to think about:

1. Data Ready: assure that the SAP systems have clean and available log data.
2. Use Case Selection: identify processes with tangible business outcomes.
3. Stakeholder Buy-in: involve business and IT teams as early as possible.
4. Tool Selection: look for tools like SAP Signavio Process Mining that offer integration with SAP in order to minimize friction.
5. Consulting Firm Support: create partnerships with established and reputable process mining consulting firms to help you identify and avoid potential costly mistakes.
6. Governance and Change Management: make sure to have governance in place around any process changes.

A successful SAP process mining engagement doesn’t end with just installing the software. It requires continuous monitoring, iteration, and continual engagement with stakeholders.

If you want to do SAP process mining well, the rewards are exceptional – total control and visibility into the operation of your business with process intelligence in real-time, along with seamless and cross-enterprise collaboration.