& Value Creation at AB InBev

At its most fundamental, business intelligence focuses on drawing insights and actionable conclusions from otherwise untapped data sources. Many organizations have now begun to see the benefits of business intelligence through the creation of more intuitive, flexible and standard data visualizations. Business Intelligence teams would be wise to pay attention to process mining, a powerful technique which points the key techniques of business intelligence to unlocking substantial value from some of the most fundamental business processes underpinning any organization.

Unveiling the Black Box: What is Process Mining?

Simply put, process mining analyzes the data logs from an organization’s IT systems and uses it to build a clear map of how tasks are executed, their sequence, and their durations. These maps are almost always far more intricate and complex than the clearly defined model processes that have been designed - and it is these intricate and granular differences that can be addressed in turn to unlock value.

Imagine a customer order fulfillment process. Traditional BI might provide a

high-level view showing how many orders are fulfilled on time and in full. Process mining on the other hand paints a much more vivid picture with actionable root causes: which steps delay orders, introduce inaccuracies, drive rework, experience bottlenecks, etc.

A Field Bursting with Potential: Why is Process Mining Booming?

Improvements in data management now make it much easier to provide the unified view of event logs that is necessary for process mining. Modern data lakes and an increased focus on master data are certainly drivers for the growth in process mining.

"Simply put, process mining analyzes the data logs from an organization’s IT systems and uses it to build a clear map of how tasks are executed, their sequence, and their durations."

The growth in robotic process automation also led to an increased understanding of how business processes work, increasing interest in better understanding which parts of a process are most vulnerable to inefficiencies.

Another driver is economical. Over the last few years, as revenue growth from many companies has become harder to come by, we have seen an increased focus on defining sustainable cost-reduction strategies. Process mining absolutely has a role to play here.

 Perhaps the most important reason, however, is the looming horizon of end-of-life / end-of-support for major ERP systems that are driving companies to invest in upgrades and implementations of these core systems. Process mining is an effective complement to an ERP project: (i) before starting - mapping actual as-is processes allows for simplification and standardization prior to embarking on the more technical ERP work, (ii) during go-live and hypercare - monitoring actual process execution exposes deviations from the model processes, highlighting areas where more user training may be needed, and (iii) post-implementation - driving continuous gap opening and improvement of the considered processes. Effective process mining results in shorter ERP implementation times, reduced risk of disruption and faster realization of the desired business outcomes.

Unleashing the Power: Implications for BI Professionals

Process mining is a powerful tool to add to the BI practitioner’s toolkit. Business Intelligence teams should:

● Build relationships with process owners. Process owners are natural consumers of developed BI products and can co-design tools.

● Maintain process maps showing actual process execution outcomes. These can demonstrate improvement in process capability over time and are a valuable source for opening new gaps.

● Identify data sources useful for process mining. The more holistic a view of the events making up a business process, the more useful the insights that can come from process mining.

● Push for process mining before major ERP work. Such process mining work typically reduces the overall level of effort and go-live risk needed on ERP.

● Leverage process mining for change management. Process mining shows at a glance where processes are deviating from designs and, therefore, helps change management teams to focus where their efforts are needed most.

Looking Ahead: Mining the Future of Business Intelligence

By exposing the intricacies of how processes actually work, process mining empowers BI professionals to play a key role in optimizing operations, driving efficiencies, improving customer satisfaction, and making many other data-driven decisions that unlock significant business benefits. Process mining will increasingly become an indispensable tool for BI practitioners, shaping the future of data-driven intelligence and propelling organizations toward greater levels of operational excellence.