Process ManagementProcess Management
It is important to define good business processes, but these processes can be useless if the actions are too labor intensive, or too difficult to verify.
The tools provided within Big Sky’s Retail Solutions can be used to automate many of the process tasks, and can help ensure compliance with defined controls.
Workflow Automation
All business processes have a workflow that defines each step of the process including what processing needs to be performed, and who is responsible to complete that part of the process.
For example, a Purchase Order may get sent to a Vendor, and the Vendor is responsible for accepting or declining the Purchase Order. This represents just one step in the workflow process.
Workflow automation allows the system to perform some of these steps automatically. For example, the Buyer only needs to click a button to have the system determine how the Purchase Order should be sent to the Vendor (email, fax, etc.), and to actually send the document.
Big Sky’s solutions are designed to automate many of these mundane tasks, allowing users to spend more time supporting their customers.
Roles
Each of the users that take part in a process has a role within the workflow. For example, a Store Manager is responsible for reporting problems and ordering supplies, and a Contractor is responsible for acknowledging Work Orders and dispatching Technicians.
Big Sky’s solutions support a wide range of roles, and each role can be tailored to display only the information needed by that user. In addition, edit and approval rights are defined and managed by the system for all roles.
Approval Routing
One of the most important controls that exist in any business process is spending approval. It is imperative that Work Orders and Purchase Orders don’t get sent to Vendors without the defined and proper approvals.
The first step is to make sure each user has their own approval limit. While the spending limit for some users may be zero, others may have a fairly large approval limit. All commitments for spending must be checked against these approval limits.
In many cases spending approval is required for more than one manager. For example, when a Purchase Order is created and approved by the Buyer, the system will check to see if the Buyer’s approval limit is high enough to cover the cost. If not, the Purchase Order is routed to the Purchasing Manager for approval. This routing can continue until a manager with a sufficient approval limit approves the Purchase Order.
Notification and Escalation
Another important part of most business processes is user notification that an action is required. Big Sky’s solutions include email, text message, pager and telephone notification options for many actions.
Persistent notification and escalation can also be setup to ensure that high priority tasks are handled promptly.
Dashboard
In addition to the many notification options, Big Sky’s web and mobile dashboards provide a quick way for users to discover items that need their attention, and to take action quickly and easily, ensuring that processes do not get delayed.
Audit Trail
All actions taken by users, or by the system, are included in the audit trail for each document. This tracking provides all of the details needed to determine exactly what happened throughout the life cycle of the document, and should be used to verify that the defined business processes are being followed.