Enterprise-wide process analysis: find the bottlenecks, remove the duplicate work
Lean 6 consulting delivers enterprise-wide process analysis that shows how work really flows across your departments. We surface bottlenecks, cut duplicate effort through as-is process analysis, and design a to-be process your teams can adopt, using proven methods such as swimlane process design.
What is enterprise-wide process analysis?
Most organisations improve processes one department at a time. Each team looks efficient on its own, yet customers still wait, data is re-entered, and approvals stall between functions. Enterprise-wide process analysis looks at the whole chain from request to delivery, so you can see where time is lost and where effort is repeated across team boundaries.
Surface bottlenecks
We find the steps where work queues up, such as approvals, handoffs and shared resources, and quantify how much delay each one adds.
Reduce duplicate effort
We expose tasks that two or more teams perform on the same information, including re-keying, parallel spreadsheets and repeated checks.
Design the to-be process
We propose a simpler future-state process with clear ownership, fewer handoffs and measurable targets, ready to pilot.
Our approach to enterprise-wide process analysis
A five-step sequence, scaled to the number of processes and departments in scope.
- Scope and alignAgree the end-to-end process, the sponsor, the pain points and the measures that matter.
- Discover the as-isInterview people, observe the work, and collect cycle time, volume and error data.
- AnalyseLocate bottlenecks, duplicate effort, rework loops and handoff delays, and trace them to root causes.
- Design the to-beRedesign the flow with the people who run it, and size the benefit of each change.
- Validate and roadmapPilot the key changes, agree owners and metrics, and hand over a phased implementation plan.
As-is process analysis: seeing the work as it really happens
We document the process as people actually perform it, not as the procedure manual describes it. The as-is picture becomes the shared fact base that every department can agree on.
Swimlane as-is maps
Every step shown by role or department, so handoffs and waiting are visible.
SIPOC
Sets the process boundary and names its suppliers, inputs, outputs and customers.
Value stream mapping
Separates value-adding time from waiting and non-value-adding work.
Interviews and gemba walks
Capture workarounds, shadow systems and unwritten rules.
Cycle time and volume data
Quantifies queues, backlogs and error rates.
Pareto, 5 Whys and fishbone
Rank problems by impact and find their root causes.
To-be process design with swimlane diagrams
A swimlane diagram gives each team or role its own lane, so every handoff crosses a visible line. That makes it easy to spot where work waits and where two lanes do the same job. The illustration below shows a simplified order-to-invoice flow before and after redesign.
Swimlane design is the backbone of our to-be work, supported by other proven techniques:
ECRS
Eliminate, combine, rearrange, simplify: we challenge every step in the as-is flow.
Future-state value stream maps
Set target lead times and show the gain.
RACI matrices
Give each step one clear owner.
Standard work and control plans
Keep the improvements in place after we leave.
Pilot and benefit tracking
Prove each change before it is rolled out enterprise-wide.
What you receive
- Swimlane as-is process maps for each end-to-end process in scope
- A bottleneck and duplicate-effort register, ranked by impact
- Root cause analysis for the top issues
- To-be swimlane designs with owners, handoffs and targets
- A quantified business case and a phased implementation roadmap
- An executive summary and a working session to walk your leadership team through the findings
Why Lean 6 consulting
We combine Lean thinking, which removes waste and delay, with Six Sigma discipline, which anchors every finding in data. We work alongside your people rather than around them, so the to-be process reflects how your organisation really operates and has the support it needs to stick.
Start your enterprise-wide process analysis
Tell us which process crosses too many departments or takes too long. We are happy to help you uncover the cause and what a first phase would involve.
Cho Yaw Teo, Lean Six Sigma Black Belt ยท choyaw@lean6consulting.com