Benefits of Business Process Management
Well-designed, automated business process management (BPM) brings numerous benefits to companies. These include better efficiency and business outcomes, which lead to cost reduction.
Business process management (BPM) is a systematic method for improving a company’s core operations through BPM tools that facilitate the design, modeling, execution, monitoring, and optimization of business processes. These tools enable real-time process visibility, data-driven decisions, and collaboration across departments.
The result is higher efficiency and cost reduction. This means BPM is no longer just an IT initiative; it is a critical component of digital transformation.
→ Related: What is the value of business process management?
Why is BPM so important?
Companies that fail to recognize the benefits of BPM risk falling behind. This is especially true in an era when AI is being harnessed in business process automation to amplify the possibilities that business optimization brings.
BPM tools like SAP Signavio enable you to make proactive, real-time adjustments to workflows based on data insights. By increasing efficiency through BPM systems, you can improve business outcomes and get ahead of your competitors.
“67% of AI decision-makers report that their companies aim to increase investment in the integration of generative AI to improve the performance of business operations,” - Fortune Business Insights.
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12 benefits of business process management and how to track them
Business process management directly contributes to better efficiency, improved outcomes, and overall business performance.
It supports a systematic approach to managing, analyzing, and improving workflows—helping organizations stay competitive in a business environment where automation and AI are becoming the norm.
“We see the need for visualization, the need for clarity, the need for integration or an integration enabler... That's where SAP Signavio brings a solution which is a technological solution, but also an enabler, as a pivot point between business and IT” - Haim Baruch, Teva Pharmaceuticals
Below are 12 key benefits of business process management, each paired with a clear example and tracking method.
1. Improved operational efficiency
BPM helps organizations streamline operations by making it possible to identify opportunities to eliminate redundancies and reduce manual work, even across different areas.
- Example: By automating the invoice approval process, the finance department can avoid manual errors and speed up payment cycles.
- Why? Your organization will see faster turnaround times, improved employee output, and more consistent results.
- How to track: Measure cycle time, task completion rate, and number of manual interventions.
2. Enhanced agility
Organizations can become more adaptable by giving teams tools to adjust workflows in response to changing conditions.
- Example: A company updates its refund policy and modifies associated workflows in its BPM tool within hours instead of weeks.
- Why? The saved time can be used for other activities, which increases competitiveness and resilience in rapidly evolving business landscapes.
- How to track: Monitor process change frequency and time to implement updates.
3. Error reduction and traceability
With BPM solutions, you can reduce the likelihood of process errors by clarifying responsibilities and standardizing procedures across workflows.
- Example: By tracking customer support tickets through a BPM system, it is easier to identify repeated misrouting errors and fix the root cause.
- Why? Ensure accountability and quality, reduce rework, and enhance reliability compared with existing business processes.
- How to track: Track error rates, audit trails, and rework frequency.
4. Better compliance and governance
Workflow management systems contribute to ensuring your company complies with internal policies and external regulations through well-defined, controlled processes.
- Example: The compliance department of a healthcare provider uses BPM to enforce data privacy regulations by logging access to sensitive patient records and limiting visibility based on user roles.
- Why? This helps mitigate legal risk and ensures organizational accountability.
- How to track: Conduct audits and monitor compliance metrics over time.
5. Reduced micromanagement
By documenting standard operating procedures, BPM empowers employees to complete tasks independently and confidently.
- Example: A marketing campaign workflow clearly defines each team member's responsibilities, which eliminates the need for supervisory check-ins.
- Why? This builds trust, improves morale, and increases leadership effectiveness.
- How to track: Record managerial time spent on supervision and employee satisfaction with autonomy.
6. Controlled data accessibility
Applying business process management enables you to define user roles and permissions to make sure the right people have access to the right data.
- Example: HR staff access employee onboarding checklists without viewing confidential compensation data.
- Why? This safeguards compliance and increases operational clarity.
- How to track: Monitor access logs, data request times, and audit outcomes.
7. Cost reduction
By eliminating unnecessary steps and manual tasks, BPM systems play a key role in reducing operational costs and tool overheads.
- Example: A company consolidates multiple department-specific apps into a single BPM platform, which reduces licensing and support costs.
- Why? Lower operational costs directly improve your bottom line.
- How to track: Analyze cost per transaction, app usage, and operational expense trends.
8. Higher customer satisfaction
Optimizing and managing business processes enhances the customer journey by reducing waiting time, ensuring consistent service, and minimizing human error.
- Example: A retail company uses BPM to streamline returns. This shortens resolution time and improves satisfaction.
- Why? Satisfied customers offer long-term loyalty, good reviews, and word-of-mouth recommendations.
- How to track: Measure Net Promoter Score (NPS), customer wait times, and resolution rates.
9. Streamlined onboarding processes
Whether onboarding relates to new hires, new suppliers, or new customers, a process automation platform can help you create standardized onboarding workflows.
- Example: Ramp-up time for new hires is shortened as the result of following clearly defined steps.
- Why? Faster onboarding helps everyone achieve their goal sooner and improves satisfaction.
- How to track: Track onboarding duration, relevant completion rates (e.g. employee training), and first-month performance indicators.
10. Enhanced project management
Business process management software helps business users take a structured approach to managing projects to keep tasks aligned with timelines and deliverables.
- Example: A product development team coordinates the release of a new software feature by aligning engineering, QA, and marketing timelines.
- Why? This leads to better resource management and timely project delivery.
- How to track: Monitor project delivery timelines, milestone achievement rates, and resource utilization.
11. Better skill gap and performance visibility
Ongoing monitoring of existing processes across the BPM lifecycle reveals where teams are excelling and where training is needed.
- Example: Performance dashboards highlight a recurring bottleneck in product document approval. After talking to employees, it becomes clear that this is down to a knowledge gap.
- Why? It supports workforce development and improves team productivity.
- How to track: Analyze task handoff delays, performance trends by role, and exception handling rates.
12. Culture of continuous improvement
By implementing a business process management system, you will instill a mindset of evaluation and process optimization, which will encourage teams to keep iterating and innovating.
- Example: At quarterly process review meetings, the operations team uses BPM insights to suggest improvements, such as automating manual handoffs.
- Why? This fosters innovation and ensures long-term process excellence.
- How to track: Measure employee engagement, process updates, and outcomes from improvement initiatives.
BPM Resources
Unlock hidden value in your business processes
Explore the results of our 'value challenge' initiative that demonstrates the hidden value organizations can uncover in their business processes by using BPM solutions.
A Practical Guide for Designing Optimal Business Processes
A modeling guidelines to help you create processes in a uniform way and present them comprehensibly for your whole team.
Process Mapping Basics
Find out how to get started with process mapping, and how to introduce business process management (BPM) concepts to your organization.
A Comprehensive Guide to Process Mining
Learn what process mining is, the value it offers, and why now is the right time to launch your own process mining initiative.
Overview of how to implement business process management
Here is a high-level overview of the seven steps to successful BPM implementation:
- Design the future vision and encourage stakeholders to get on board.
- Document as-is and target processes using Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN).
- Analyze current performance with data and metrics (use fit/gap analysis).
- Share target and current-state models to get the relevant stakeholders on board at the validation and refinement stage.
- Implement new processes or update existing ones.
- Support and educate stakeholders. Make sure the workflow is adopted.
- Continuously monitor and optimize based on KPIs and user feedback.
Our seven-step guide to business process transformation explains it in full detail.
→ Related: Advantages of business process management
Conclusion
Implementing business process management brings strategic and operational improvements that support long-term growth. Beyond cost reduction, BPM empowers innovation, agility, and alignment across teams—making it an essential part of any modern business.
7-step guide to business process transformation
Download the 7-step guide to ensure future process transformations are smooth and repeatable.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the purpose of BPM?
BPM enables users to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of business activities through structured process management, automation, and continuous improvement.
What is the biggest benefit of using BPM technologies?
What are the aims of BPM?
Why does BPM matter?
What are examples of BPM?