The magic formula

Dr. Dirk Oevermann and Dr. Russell C. Gomersall of IDS Scheer give their insight into how Business Process Management can help Middle East companies to beat the competition and improve their business performance.

BM. How would you describe the current profile of Business Process Management in Middle East? How do companies currently relate to BPM and where do you think they need to focus to improve?
Dr Russell C. Gomersall. The BPM market in the Middle East is currently dominated by several Business Process Redesign (BPR) initiatives. In the current situation BPM and the element of BPR as the method of choice take the strategy to an operational level. The overall goal is predominantly not to optimise local processes but to derive from the organisation’s strategy, clear design guidelines which are the basis for setting up a holistic and integrated process framework in which all introduced changes and requirements concerning for example roles and responsibilities, KPI’s and IT requirements can be linked back to the overall strategic objectives.

Another field of BPM activities within the more industrial related markets is initiated by IT/ERP re-implementations. The reason for re-implementing is either driven by the necessity to consolidate the heterogeneous IT landscape existing due to the fast growth of companies and ever-growing IT requirements but also due to failed implementations. In both cases companies in the Middle East realise that IT has to follow business and that processes are the key element in aligning Business and IT.

BM. Which solutions does IDS Scheer offer in order to improve companies’ business performance?
Dr. Dirk Oevermann. IDS Scheer covers the whole spectrum of BPM consulting. Major areas of focus besides the established Enterprise Business Process Management are Process Intelligence, Process-Driven SAP, Supply Chain Management, Business-driven Service-Oriented Architecture, and Governance, Risk and Compliance Management. With the integrated approach of ARIS Value Engineering (AVE), IDS Scheer consultants view their customers’ enterprises holistically. AVE means building bridges between corporate strategy, the processes derived from it, the IT solutions needed to support it and also the controlling of running processes.

With its ARIS Platform for Process Excellence, the company offers an integrated and complete tool portfolio for strategy, design, implementation and controlling of business processes. This means that IDS Scheer is the only company in the international area that can offer consulting and software for all aspects of business process management from a single source.

BM. Why would companies need the solutions of IDS Scheer? What value do you add to them?
DO. IDS Scheer helps its customers to improve their business performance by increasing efficiency, reducing costs and enhancing flexibility through expert Business Process Management. Successful companies know that the required changes need to be monitored and implemented effectively to achieve the needed results. Business Process Management from IDS Scheer enables these companies to improve their overall business performance continuously. IDS Scheer supports companies to make strategic decisions, driving cost-effectiveness, efficiency and business success.

Innovative companies know that Business Processes need continuous improvement. This also includes redesign on the basis of up to date information about the current process performance. The IDS Scheer offering is the ARIS Solution for Process Intelligence and Performance Management. It enables the measurement of key performance indicators (KPIs) in live business processes. It offers executives and managers a comprehensive, real-time view of their processes, so they can make objective decisions and identify and realise improvement potential.

BM. What is IDS Scheer's Middle East strategy and why is this market unique?
RG. On the one hand the focus is on the industries of the region such as public sector, petrochemical industry and the regional industrial groups as these are all IDS Scheer’s strategic fields. But several other factors make the Middle East markets unique. The organisations and industries within the region have grown incredibly during recent years and they are still investing heavily. I would like to stress the point that these investments are not just merely concerning the ‘hardware’ aspects of the business. From my perspective the region is unique concerning its determination to build soft skills to ensure and sustain the investments long-term. I see our relationship with our customers as a partnership with the vital element of knowledge transfer in any of our engagements.

Dr. Dirk Oevermann is member of the Executive Board with responsibility for the DACH and EMEA regions of IDS Scheer.

Dr. Russell Gomersall is responsible for the MENA region at IDS Scheer Saudi Arabia LLC.