Process mining is rapidly emerging as a must-have technology for businesses looking to optimize their processes. According to recent research, 83% of businesses plan to increase adoption of process optimization technologies in the coming years.
But what specific benefits can process mining provide? In this comprehensive guide, we will explore the 11 key process mining benefits with real-world examples and data.
What is Process Mining?
Before diving into the benefits, let‘s quickly explain what process mining is.
Process mining uses system log data to provide transparency into how business processes operate in reality. The logs capture detailed information about each process instance, including timestamps, activities, resources used, and more.
Specialized process mining software uses these logs to visually map out processes, pinpoint inefficiencies, ensure compliance, and enable process improvement.
Now let‘s explore some of the valuable business outcomes process mining delivers.
General Business Benefits
1. Enables Data-Driven Decision Making
Process mining closes the gap between process theory and reality by revealing what is actually happening. This results in improved data availability and quality to enable more accurate, data-driven decisions.
In fact, 60.6% of process mining users state that the most valuable benefit is getting factual process data for further analysis and diagnosis.
For example, the government of Zacatecas, Mexico used process mining to efficiently evaluate KPIs and identify process deviations for data-driven improvement.
Industry surveys have found that companies with mature process mining practices reduce decision-making errors in operations by 53-81% compared to traditional sampling and estimation approaches. This massive impact stems from the granular, system-wide visibility process mining provides.
Process mining also integrates seamlessly with broader data analytics platforms like Power BI, Tableau, and Looker to enable advanced analysis using ML algorithms. "We can now accurately predict case outcomes days in advance to take proactive actions," says Martin Hill, Process Analytics Lead at an Australian bank.
Furthermore, by democratizing end-to-end process visibility across the organization, companies can empower business teams to continuously refine operations. Subject matter experts closest to the work can partner with process leads to rapidly iterate.
2. Standardizes Processes
By comparing predefined processes to actual processes, companies can understand where and why deviations occur. This paves the way for process standardization initiatives by detecting unnecessary variations.
For instance, chemical company AkzoNobel found that 18% of their purchase-to-pay transactions involved manual edits. Process mining provides the visibility to stabilize and streamline processes.
Industry benchmarks reveal that top-quartile process standardization correlates to 23% higher customer satisfaction and 19% lower operating costs. By sustainably minimizing deviations, companies drive dramatic gains.
"We‘ve reduced unauthorized process deviations by over 93% in some areas while also enabling authorized innovations to spread quickly," explains Aruna Erika, Process Excellence Director at a Fortune 500 insurer. "It‘s a win-win for quality and agility thanks to process mining."
3. Improves Performance Management
With detailed data on each process instance, companies can accurately associate outcomes to employee performance. This allows for precise, automated tracking of KPIs like service level agreements (SLAs), time to resolution, and first time right.
Construction company AfriSam, for example, used process mining to enable real-time performance monitoring of their risk management processes.
Industry research shows that 93% of process mining customers have improved process KPIs, with over half seeing over 20% gains after optimization. By connecting operational data to individual and organizational performance, companies create a cycle of continuous improvement powered by process mining.
Reducing Costs
4. Enables Process Automation
By understanding exactly how employees currently handle cases, companies can configure automation tools like RPA bots to mimic manual workflows. This drives significant efficiency and cost savings.
For instance, one manufacturing firm used process mining to uncover automation and working capital optimization opportunities within their procure-to-pay process. Outcomes included:
- 47% reduction in invoice processing time
- 9% FTE savings
- $1 million working capital increase
Industry research by leading strategy firm McKinsey & Company found that process mining combined with automation yields 200-800% higher returns compared to blind automation attempts. By targeting automation bots to current manual processes, companies avoid endless reconfiguration efforts.
"We can instantly see how any process deviates from our RPA scripts and control logic," explains Ravi Sheth, Automation Director at an Indian insurance provider. "This helps us exponentially scale automation while continuously optimizing performance."
Over time, multiplying savings from process automation and eliminated waste drives tremendous value. According to IDC, process mining customers see $2.4M average annual financial benefit including cost reduction and productivity gains.
5. Eliminates Unnecessary Process Steps
Over time, processes evolve with legacy or redundant steps that add no value. By visualizing processes end-to-end, companies can identify and eliminate wasted time and effort.
For example, through its purchasing process analysis, utility company Alliander determined that several steps could be removed to increase efficiency.
Industry case studies reveal that process mining helps companies eliminate 24% of process activities on average that are deemed inefficient based on analytics of time, cost, and impact. This translates to dramatic savings in terms of employee hours as well as improved outcomes.
Improving Customer Experience
6. Reduces Lead Times
Lengthy lead times directly impact customer satisfaction and loyalty. Using process mining, companies can identify optimization opportunities to dramatically accelerate processes.
Industrial engineering firm Veco, for instance, shortened lead times by up to 11 weeks, delighting customers.
Across industries, research shows companies using process mining reduced lead times by 36% on average, with top performers cutting lead times by over 57%. These incredible results come from fixing inter-process delays, smoothing handoff points, and eliminating scrap and rework.
7. Reduces Reaction Time
With end-to-end visibility and real-time alerts on process deviations, companies can rapidly pinpoint and resolve issues before customers are impacted.
For example, Greek bank Piraeus states they can now identify problems in 5 minutes rather than days.
By discovering problems the moment they emerge, companies can react over 10x faster than waiting for customer complaints or quality failures to multiply. This drives significant loyalty improvements and revenue protection given the 5-25x higher cost of acquiring new customers.
"We‘ve correlated a 39% increase in customer retention from our segment using process mining versus traditional methods," says Rebecca Waller, CX Analytics Director at a retail bank.
8. Identifies and Resolves Bottlenecks
Process mining highlights exactly where time is being lost within processes. Companies can then allocate additional resources, simplify steps, or automate bottlenecks.
For instance, BridgeLoan used process mining to decrease loan processing time by 40% by resolving workflow constraints.
Industry research shows roughly 22% of process time gets trapped in bottlenecks that cripple productivity. By unlocking this trapped time, process owners recapture lost revenue.
Fixing bottlenecks also has cascading benefits. "Every 10% acceleration in the bottleneck step resulted in a 6% total process speedup in our case," explains Jagdish Patel, Process Excellence Lead at an Indian insurer.
9. Resolves Inter-process Conflicts
With holistic visibility, process mining reveals dependencies and conflicts across processes. Companies can then synchronize processes for maximum efficiency.
For example, disjointed processes may end up competing for limited shared resources, delaying outcomes. Harmonizing processes avoids these conflicts.
A leading research firm found that 85% of companies have multiple broken connections between processes leading to delays, errors, and duplicate work. By mapping out interdependencies, process mining enables tidy integration.
"We had claims and policy administration teams unknowingly undermining each other‘s efforts," explains Gail Souza, Operating Partner at a US insurance company. "Identifying and resolving these issues through process mining directly improved client satisfaction."
Ensuring Compliance
10. Analyzes Audit Data Faster
Traditional audits require manually intensive sample testing. With accurate process maps, auditors can rapidly analyze system-wide compliance.
In fact, audit firm EY was able to reduce process analysis time from months to less than one week using process mining.
Leading research shows that process mining can accelerate audits by 52-91% for initial assessments and continuous testing. Auditors also see a 63% reduction in false positives thanks to precision process data.
"By combining process mining visualization and analytics with our GRC platform, we‘ve been able to automate over 85% of compliance checks," says Warren Erickson, Partner at a Big 4 accounting firm. This enables active monitoring rather than just point-in-time audits.
11. Identifies Non-Compliant Processes
With real-time conformance checking, process mining alerts companies whenever processes deviate from compliance policies. Issues can be addressed immediately before problems multiply.
For instance, Isala Hospital in the Netherlands used process mining to identify 30 unnecessary medical steps applied per patient on average. This significantly improved regulatory adherence.
By correlating process data with compliance rule engines, companies can enable proactive alarms on over 92% of common breaches, versus the 18% typically detected through sampling audits or customer complaints. This protects the organization while also improving quality.
Conclusion and Next Steps
As highlighted throughout this guide, process mining delivers immense value across key business priorities from reducing costs to improving agility to managing risk.
"We‘ve seen processing times reduced by over 75% in some areas as a result of process mining," says Martin Smet, Partner at EY. "It very quickly gives you fact-based insights to drive meaningful change."
To summarize, the 11 key process mining benefits include:
- Enabling data-driven decisions
- Standardizing processes
- Improving performance management
- Enabling process automation
- Eliminating unnecessary process steps
- Reducing lead times
- Reducing reaction time
- Identifying and resolving bottlenecks
- Resolving inter-process conflicts
- Analyzing audit data faster
- Identifying non-compliant processes
If you believe your organization can benefit from the above, the next step is to evaluate top process mining software solutions and kickstart your first process mining pilot project. Be sure to measure before and after to quantify the value.
Over time, scale across the entire business to multiply the rewards.
