Company Assets
"Ability will never catch up with the demand for it."
Confucius
Kdensity recognises that a company relies heavily on its assets. An organisation would be nothing without its assets, which may include materials, physical equipment or machinery and, most importantly, the skilled people essential for success. Additionally, information guiding processes and external partners play crucial roles as inputs and outputs in your business processes.
While other business process modelling tools focus solely on process analysis, Kdensity acknowledges that creating a target operating model involves more than process reengineering. Efficient business processes are vital, but assessing their efficacy requires considering the inputs they consume and the outputs they produce.
Your company's required assets may be unique to your industry or specific working methods. Kdensity allows you to define asset types involved in your business processes. Using asset types to define inputs and outputs adds an extra dimension to your business process modelling, providing additional insight into critical areas and opportunities for improvement. A business process is more than a series of activities; even the most efficient processes need the right inputs to deliver consistent results. Identifying these inputs helps pinpoint bottlenecks affecting efficiency.
For example, consider the manufacturing process of creating ceramic bowls and the involved asset types. Here at Kdensity, our expertise lies in business transformation rather than ceramics, so please excuse any inaccuracies in the ceramics process. We certainly don't want to upset the ceramics industry—where would we put our soup?
| Process | Input(s) | Output(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Throwing | Clay (Materials) Potter’s Wheel (Physical) Potter (People) Product Specification (Information) | Greenware Pot (Material) |
| Ware Board Drying | Greenware Pot (Material) Ware Board (Physical) | Leather-hard Pot (Material) |
| Trimming & Signature | Leather-hard Pot (Material) Trimming Tools (Physical) Trimmer (People) | Trimmed Pot (Material) |
| Bone Drying | Trimmed Pot (Material) Drying Room (Physical) | Bone-dry Pot (Material) |
| Bisque Firing | Bone-dry Pot (Material) Kiln (Physical) Kiln Operator (People) Firing Instructions (Information) | Bisque-fired Pot (Material) |
| Glazing | Bisque-fired Pot (Material) Glaze (Material) Glazer (People) Glazing Specification (Information) | Glazed Pot (Material) |
| Glaze Firing | Glazed Pot (Material) Kiln (Physical) Kiln Operator (People) Firing Instructions (Information) | Glaze-fired Pot (Material) |
| Sand/Grind | Glaze-fired Pot (Material) Grinding Machine (Physical) Sandpaper (Materials) Finisher (People) | Finished Pot (Material) |
| Packaging | Finished Pot (Material) Packaging (Material) Packager (People) | Packaged Pot (Material) |
| Shipping | Packaged Pot (Material) Shipping Packaging (Material) Shipping Company (Partner) | Shipped Pot (Material) |
This example illustrates the extensive process of transforming clay into a market-ready product. We’ve omitted some processes managed by other departments, like purchasing raw materials and managing inventory. In smaller companies, individuals may take on multiple roles, contributing different skills to various processes. Understanding competing demands on people’s time is crucial to avoid overextension. Considering asset types in your business process analysis helps address this.
Breaking down business transformation into discrete processes allows for prioritising areas that benefit your company the most. Focusing on key processes and building from there enables quicker implementation of improvements and realisation of benefits. Small adjustments can lead to significant cost and effort savings.
If your business requires major restructuring and a new model, Kdensity supports business modelling from the ground up. However, progressing transformation through incremental improvements allows you to learn and refine your approach as your business evolves.