This week in process excellence

It’s been another busy week in the world of process excellence with plenty of news making the headlines.

On Monday, our Research & Reports bulletin examined a new report urging schools to adopt commercial-style operational excellence (OPEX) techniques. The Institute of School Business Leadership (ISBL) and Association of School Business Officials (ASBO) International study revealed that just 20 percent of schools have currently adopted the OPEX approach, creating a “game-changing opportunity” for the vast majority of trusts and the wider sector. It asserted that most UK schools and school trusts have a minimum operational capacity creation opportunity of 20 to 30 percent by adopting OPEX.

Elsewhere, we covered new research from IoT Analytics which found that CEOs are increasingly prioritizing process automation via AI application. In Q3 2024, CEOs discussed using AI and automation to streamline processes at a notably higher rate than previous quarters, up 59 percent, according to the data. We also explored new KMPG research on the role decarbonization plays in helping metals and mining companies achieve OPEX as well as a report by Lloyd’s Register and Thetius outlining the importance of digital transformation for the future of maritime businesses.

On Wednesday, our Vendor roundup included IBM’s announcement that SAP users can now harness the power of IBM watsonx and IBM Granite – beginning with Granite.13b.chat large language model (LLM) – through the generative AI hub on SAP AI core on the SAP Business Technology Platform (SAP BTP). This reflects the firms’ “shared approach to generative AI,” built on an open ecosystem, prioritizing trust, transparency and the use of purpose-built models to help optimize business efficiency, according to a press release. Meanwhile, ERP vendor Workday signed a major deal to standardize systems in the cloud across a cluster of UK government departments. It is part of the ￡144 million “Matrix” program aimed at modernizing the departments’ back-office systems, streamlining the transactions and activities that underpin the way departments are run. Cognizant will serve as the systems integrator of the program.

In other news, process mining and process intelligence company Celonis announced the agenda for its annual user conference Celosphere 2024, taking place in Munich. This year’s guest speaker is Nina Schick, a world-leading authority on AI, founder of Tamang Ventures and author. She will discuss the intertwined relationship between AI and process intelligence. What’s more, process automation leader Appian elected Carl “Boe” Hartman II to its board of directors, digital transformation software provider Nemetschek Group announced it will be embedding a new AI layer in all its major solutions from 2025 and automated bond issuance company NowCM teamed up with international law firm White & Case to introduce new technology and legal advice for the manual commercial paper (CP) market.

On Friday, our Community news piece covered AI technology replacing all human line judges at the Wimbledon tennis championships next year. The All England Club announced that 18 tennis match courts will be installed with automated electronic line calling (ELC), removing human officials for the first time in the championship’s 147-year history. “We consider the technology to be sufficiently robust and the time is right to take this important step in seeking maximum accuracy in our officiating,” said Sally Bolton, chief executive at the All England Lawn Tennis Club.

Across the pond, the Department of the Air Force Bot Operations Team (DAFBOT) held a weeklong event at Rose State College, Oklahoma, exploring robotic process automation (RPA) and how it can improve the efficiency of daily work. It invited team members from across Tinker Air Force Base, a major US Air Force base located in Oklahoma City, who were introduced to RPA, guided through bot building and created bot prototypes that can be taken back to their jobs for implementation. Meanwhile, British television broadcaster Channel 4 remained bullish on its digital transformation ambitions despite a full-year 2023 loss of ￡52 million (US$68 million) as the San Bernadino Department of Airports committed to ensuring it achieves OPEX through is number one resource – its staff.

Finally, Vitens, the largest water supply company in the Netherlands, agreed a deal with technology firm ABB to modernize around 200,000 input and output connectors across approximately 250 sites, improving operational performance and enhancing compliance with industry standards. ABB will develop a new process automation system for Vitens, which provides 340 billion liters of drinking water annually to six million customers.

Wishing you all a great end to the week and we’ll be back with more of the latest news headlines next week!