Measuring Performance From the Business Process Perspective

Small business needs to continually grow and evolve. Every business needs to look at its internal business processes and determine a strategy that includes continuous improvement and development. It also needs to determine how to measure that improved process performance.

Typically, businesses using the balanced scorecard, determine their goals and objectives from both the customer and financial perspectives before they determine their intent from the business process perspective. Determining the objectives in this sequence provides the advantage of aligning their business process improvement and process capacity building to support their customer and financial objectives.

So how/what do you measure when it comes to business processes?

First, take a look at the cues your customers are providing. By looking at the types of things that your customers are complaining about, or are shopping for but not finding, you can determine where your focus needs to be in terms of measuring performance. Examples are:

* Product Cost

* Perceived Value

* Quality of Product

* Quality of Service

* Cycle times

* Fulfillment and Delivery Cycle Time

Next, take a look at your financial cues. Examine your financial measures and break them down to measure the performance of each of your business processes, and in so doing, expose the role they play in your overall profitability.

* Manufacture Costs

* Process Yield

* Process Time

* Fulfillment Process and Delivery Cycle

Using the Business Process Value Chain as a Guide

While each business has its own unique set of processes for creating value for customers, Kaplan and Norton, have identified a generic model that businesses can customise. This value chain is an excellent way to break down your business process model into manageable, measurable chunks.

The value chain is broken down into three main areas of concern.

1. Innovation

2. Operations

3. Post Sale Service

The Innovation Process

The innovation component of the value chain, includes the research of the emerging needs of your customers and the subsequent development of products and services to meet these needs.

Research and development is not usually considered 'important' by small business owners. But those businesses who embrace being efficient, effective and timely, at this stage, often find competitive advantage early in their life stages and go on to survive and thrive.

Possible measures include:

* Percentage of Sales from New Products

* Improved manufacturing process capabilities

* Time to develop next generation of products

* Break Even Point

The Operations Process

The operations process is the next step in the value chain. This is, traditionally, where organisations have focussed their performance measurement activities. This process focusses on efficient, consistent, and timely delivery of existing products and services.

Traditional measures include:

* Standard Costs

* Budgets

* Budget Variations

* Labour Efficiency

* Machine Efficiency

* Purchase Price Variations

* Product Quality

* Cycle Time

* Waste Management

* Energy efficiency

Post Sales Service

The post sales service process concentrates on those activities that occur after the sale or delivery of the product and service and usually include support, service and warranty processes.

Possible measures include:

* Number of complaints

* Speed of response

* Cost of Post Sales Services

In measuring your business's performance you need to ensure that you have a balanced set of measures. Focussing on the traditional financial measures can skew your results and dramatically alter your business's direction. The balanced scorecard approach, by Kaplan and Norton, is just one way to ensure that your business performance is a well balanced, well thought out, aligned approach which will put the reins of business firmly in your hands.

Examine your business today to determine how you start to effectively measure your performance from the business process perspective!

Added Advantages of Buying a Used Car

Once the driving license is obtained, the next order of business is to decide whether to opt for a new car or a used car. Due to the fast changing consumer preferences, majority of the people sell off their old cars for newer models. This has resulted in not only boosting the emerging car market, but has also augmented the used car market. Accessibility to a used car has increased manifold as various banks and auto financing companies are approving used car loans. Moreover, there are numerous reasons associated to why many people are moving towards a used car.

So why is the sale of used cars gaining momentum?

Controlled Budget

Surely, buying a brand new car can seem to be a desired fantasy. The smell of a new car, plush cozy seats and the attractive paint are coveted. However, can your income really cover for the expenses of indulging in a new car? The sources to meet the heightened expenses would be through past savings or other income. A rational alternative would be to rather buy a used car that serves the purpose of acquiring a vehicle for your daily needs. Also, the amount you shell out for a used car will be comparatively lower than the amount spent on a new car, helping you to save money in the process.

Sustainability - Not a problem

The onset of the trend of selling current cars for newer ones has led to a huge surplus of used cars with an average age of 4 years. This indicates that the used cars still possess longevity of many years before they turn obsolete. Therefore, the sustainability of the used car does not pose as an obstacle and people are more willing to invest in used cars, especially when it is so cost efficient.

Easier Loan Approval

Obtaining an approval for a used car loan is fairly easier when compared to seeking loan approval for a newer car. While many banks do not highlight used car loans as their top-rated product, the process of acquiring it is less complex which makes it suitable for those who want to make an immediate purchase. The key advantage here is that even when a bank does not approve a loan request, there are quite a few auto financing companies who can either act as a bridge between the loan applicant and the bank; or completely finance the car from their end. In both the instances, attaining a loan gets easier if it's for a used car.

Now, there are also a few things to keep in mind before you apply for a used car loan. The age set for qualifying for the loan is 18 years with minimum earnings of $1800 per month. This is one of the major reasons why many teenagers select a used car over purchasing a new car. Usually, an auto financing company looks for car buyers with a good credit score and zero bankruptcy history. These features help in instilling a sense of goodwill and provide reassurance for the payment of the loan from the car buyer.

All in all, a used car loan can conveniently help you to fix your priorities with a control on the budget at the same time. If a stress-free loan approval within the purview of a fixed budget is a criterion that you seek for your next car, you know right where to invest.