The objective of the project was to process map, analyse, and where possible, improve the current state (‘As Is’) business process in detail between Identification of a new supplier & the vetting / setting up of them into the system (local & FX), through to payment of the Supplier Invoice, including the PO, Non-PO and Credit card methods of procurement.

Scope:
All services offered by NPA Ltd – Banknotes, Australian Passports, and Life-event Certificates.
All functions and business processes within the Procure-to-Pay (P2P) portion of the overall value stream, between the following stages;
• From: Notification of a new Supplier / need to update an existing Supplier,
• To: Payment of approved Supplier Invoice.
• Including; PO, Non-PO, Credit Card based purchases.
• Excluding; Supplier Contract Establishment processes (part of the Source-to-Contact S2C value chain), Reimbursable employee payments (we understand this is enabled through the Payroll function).

Approach:
• Identified (but not mapped) the Current State (‘As Is’) business processes through the development of a Process Inventory. Prioritise those processes for mapping / further analysis in subsequent project Phases.
• Guided by prioritisation in the Process Inventory, detailed process mapping of Current State (‘As Is’) processes in detail across the areas of direct impact (sequence, roles and responsibilities, systems, rules, key artefacts, etc).
• Critique Current State (‘As Is’) processes in conjunction with operational staff, and identify & define any ‘gap’ between the current process and the future requirements,
• Define High Level Change Requirements required to support and drive these new processes,
• Identify any ‘Quick Wins’ that can be taken to improve the processes, and validate these with the business,
• Validate these Change Requirements with the IT capabilities of the current systems, or with planned system enhancement initiatives underway,
• Validate these Change Requirements with the broader requirements of the business as defined by a Senior Leadership group, which we can refer to as the Project Reference Team.

Achievements:
Over a 3 month period, and covering 15 P2P detailed business process, we achieved the following;
• Identified IT System-dependent, and Non IT System-dependent opportunities for process improvements - Definition of the process effectiveness ‘weak spots’ (where the rigour of the process is insufficient), and also the process ‘choke points’ (where the process slows down unacceptably).
• Identified High level change requirements - Tabulated, structured High level ‘Solution Themes’ to each process Critique, classified into policy, people, process and technology types.
• Identified Fast Track (‘Quick Wins’) Solutions - Initiatives that could each be implemented within 2 to 3 weeks. These were identified ASAP, presented at a regular Project Management meeting for the Project Sponsor to commence their implementation immediately.