Process mining in healthcare, digital transformation boom, AWS, SAP & more – PEX News

Celonis unveils enhancements/AI features for process intelligence, operational efficiencies drive US onshore drilling cost excellence, SAP to acquire WalkMe

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Michael Hill
06/07/2024

PEX Network brings you the latest news in process and operational excellence, business process management (BPM), digital transformation, process mining/intelligence, low-code technology, robotic process automation (RPA), intelligent document processing (IDP), Lean Six Sigma, Gemba Kaizen and more.

Week of 06/03, 2024, includes:

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New study assesses value of process mining in healthcare

A new research paper authored by academics at the University of Debrecen explored the application of process mining in the healthcare sector. The study evaluated process mining software on functionalities, ease of use, cost, technical support, scalability and security. The research noted that, despite its potential to enhance efficiency, reduce costs and improve patient satisfaction, the selection of process mining software poses significant challenges due to the diverse nature of healthcare processes and the lack of comprehensive evaluation methods.

To bridge this gap, the study used a hybrid multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) approach, integrating the neural network-augmented analytical hierarchy process (NNA-AHP) and grey relational analysis, a technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (GRA-TOPSIS). The paper recommended Disco software for healthcare process optimization due to its superior performance. Celonis and ProM were also proposed as viable alternatives for organizations seeking process-mining solutions within the healthcare sector.

READ: A summary of Gartner’s 2024 Magic Quadrant™ for Process Mining Solutions

Aspen Technology reveals new capabilities to enhance operational excellence

Industrial software vendor Aspen Technology introduced new and expanded capabilities in aspenONE®, the company’s portfolio of asset optimization solutions. The latest version of aspenONE helps customers achieve new levels of operational excellence with expanded industrial AI throughout the portfolio, additional integration of industrial data management across solutions and advancements in planning and scheduling capabilities, according to a press release.

“It’s clear that asset-intensive industries are intensely focused on leveraging technology to achieve business performance objectives while making operations greener and safer,” said Rasha Hasaneen, chief product and sustainability officer at AspenTech. “The newest version of aspenONE, specifically enhancements to Aspen Unified solutions, is designed to enable customers to significantly streamline user workflows and drive the highest levels of optimization possible.”

Global digital transformation spending to reach almost $4 trillion by 2027

Worldwide spending on digital transformation is predicted to reach almost US $4 trillion in 2027, according to the latest update to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Digital Transformation Spending Guide. With AI and generative AI pushing investments, the digital transformation market is forecast to grow with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.2 percent, according to the research. As organizations continue to prioritize digitalization, digital transformation investments are projected to grow substantially, potentially reaching or even surpassing two thirds of all information and communication technology (ICT) spending by 2027, it added.

“Digital transformation is no longer a discretionary investment: companies that want to be competitive and win in the digital economy are leading the way,” commented Angela Vacca, senior research manager with IDC’s data and analytics group. “Today, digital transformation spending represents a bigger market compared to the non-digital transformation portion of ICT spend. Digital business investments are ramping up even faster with the advent of Generative AI which is having an impact across industries; still, opportunities are varied across different market spaces.”

READ: 10 digital transformation pitfalls and how to avoid them

iGrafx partners with INTRAMART to enhance business process automation

Process intelligence firm iGrafx announced a strategic technology partnership with business process automation company NTT DATA INTRAMART. The partnership aims to redefine the standards of system building and process automation, particularly enhancing the capabilities of INTRAMART’s BPM solution through the integration of iGrafx Process360 Live, according to a press release.

“Joining forces with INTRAMART represents a pivotal step in our mission to not only consolidate our leadership in the digital twin of an organization (DTO) arena but also to expand our presence in rapidly growing markets such as Japan,” said Alexandre Wentzo, CEO of iGrafx. “iGrafx Process360 Live is designed to bring unparalleled value to our clients, and by integrating with intra-mart Accel Platform, we are set to accelerate the transformation of how businesses leverage process automation for strategic advantage.”

PEX Network announces new Advisory Board members

PEX Network is delighted to announce the latest industry thought and business leaders to join its Advisory Board. The Advisory Board is made of operational/process excellence, digital transformation and technology experts and enthusiasts who come together once a quarter to discuss trends, the main talking points and challenges in the process excellence space. This helps inspire and build PEX Network’s diverse content. The new additions to the Advisory Board are:

Lee Bogner, chief enterprise eCommerce architect and principal generative AI engineer, Mars.
Ekaterina “Katie” Curry, managing director and head of operations, multifamily/leasetrack, Millennial Specialty Insurance.
Doug Shannon, global intelligent automation and generative AI leader.
Jots Sehmbi, CIO, City, University of London.
Ricardo Henriques, transformation leader and business automation professor, EDP, Católica Lisbon School of Business and Economics.

Celonis unveils platform enhancements and AI features for process intelligence

Process mining and process intelligence leader Celonis announced multiple product enhancements and AI-enabled features during its online Celonis:Next event. These include enhancements to the Process Intelligence Graph, Process Copilots, AI-powered apps and Studio.

“We’re proud to be trusted by the world’s leading companies to help make AI not just a parlor trick, but a new way of doing business,” said Alexander Rinke, co-CEO and co-founder of Celonis. “For us, it’s all about bringing process intelligence to every part of the enterprise. The strong demand from existing and new customers shows the importance of the combination of process intelligence and AI.”

The company also highlighted additional investments it is making, including:

Revamped Studio experience: Improvements to the Celonis platform’s low-code development environment.
Celonis Process Management: A suite of products including the Process Designer, Navigator and Cockpit resulting from the integration of Symbio’s technology into the Celonis platform.
Emporix Orchestration Engine: An intelligent process orchestration engine that leverages Celonis’ process intelligence to automate processes end-to-end in real-time.
Standard Data Ingestion API: Makes it easier and faster for companies to get data into Celonis from source systems when using third-party data platforms and tools.
Premium Process Query Engine: Increases the speed and the amount of data Celonis can process.

Operational efficiencies drive cost excellence for US onshore drilling operations

Operational efficiencies are driving cost excellence for US onshore drilling operations, according to a new report from Enverus Intelligence Research (EIR). Key takeaways include:

Rigs across major unconventional basins last year were 30 percent more efficient at drilling productive lateral feet per total rig day compared to 2019.
Drilling speeds are better correlated with the E&P than the rig provider, with reasonable correlations between faster drilling speeds and lower-cost operators in both the Permian and Eagle Ford.
A higher well count on a pad enables batch drilling and is typically associated with faster drilling speeds.

“Cost reduction efforts to improve capital efficiency are top of mind for every operator these days,” said Steve Diederichs, a director at EIR. “Drilling speed improvements, driven by larger-scale operations and changes to wellbore design, have a measurable impact on well costs, and operators that have the best drilling performance tend to have the lowest costs in a basin.”

SAP to acquire WalkMe

SAP announced an agreement to acquire digital adoption platform provider WalkMe. The Executive and Supervisory Boards of SAP and the board of directors of WalkMe approved the transaction for $14.00 per share in an all-cash transaction, representing an equity value of approximately $1.5 billion.

The envisioned combination complements SAP’s Business Transformation Management portfolio around SAP Signavio and SAP LeanIX solutions to help customers on their transformation journeys. “Applications, processes, data and people are the four key elements of a successful business transformation,” said Christian Klein, CEO and member of the Executive Board of SAP. “By acquiring WalkMe, we are doubling down on the support we provide our end users, helping them to quickly adopt new solutions and features to get the maximum value out of their IT investments.”

EDF partners with Accenture to accelerate customer transformation

Accenture and Kraken Technologies are helping EDF’s UK retail business accelerate the migration of customers to its new platform, enabling them to effectively manage their energy use and cost. The companies will work to accelerate the global adoption of smart energy products, from wind farms to smart meters, through the AI-enabled tech platform, which integrates the energy value chain – ranging from energy usage and industry data to weather forecasts. This will allow utilities to reduce costs, manage customer energy usage more efficiently and improve services.

“With Accenture and Kraken’s support, we are reimagining a simpler, customer-centric business, so that our customers are equipped to make better energy choices,” said Richard Hughes, retail energy director, EDF UK. “This team’s extensive technology and industry expertise advances our company’s strategy of growing our base of energy-retail customers through digital transformation.”

AWS and SAP unlock process innovation with generative AI

Amazon Web Services (AWS) and SAP announced an expanded, strategic collaboration to transform modern cloud enterprise resource planning (ERP) experiences and help enterprises drive new capabilities and efficiencies with generative AI. Generative AI hub in SAP AI Core integrates with foundation models in Amazon Bedrock to deliver generative AI-driven insights and streamline manual processes for enterprise customers, according to a press release. With this integration, SAP customers may accelerate the adoption of generative AI and modernize key business processes built on SAP solutions, it added.

“Partnerships like this collaboration with AWS are critical as we embed generative AI solutions across our ERP applications so that customers can drive innovation at an accelerated pace,” said Christian Klein, CEO of SAP SE. “In addition to delivering modern cloud ERP to our joint customers, we are excited to support Amazon on their own transformation journey as they adopt RISE with SAP for pioneering areas such as Project Kuiper, Amazon’s satellite initiative intended to increase global broadband access.”

ProcessMaker and Lucid Software partnership to streamline process automation

Business process intelligence and automation provider ProcessMaker has partnered with Lucid Software, the maker of the intelligent diagramming application Lucidchart. The partnership combines visual diagramming and business process automation together to help businesses accelerate process automation. Both companies have built a fluid integration between platforms, enabling users to directly import business process diagrams from Lucidchart into ProcessMaker. Teams can now use the collaborative process diagram tools and text generated processes from Lucidchart and then automate their workflows directly in ProcessMaker.

“This collaboration with Lucidchart represents a significant leap forward in our mission to simplify process automation for businesses everywhere,” commented Alex George, CEO of ProcessMaker. “By integrating Lucidchart’s robust design capabilities with ProcessMaker’s automation expertise, we’re offering a truly transformative solution that will redefine how organizations approach process management.”

BWG Foods wins national operational excellence award

BWG Foods, one of Ireland’s leading retail and wholesale company, won the Operational Excellence in Warehousing Award. It’s National Distribution Centre (NDC) facilitates an average of 600 deliveries a day, handling approximately one million cases each week and supplying over 1,000 stores nationwide, reported Checkout.

“Operating a logistics and distribution operation of the scale of the NDC requires a truly exceptional team who are 100 percent committed to the job,” commented Joanne Mellon, BWG’s logistics director. “I am exceptionally proud of the unwavering passion and determination the team at the NDC show every single day and this award is just recognition of their continuing excellence.”

READ: PEX Guide: What is operational excellence?

Nintex accelerates process management and workflow automation with new AI capabilities

Process intelligence and automation vendor Nintex announced new AI-powered improvements across the Nintex Process Platform that reduce the time required to document, manage and automate business processes. “Business leaders are grappling with complex processes that connect a multitude of technology systems and manage enormous amounts of data, so much so that their productivity is hampered rather than helped,” said Niranjan Vijayaragavan, chief product officer at Nintex. “For many businesses, the hardest step in getting started with streamlining how work gets done is understanding, documenting and managing this complexity.”

The new AI-enabled capabilities include:

No-Code Chatbot Builder: Improves the personalization and productivity of customer-facing interfaces with OpenAI models e.g. customer support, status requests and sales inquiries.
Process Capture: Automates the creation of process maps, leveraging the output of AI-powered text prompts removing the need to manually document processes while aligning processes across roles.
Import from Microsoft Visio: Imports static process diagrams from Microsoft Visio with the help of machine learning and AI to generate dynamic BPMN models.
Workflow Generator: Creates workflows with generative AI that relies on best practices from thousands of previous workflows to streamline complex work.

PEX Report 2024 global state of process excellence

PEX Network's annual report reveals the current state and future trends of process excellence. Based on a study profiling hundreds of global process excellence leaders, the report provides insights on how to leverage innovation, generative AI, and process intelligence to achieve operational excellence, customer-centricity, and organizational growth. Download your copy of the PEX Report 2024 today and benchmark your process excellence journey against your peers.

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Topics: Process Mining Digital Transformation