Alice Chambers |
Process intelligence has emerged as a critical component in optimising and streamlining workflows. It involves a combination of tools, technologies and methods to assess how processes are running and unlock value with enhanced performance.
“Understanding what needs improvement and how to achieve it is essential,” says Kya Shoar, director of product marketing at Celonis.
The Celonis approach revolves around its process intelligence graph – a sophisticated model that, much like a mathematical graph, maps the intricate relationships between departments, systems and processes. “This graph enables the creation of a process digital twin, a comprehensive virtual representation of an organisation’s workflows, including purchase orders, invoices, and sales orders, enriched with vital business context,” says Shoar.
Actionable outcomes can be generated with the help of AI, whether through Celonis tools or by integrating a customer’s existing systems, like Microsoft Copilot.
“Customers want to actually do something with their AI investments,” says Shoar. “And that’s where they get stuck because, similar to any other technology, AI needs to have the right foundations to be successful. So, if the technology doesn’t understand a business, it won’t be able to provide accurate insights. Customers often approach us unsure of how to leverage AI. They want to use it but struggle to identify the right use cases. That’s where process intelligence steps in, revealing areas for improvement.”
Celonis leverages AI to identify potential use cases, such as streamlining operations or enhancing decision-making. One Spanish manufacturer, for example, turned to Celonis to develop agents that automated its credit management decisions.
“Instead of requiring a person to manually review a vendor’s previous interactions to understand why a credit block had been placed and decide how to resolve it, the agent can automatically review and resolve credit blocks,” says Pancho Del Valle, senior manager of corporate development and strategy at Celonis. “For example, if an order that is being processed is only worth $10, the agent may automatically let the order go through.”
Celonis also worked with a global car manufacturer to create agents for generating email replies. “This helped the manufacturer to provide quick and simple responses to inquiries,” says Del Valle. “For instance, when a supplier emails the manufacturer about an invoice status, the agent can now quickly provide a short, accurate response.”
Celonis collaborated with a global car manufacturer company to develop agents for generating email responses
As process intelligence continues to evolve, it will play a crucial role in shaping the future of AI-driven operations, according to Del Valle.
“Copilots will become increasingly smarter and customers will have more of them deployed across different departments,” he says. “In 5-10 years, you will have an army of autonomous agents doing a lot of work and interacting with each other. One or more agents will handle the work of one person, an entire department, and maybe even an entire company. Celonis’s process intelligence graph will be a central piece of that AI stack; it will identify pockets of value that those agents could resolve – it’s a match made in heaven. Additionally, Celonis will be able to monitor those autonomous agents in the same way that today we monitor the processes that are being done by humans.”
Read more on using process intelligence to enable AI strategy
As organisations consider adopting process intelligence and AI, it is essential to recognise the transformative potential these technologies offer in freeing teams from routine tasks, allowing them to focus on strategic decision-making.
“We envision a future where operational users in an enterprise are liberated from non-strategic tasks so they can focus on what is most important to them, which is making important decisions,” says Shoar. “They can define goals and strategies without diving into individual processes or taking manual steps. They simply state their objectives – like speeding up a process, improving on-time delivery or reducing costs. That’s the world we enable by combining process intelligence with AI.”
Discover more insights like this in the Autumn 2024 issue of Technology Record. Don’t miss out – subscribe for free today and get future issues delivered straight to your inbox!