Transforming Operations: How Process Intelligence is Solving Oklahoma’s Budget Crisis
In 2022, the State of Oklahoma found itself grappling with a staggering $3 billion problem. The Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency revealed that a quarter of the state’s $12 billion budget was expended without adequate oversight, leading to significant financial and legal vulnerabilities. This crisis prompted a reassessment of operational processes, which were deemed fundamentally flawed. Fortunately, the state discovered a solution through process intelligence—an innovative approach that not only increased operational efficiency by 200 times but also projected potential savings of $11.4 million.
“Every organization, regardless of its sector, operates on a network of interrelated processes encompassing finance, supply chain, sales, and marketing,” explained Alex Rinke, co-CEO and co-founder of Celonis. “Essentially, all these processes must function harmoniously, despite the complexities introduced by multiple systems, departments, and languages.”
Through the implementation of process intelligence, Oklahoma has shifted towards real-time monitoring of state purchases, allowing officials to enhance transparency and accountability regarding taxpayer dollars. Similarly, in the U.K., the National Health Service (NHS) leveraged process intelligence to reform its appointment system—eliminating 1,800 cancellations weekly by simply adjusting the timing of appointment reminders. This optimization not only streamlined patient experiences but also led to a reduction in waiting lists by approximately 5,300 patients within just eight weeks, translating to an annual savings of £2.8 million.
Rinke emphasizes that process intelligence delivers crucial insights into organizational procedures, identifying inefficiencies and offering pathways for improvement. “Without clarity in processes, organizations risk employing AI technologies merely for the sake of innovation rather than genuine enhancement,” he said. “Process intelligence is indispensable for achieving a meaningful return on AI investment (ROAI).”
The Importance of Context in AI Implementation
The challenges of enterprise AI significantly contrast those faced by consumer AI. While consumer models draw from vast amounts of universally available data, enterprise AI operates on fragmented information that pertains specifically to individual companies and their unique processes. This scattered data often lacks a cohesive framework, complicating AI’s ability to address company-specific challenges.
Celonis aims to bridge this gap. By harnessing the power of process intelligence, the platform aligns disparate data from various systems—including ERP and CRM—creating a comprehensive view of an organization’s operations. This interconnected data network facilitates the adoption of generative AI, allowing for real-time insights that enhance decision-making.
Collaborating process intelligence with generative AI equips organizations to deliver more insightful responses based on current data, while the potential of agentic AI—capable of autonomously executing interconnected tasks—becomes a reality. Such advancements promise an automated future where AI agents communicate seamlessly to manage complex processes, from legal reviews to customer communication.
Nevertheless, diving into agentic AI without a clear understanding of processes may lead to errors and inefficiencies. Process intelligence serves as a guiding light, elucidating which aspects of operations AI can effectively address, thereby minimizing inconsistencies and oversight.
Revolutionizing Data Utilization with the Celonis Platform
At the heart of Celonis’s innovation is the Process Intelligence Graph (PI Graph). This sophisticated tool aggregates data from transactional systems, forming a digital twin of business processes. Coupled with a knowledge layer that defines organizational standards and key performance indicators (KPIs), the PI Graph becomes a powerful resource for process improvement.
By offering comprehensive views of interconnected operations—such as order management and their impact on returns and invoicing—organizations can utilize the platform’s capabilities for real-time monitoring and optimization. This dual-layered approach not only clarifies existing processes but also pinpoints areas ripe for enhancement.
Recent studies unveiled overwhelming financial discrepancies among businesses; one energy company discovered they had inadvertently paid over $100 million in duplicate invoices. Such revelations underscore the transformative potential of process intelligence.
“The ‘aha’ moment occurs when organizations engage with process intelligence and uncover the underlying truths of their operations,” Rinke noted. “When the data reveals specific process enhancements, organizations are empowered to implement meaningful changes, ultimately benefiting society at large.”
As Celonis gears up to showcase the latest features of its Process Intelligence platform at Celosphere 2024—scheduled for October 23-24 in Munich—it beckons a future where operational transparency and efficiency are the norm. The quest for streamlined processes is no longer just aspirational; with tools like process intelligence, it’s becoming an achievable reality for organizations worldwide.
