Business Process Integration brings about connectivity between different technology resources so that information transfer is enhanced. It is not uncommon for different technology system, working independently to need common information for processing. BPI seeks to connect such system so that information is available as and when required for processing and this subsequently helps to cut down maintenance costs and enhances business efficiency.
Statistics show that an organization that does not implement Business Process Integration will run up more costs than otherwise. Let's take a simple example on this. The marketing department gains a revenue of $5,000,000. However, accounts show only 3,000,000 as what has been received. This difference is because of expenses that were not reported to the marketing department.
Implementing Business Process Integration can save a business time and money. Its removes the problems that are caused by data duplication and this in turn increases work efficiency. Time is spent in carrying out important business activities rather than in inappropriate duplicate recording. Various departments share key data instantly and hence the problem of lack of communication is avoided. Work is also sped up. For example, in an integrated system, a customer's address can be quickly retrieved and put into an email for the purpose of sending a newsletter or an advertisement. The sender does not have to spend time to find the address as the search process can take place in a matter of seconds, while the ready made newsletters template can be used in a matter of minutes to insert necessary information. It can be sent to customers individually or a mail can be sent to all customers to alert them on latest product details and new offers.
There are two ways by which Business Process Integration can be implemented and these are Horizontal Business Process Integration and Vertical Business Procedure Integration. Horizontal Business Process Integration connects core and enabling processes so that there is a seamless flow of information between various activities that depend on each other. Vertical Business Procedure Integration connects various business activities with company strategies so that activities attain the targets that have been set for them, as part of the overall business plan.
Today, more and more companies are into Business Procedure Integration because of the high volume of operations that have to be carried out, which demands closer integration of information flow between partners, suppliers and customer related processes. Most large-scale organizations have implemented packages such as SCM, CRM, and ERP and so on to achieve Business Process Integration.