Ashi-Ashi Works had digitized its Approval Application Process
The accounting manager, general affairs manager, and executive vice president were noticeably slow to respond, causing delays in the process
By setting deadlines for each process, they were able to prevent delays
The accounting manager, general affairs manager, and executive vice president’s sense of responsibility also increased
1．Issue: Delays at parallel review steps
Ashi-Ashi Works is a BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) company. The company has implemented a business process management system and is operating a workflow system for approval requests.
As an improvement to the Approval Application workflow, a greater degree of efficiency was achieved by making it possible to simultaneously process the Comments step, in which the accounting manager, general manager, and executive vice president write their comments after approval by the applicant and supervisor, thereby reducing the time it took to reach the president’s decision in the final step.
However, recently, due to busy schedules or forgetting to process a transaction, the input of either the accounting manager, the general manager, or the executive vice president may be delayed. The advantage of parallelization is that multiple steps can proceed simultaneously, but the process will not proceed to the president’s decision step until all three have been dealt with. Therefore, the lead time target of three business days or fewer is exceeded in an increasing number of cases.
2．Solution: Set a deadline for the comments step
The president of the company, who is the final decision maker, instructed the process owner that the task of entering comments and findings is not an act of approval or rejection, but rather about entering opinions and advice, and if not processed within one business day, it can be considered that there are no findings.
The process owner reorganizes the flow so that a deadline is automatically set for the comment input task and the task moves to the next step after one business day has passed.
Additionally, if the deadline has passed, the data item for entering findings will automatically be filled in with “No findings (expired)”.
Before
View workflow diagram details
1. Application
2-1. First approval
The supervisor fills in the required information and submits the application.
3-a. Comments (General Affairs)
The General Affairs Manager will enter their comments.
3-b. Comments (Accounting)
The Accounting Manager enters their comments.
3-c. Comments (Executive Vice President)
The Executive Vice President enters their comments.
4. Approval
The President makes the decision.
After
View workflow diagram details
1. Application
2-1. First approval
The supervisor fills in the required information and submits the application.
3-a. Comments (General Affairs)
The General Affairs Manager will enter their comments.
After 24 hours, the item will automatically move to the next step as it has expired
3-b. Comments (Accounting)
TheAccounting Manager will enter their comments.
After 24 hours, the item will automatically move to the next step as it has expired
3-c. Comments (Executive Vice President) *Only for amounts under 1 million yen
The Executive Vice President enters their comments.
After 24 hours, the item will automatically move to the next step as it has expired
4. Approval
The President makes the decision.
Compare Before/After
(you can move the slider)
3．Effects
Maintaining target lead times for review applications
By setting deadlines and automatically transitioning to the next step when a deadline expires, process delays are prevented. This is expected to improve the efficiency of business processes and increase the speed of the entire business.
Increased sense of responsibility among department heads
By clearly stating that no findings have been made if the deadline is not met, the accounting manager, general affairs manager, and executive vice president will feel a stronger sense of responsibility for their roles.
How can we resolve the matchmaking issues that arise when multiple approvers are involved in a workflow?
1. Issue: Stagnation in the approval process
At BunBun Shoji, speed is a common value throughout the company, and they pursue competitive advantage by performing their work quickly and efficiently. The decision-making workflow is structured so that decisions are made solely by the department manager. Recently, it has also become possible to complete the approval workflow with just the proxy approval of the deputy manager, which is expected to lead to even faster decision-making.
Despite the implementation of proxy approval, the time taken for approvals has not decreased and the number of backlogged cases has increased. Interviews with the general manager and deputy general manager by the process owner revealed that many employees assume that somebody else will make the decision.
For example, in the marketing department, the areas of responsibility were divided between one manager and two deputy managers.
Manager: Online advertising and access analysis
Deputy Manager A: Transportation advertising, market research, smartphone app development
Deputy Manager B: Web content production
2. Solution: Automatic payment over time
The proxy decision-making rule also represents a shift away from relying on department heads. This can be seen as an evolutionary process for the organization, especially in terms of business continuity. Therefore, to ensure both efficient task execution and adherence to the proxy approval rule, the Process Owner implemented a feature that automatically approves requests after 24 hours. Specifically, a 24-hour timeout was applied to the Manager’s Approval Step [2. Approve]. Consequently, any approval item remaining unresolved for 24 hours is automatically forwarded to the Approval Notification Event, with the draft content preserved as it is.
Before
1. Proposal: The applicant starts the Workflow App, enters each item in the application, and clicks the [Submit a request] button. If advice is required, the applicant selects an advisor and clicks the [Ask advisor for advice] button.
2. Approve: The department manager of the applicant’s department decides whether or not to approve the request. To approve the request, click the [Approve] button. To reject the request, click the [Return] button.
Notification of approval: The applicant will be notified by email that the application has been approved.
2b. Approve by proxy: The deputy manager of the applicant’s department decides whether or not to approve the request. To approve the request, click the [Approve by proxy] button. To reject the request, click the [Return by proxy] button.
Notification of proxy approval: The applicant will be notified by email that the request has been approved by proxy.
After
1. Proposal: The applicant starts the Workflow App, enters each item in the application, and clicks the [Submit a request] button. If advice is required, the applicant selects an advisor and clicks the [Ask advisor for advice] button.
2. Approve: The department manager of the applicant’s department decides whether or not to approve the request. To approve the request, click the [Approve] button. To reject the request, click the [Return] button. If no decision is made within 24 hours, the event will be automatically and forcibly sent to the approval notification event. [Timer boundary event]
Notification of approval: The applicant will be notified by email that the application has been approved.
2b. Approve by proxy: The deputy manager of the applicant’s department decides whether or not to approve the request. To approve the request, click the [Approve by proxy] button. To reject the request, click the [Return by proxy] button.
Notification of proxy approval: The applicant will be notified by email that the request has been approved by proxy.
Set a timeout for the manager’s Approval Step [2. Approve]
3. Effects
Reduce time taken for approval:
Time saving: Business delays (approval processes that took several days or more than a week) no longer occurred.
There are no more missed decisions even when the manager is absent or on holidays.
Streamline decision-making:
The pressure to make decisions within a limited time frame of 24 hours forced all parties involved to make decisions quickly and logically.
Decision-making across the organization has been streamlined due to a reduction in ambiguous proposals requiring approval.
Delegating approval authority:
Deputy managers also began to proactively make decisions, and the number of proxy decisions increased.
The burden on managers has been reduced.
The assistant manager had the opportunity to hone their leadership skills.
Increased employee engagement:
The faster decision-making process has enabled employees to act more quickly, which has also increased their enthusiasm and motivation for their work.
Employees also became less dependent on their superiors and began to take a more proactive approach to their work.
Revitalizing internal communication:
The need to make decisions within a limited 24-hour time frame stimulated communication between the parties involved.
This led to more active discussion and information sharing, which in turn led to better decision-making.
Raising compliance awareness:
Setting clear approval rules and deadlines also led to improved awareness of compliance.
This has enabled them to prevent fraudulent and non-transparent transactions and increase their credibility as a company.
Strengthening risk management:
Rapid decision making allows for rapid risk response.
They were able to quickly respond to changes in the business environment and increase the stability of their business.
4. Other Business Applications
The timeout setting can be applied to various tasks other than approval requests.
Expenses calculation:
Set up a rule that when an expense claim is submitted, the manager must approve or reject it within 24 hours.
If no decision is made within 24 hours, the application will be automatically considered approved.
Customer response:
Set up rules to ensure that a representative responds to customer inquiries within 24 hours.
If the issue is not addressed within 24 hours, a system will be put in place that will automatically escalate the issue and have a responsible person handle the issue.
Recruitment activities:
The human resources staff establishes a two-week deadline to screen applicant documents after submission.
The application will be automatically rejected if the document screening process exceeds two weeks.
Vacation requests:
The request will be automatically approved if HR fails to approve it within a designated timeframe.
AI generates reference images from shooting instructions, reducing search time and improving shoot preparation efficiency.
1. Issue: The burden of searching for reference images
The director and web designer write the shooting instructions on the work request form, and the shooting assistant checks the contents and prepares for the shoot. When it is difficult to convey the image with only text, the person requesting the shoot finds a reference image that is close to the desired image and attaches it.
The previous method was time-consuming and labor-intensive due to the need to search for suitable reference images and communicate work requests. Additionally, if a matching reference image was not available, the photography assistant had to rely solely on textual descriptions to understand the requester’s vision, leading to increased communication and potential misunderstandings.
2. Solution: Automatically generate reference images from shooting instructions
The Process Owner integrated a “Reference Image Auto-Generation” Step into the Workflow. This step utilizes the OpenAI (ChatGPT) API to automatically generate reference images based on the shooting instructions provided by the requester. By automating this process, requesters can receive visual references, enabling them to provide more specific and detailed shooting instructions when making requests.
As a result, the camera assistant can quickly and efficiently prepare for the shoot by checking the automatically generated reference images and, if necessary, by simply communicating with the requester.
AI image generation helps requesters quickly find reference images, speeding up work requests and improving efficiency.
Before
View details of workflow diagramsWork request
The requester requests the photography assistant to take a photo with an external photographer. The request includes the date and time of the photo shoot, the location, and the content.
Request confirmation
The photography assistant reviews the requester’s request and clarifies any unclear points with the requester.
Automatic folder creation
A folder to store all the photographed photo data is automatically created.
Shooting
The photographer will take photos based on the given request and deliver them to the photography assistant. The photographer should check with the photography assistant if they have any questions about the request.
Automatic folder creation
A folder to store all the photographed photo data is automatically created.
Confirmation of delivered data
The photography assistant checks the delivered data, selects photos according to the request, and stores them in a folder.
Confirmation
The requester checks the delivered photo data, and if there are any shortages or problems, asks the photography assistant to select photos again.
Reselection
The photography assistant reviews and filters the photos to find any data that matches the request, or any similar data, and saves them in a designated folder.
Additional shooting
The photographer will take additional photos at the photography assistant’s request if the requester finds the photo data lacking. The requester will receive these additional photos directly from the photographer.
After
View details of workflow diagramsWork request
The requester requests the photography assistant to take a photo with an external photographer. The request includes the date and time of the photo shoot, the location, and the content.
Automatic generation of reference images
AI images are generated from the shooting instructions in the work request.
Request confirmation
The photography assistant reviews the requester’s request and clarifies any unclear points with the requester.
Automatic folder creation
A folder to store all the photographed photo data is automatically created.
Shooting
The photographer will take photos based on the given request and deliver them to the photography assistant. The photographer should check with the photography assistant if they have any questions about the request.
Automatic folder creation
A folder to store all the photographed photo data is automatically created.
Confirmation of delivered data
The photography assistant checks the delivered data, selects photos according to the request, and stores them in a folder.
Confirmation
The requester checks the delivered photo data, and if there are any shortages or problems, asks the photography assistant to select photos again.
Reselection
The photography assistant reviews and filters the photos to find any data that matches the request, or any similar data, and saves them in a designated folder.
Additional shooting
The photographer will take additional photos at the photography assistant’s request if the requester finds the photo data lacking. The requester will receive these additional photos directly from the photographer.
