Services · Business consulting
Process mapping and redesign
We document how your organization works today, find where time, money or control is being lost, and redesign your processes before you automate them, implement SAP or another ERP, or publish them in SharePoint.
Process mapping documents, step by step, how an organization turns a request into a product, a service or a payment: who does what, with what information and in which system. Process redesign (or reengineering) reworks those processes to remove rework, delays and unnecessary controls. At AVILA®, based in Monterrey, Mexico, we have done this work for manufacturers and service companies since 2004.
Why map your processes?
Many problems blamed on a system actually start in a process nobody ever wrote down. Mapping your processes helps you:
Prepare for an ERP implementation. SAP, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics or any other ERP is configured around processes. If they aren't clear, the project drags on and the system ends up copying today's bad habits.
Automate wisely. Before building a system, you should know which steps aren't needed. Automating a bad process only makes it fail faster.
Reduce reliance on key people. When know-how lives in one person's head, every vacation or resignation is a risk to operations.
Train new hires with an up-to-date manual instead of "learning by watching."
Pass audits and quality standards that require documented, controlled processes with clear owners.
What's included
Process landscape or value chain map: a one-page view of strategic, core and support processes.
Process diagrams in a standard notation (BPMN or swimlane flowcharts by department): inputs, outputs, decision points and the systems involved.
Process sheets: purpose, scope, owner, internal customers, KPIs, risks, forms and related documents.
Current-state analysis: bottlenecks, rework, non-value-adding steps, missing controls and duplicate data entry.
Future-state design with the business rules it must follow and the changes it means for each department.
RACI matrix for each activity: who does it, who approves it, who is consulted and who is informed.
A published process manual in SharePoint or another repository, with versioning, permissions and search.
How we work
Process inventory. With leadership we list your processes and prioritize them by impact and urgency, for example starting with the ones going into the ERP.
Discovery. Interviews and working sessions with the people who actually run each process, not just their managers. We review real forms, reports and screens.
Modeling and validation. We diagram the current process and validate it with the team. No diagram is final until the people who run the process recognize it as theirs.
Redesign. We propose improvements: removing steps, reordering work, moving approvals, automating data entry and defining KPIs. Every change is discussed with the process owner.
Publishing and adoption. We publish the manual, train the people who will keep it current and define how future changes are requested and approved.
From processes to systems
A process map is the best input for deciding what technology your organization needs. With clear processes you can assess whether an off-the-shelf product covers them through an unbiased ERP, CRM and MRP selection, or whether custom software makes more sense for the processes that are unique to your business. When a process ends in a quote, an approval or a form, the answer is often a small, well-built quoting tool or internal system. And to make sure your processes serve the strategy, we link them to the objectives in your Balanced Scorecard.
A process manual in SharePoint
A manual kept in shared folders or on paper goes stale quickly, and nobody knows which version is current. Publishing it in SharePoint, inside Microsoft 365, gives you one page per process with its diagram, process sheet and forms; version control and permissions; keyword search; and a record of who approved each change. As a technology firm, we handle both the content and the site configuration. If you don't have the right licenses yet, see Microsoft 365 and Copilot licensing.
Experience behind the service
During the 2004–2011 period of our Business Consulting Unit, we mapped the value chain of a manufacturing plant before its SAP implementation, so the ERP would be configured around agreed processes rather than habits. In 2024 we mapped about 70 processes for an organization and published them in SharePoint as a living manual with a clear navigation structure. See more projects in case studies.
Benefits
- Written processes, validated by the people who run them, each with an accountable owner.
- Less rework, less duplicate data entry and fewer approvals that stall operations.
- A lower-risk ERP implementation, because the system is configured around agreed processes.
- A living process manual in SharePoint, with versioning, permissions and search.
- Faster onboarding for new hires and less reliance on key people.
- Process KPIs that show whether an improvement actually worked.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between process mapping and process redesign?
Mapping documents how a process works today: steps, owners, systems and documents. Redesign uses that map to improve it: removing steps that add no value, reordering work, moving approvals or automating. You can hire mapping alone, for example for a manual or an audit, but the biggest payoff comes when the map is used to improve the process.
What notation do you use for process diagrams?
We use BPMN, the international standard for business process modeling, or swimlane flowcharts by department when the audience is less technical. What matters is that the people who run the process understand it at first glance. Diagrams are delivered in an editable format so your team can maintain them without depending on us.
Should we map our processes before implementing SAP or another ERP?
Yes. An ERP is configured around processes: if they arrive undefined, decisions get made in a rush during implementation and the system ends up copying today's problems. With mapped processes, the implementation partner gets clear requirements, departments have already worked out their differences, and testing is done against real scenarios.
How long does it take to map a company's processes?
It depends on the number of processes, how many departments are involved and how available your team is for interviews. That's why we start with an inventory that prioritizes processes and lets us deliver in batches: critical processes first, then the rest. The schedule and deliverables are set out in writing in the proposal before we start.
Who should take part on our side?
An executive sponsor who can settle differences between departments, the owner of each process, and the people who run it every day. The latter know the real exceptions and shortcuts. It also helps to include whoever manages your systems, to identify which steps are already automated and which aren't.
Why publish the process manual in SharePoint?
Because it turns the manual into a living site: one page per process with its diagram, process sheet and forms, keyword search, permissions by department and version history. If your organization already uses Microsoft 365, you don't need another platform. We set up the structure and leave your team ready to maintain it.
Can you automate the processes after mapping them?
Yes. As a technology firm, we can take the redesigned process into a system: configuring workflows in Microsoft 365, developing an internal system or a custom quoting tool, or integrating your ERP with other platforms. We'll also tell you when a step isn't worth automating. Tell us about your situation through our contact page.
Case studies with this service
Steel · 2006
A Java quality management system for a steel company
A steel company replaced its Lotus Notes platform with a custom quality management system in Java, built over more than 10,000 hours, with 12 core document types and an org chart synchronized with SAP.
Manufacturing · 2011
Mapping value chain processes before an SAP implementation at a manufacturer
A manufacturing company mapped its value chain processes before implementing SAP, so it could reach the ERP configuration with clear, agreed-upon processes.