Value Stream Maps and Process Improvement!

I was recently involved in an exercise to map and improve the invoicing process of a company. We conducted a workshop to define and map the existing process for invoicing - using a Value Stream Map. We then used a timeline graph to measure the Value added and Non-Value added time during the process (refer below)



It was interesting to note that the actual value add time was only 2hrs 20mins compared to a total process time of 7days 3hrs 25mins (includes a weekend)!
The above exercise helped us to identify areas for improvement within the invoicing process. We were then given a target of refining the process to be completed in less than 5 working days.

Our next step was to identify the main problem areas & also the common reasons for its occurrence. Once we identified all the problem areas and the reasons behind the same, we had a brain storming session to chalk out strategies to resolve the main bottlenecks which were delaying the process. We then created a roadmap (of activities) to initiate the problem fixing process. Due to confidentiality reasons, I cannot detail the actual issues that were identified or the fixes that we put into place to resolve them. But what I can share is that we have been able to successfully achieve our goal of reducing the total process time to less than 5 working days! **Hurray**

But, I guess that's just the start as we are still in the trial stages and need to track the process to identify if the measures that we took to resolve the issues - were they short term only or can they sustain in the long run? Also, more importantly, our next steps are to identify areas for Continuous Improvement(CI). Will we succeed .... ? Only time will tell!