UNITED INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY

Course code: HRM 686

Course Title: Organization Design and Development
Summer Semester: 2020

A Study on Shortening the business process is good for business and customer service”
(How Pathao improved their business process by shortening it?)

Submitted To
Md. Musharrof Hossain
Founder President, FBHRO
Adjunct Faculty Member
School of Business & Economics
United International University

Submitted By
Jhorna Akter Shova
ID - 112192020

Date of Submission: August 09, 2020

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INTRODUCTION

In the old days, as in pre-smartphones, customer retention was driven by brand loyalty, a
smiling face behind a counter or in a branch or a friendly voice on a phone. Waiting a few
days or even weeks for feedback was expected and acceptable.

In today’s app-driven economy, customers demand instant gratification. The words ‘brand
loyalty’ has been removed from the everyday vocabulary. Why would you put up with
average service when you can shop around online, anywhere, anytime for a different service
provider.

To deal with these challenges, business process improvement has become an essential
element of long-term business success through shortening their time.

“Almost every part of a successful business transaction relies on having the right
information available to the right person at the right time, whether that person is an
employee or a customer.” 

If you ask me is it good shortening the business process rather than making it too
lengthy?
My answer will be – “Yes” IT IS!
For example- rather than a lengthy Business Process if we try to shorten the process it will
be cost effective as this helps to cut down unnecessary costs.
An equation is given below to prove that “Shortening the business Process is good for
Business and customer service”.

Quality + Speed = Low Cost

By creating business processes that have minimal mistakes, defects, and rework (quality),
you will reduce waste and increases process speed. By eliminating delay, downtime, and
other speed bumps, you will boost sales throughput. This powerful one-two punch of quality
and speed will give you the lowest possible operational costs and provide your customers
with the greatest value.

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Outstanding business systems and processes are the “magic formula” for success! Superior
quality and speed are the “secret sauce” that will wow customers, boost profit, blow the
competition away, and make your company remarkable!

Purposes of a Good business systems and processes 

Good business systems and processes have Three primary purposes:

1. to attract customers, exceed their expectations, and transform them into loyal fans,
2. to eliminate operational waste and inefficiencies that rob profit and
3. to create differentiation and domination in your target market.

All of your business processes must deliver Four basic things to its external and internal
customers:

1. Quality—low defects, does what is supposed to do,

2. Speed—on schedule, meets deadlines, no delay,
3. Low cost—high perceived value, competitively priced, and
4. Pleasurable buying experience—no hassle, “killer customer care.”

Characteristics of an effective, efficient, and even exceptional business

system or process

Below are ten characteristics of an effective, efficient, and even exceptional business system
or process:

1. The process is built with the customer in mind.

 Does this business system or process help turn your customers into loyal
followers by meeting or exceeding their expectations?
 Does it help your workers perform at their best and get top results, even when
you’re not around?

2. The process represents “best practices” or your best-known way of doing something.

 Are you getting less than 1% errors?

 Is the process as fast as it could be?
 Be honest. Is this the best you can do, or could you make the process better?

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 3. The business process is designed with one primary purpose (more than one purpose
usually means that processes are wrongly combined).  In addition, the process has no
unnecessary steps and little or no idle time between steps.  

 Is the process stable, steady, and paced with sales orders and fulfillment?
 Are the process goals aligned with your company goals?

4. The system or process has an owner or team leader.

 Who is accountable for and reports the results of the process?

 Is the person rewarded for exceeding performance standards or making
improvements?

5. There is ongoing and updated documentation on how to execute the process properly,
including the handling of details and exceptions.

 Do workers fully understand the process and can easily repeat it with consistent
results?
 Have you created a winning recipe?

6. The process is as simple as possible to get the job done, but not simpler.

 Can you lesson complexity, customization, and exceptions in products and

services?
 Can you reduce the physical path, clutter, barriers, and distractions?
 Can you drop unprofitable product-lines or services?

7. There is a sufficient focus on system details to eliminate most inefficiencies, delays,

mistakes, defects, and rework. Every process has waste.

 Have you reduced it to a minimum?

 Do you accumulate defects for later handling or do you properly fix problems in
the process as they occur?

8. The business system is not hampered by poor planning (lack of materials or labor) or
stop-start work-flow as people switch between processes.

 Are your workers losing productivity or making excessive errors caused by

shifting assignments, multitasking, being “spread too thin,” or “wearing too
many hats”?

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 9. The system has performance standards, and results are measured.

 Are you “managing by the numbers” for maximum profit? Do you celebrate
success?

10. Workers get ongoing feedback about system-performance and are recognized or
rewarded for exceptional results.

 Do people always know how they are performing in relation to the goal?
 Is feedback self-administered, and in real-time like a sporting event?

(Simple tip: To improve performance, increase the frequency of the feedback.)

A study on how Pathao improved their business process by shortening it

Pathao was founded by entrepreneurs Hussain M. Elius, Fahim Saleh and Adnan Shifat in
2015—with the goal of tackling one of the most pressing issues plaguing businesses and
commuters in Dhaka City, Transportation. The trio had worked separately in their own
projects, but they had identified a
key problem and found a clever
solution to one of the most critical
problems faced by small
businesses and commuters in the
city. They found a nifty way to
tackle the problem without having
to invest huge capital. Its fleet of
motorcycle drivers and bike messengers bring parcel to clients in Dhaka and beyond. The
service thrives on the back of a growing demand for reliable e-commerce deliveries in
Bangladesh. In the beginning, it was a fleet of
100 drivers employed by the startup, but now
they have a network of 1lakh + freelance drivers
in addition to the employed staff, serving an
average three to four rides a day. The app uses a
mobile-friendly interface which enables users to
Pathao Services
access the services on any platform: web,
computer, mobile, and a 24-hour customer

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service means that customers can have their problems sorted at any hour of the day. Value
offered by pathao to the customer.

Currently Pathao is following the trend of Shortening the business process to increase their
business profitability & for customer service satisfaction. I have mentioned those shortening
changes where Pathao changed for a future where their services are more accessible,
customer-centric and reliant on technology. They are hopeful that this new path will
help them to stay ahead of (the) changing market conditions and ensure the company’s
long-term success .

Shortening the support centers:

Previously on last 2017

Pathao had Five walk-in
centers from where drivers
could go for joining
training and for taking any
kind of support.

But currently they have

only 1 (one) Walk-in-
center which is located at
Banani Chairmanbari

By shortening these Walk-in-Centers –

 Easier to manage
 Create more flexibility

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  Easier to make changes
 Easy to make quick resolutions
 Cost effective

Shortening Manpower:

After shortening these office locations one of the most talked of topic was “Pathao sacks
300 employees” DhakaTribune.com

“Pathao breaks silence on reported job cuts for ‘cost optimizations” - bdnews24.com

On last 25th June 2019 around 300 employees, including mid-level executives and some
departmental heads, were laid off without any notice. They shortened their business process
because they have introduced changes across all major business lines, leading to
significant organizational restructuring and cost optimizations. They followed this
shortening for the reason of new comprehensive strategy which will strengthen the
core businesses with an increased focus on efficiency. Before the latest layoff, Pathao
had around 520 employees. But now they have only 225 employees to run the business
smoothly.

Surprisingly after the layoff besides shortening these employees there are lots of changes
occurred:

 Ensures that they have the best employees on their team

 Creates cost-effective option
 They ensured that they have mainly experienced employees on board
 More personal income
 The ability to share financial rewards with others

Shortened their customer support pattern by introducing Facebook LiveChat

process:

Phone support is how companies have traditionally been there for customers, but it can be
very costly – both in terms of toll charges and person-per-hour costs. In this digital age, live
chat is an integral part of a successful customer service toolkit, providing a platform to

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consider the eDigital Customer Service Benchmark survey of 2000 consumers that found
that live chat had the highest customer satisfaction levels at 73%, as compared to 61%
for email support and only 44% for traditional phone support.

Survey of eDigital Customer Service Benchmark

After Shortening the support pattern Pathao have benefited by:

1. Reduce expenses

2. Increase sales

3. Improve customer service and loyalty

4. Faster problem resolution

5. Customer convenience

6. Competitive advantages

Conclusion

If we think in the Context of Bangladesh Service Organization the importance of Business

Processes to shorten size businesses cannot be overemphasized as it helps business function
to be more orderly and streamlined, and thus facilitating Business Process Management as
well as improving the organization’s efficiency and productivity for the Organization as a
whole.

Correctly designed, your business systems and processes support the mission, strategy, and
goals of your organization. While people may come and go, the successful recipes you have
created remain constant. Furthermore, the better your recipes are, the greater the customer
loyalty, profitability, and growth you will enjoy as we have seen from my example of Pathao.
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