Types of Business Processes

      
			              Best Practices
			            
							              46

		            		Marten van der Zee
Analyst, Netherlands
			            
Types of Business Processes - Classifications

	          		Henk Kleijn and Fred Rorink in their book 'Change Management' distinguish between 5 different kinds of business processes in any company (organization):

1. Primary processes: these are the main processes in a business, typically being Porter’s inbound logistics, operations (incl. production), outbound logistics, marketing and sales, services. According to some also R&D and purchasing could be viewed as primary activities / processes.

2. Secondary or supporting processes: these processes support the work of the primary processes. Examples: financial management & control, HR, administration and facility management.

3. Systems, or steering systems: these are the processes which help the primary processes (typical on a corporate level). Examples: planning & control, logistics.

4. Decision processes: these processes interact with and guide the primary processes.

5. Communication and information processes: these are also integrated in the other processes. The accuracy of the choices and decisions made by managers is strongly dependent on the maturity of these communication and information processes.
				      
X

							  			Welcome to the Business Process Modeling and Simulation best practices. The topic being discussed here is: "Types of Business Processes - Classifications". 
										
Get access to all of our 900 knowledge centers about management.  Join more than 1,000,000 other members. 

										Log in

Comments

																	  	Sort by date
																	  	Sort by rating
																		
Rating

										              7

						            	Jim Burke, United States
												
				                5 Kinds of Biz Processes

													Would be interesting to see these laid out as a systems map, with leverage points identified, for pa... Sign up
				              
										              4

						            	K.V.MOHANAN
Turnaround Manager, India
												
				                5 Categories of Business Processes

													Thanks for this enlightenment; though I'm interacting with each of these processes everyday, I never... Sign up
				              
										              4

						            	Doug Gilbert
Professor, United States
												
				                Innovation and Logistic Processes

													I believe that Dr. Scheer at one time used a classification of only two types:
- Innovation process... Sign up
				              
										              -1

						            	Michael Wood
Business Consultant, United States
												
				                The Anatomy and Physics of Processes

													Interesting. However, I find that it is the anatomy & physics of a process that eludes most.
Unders... Sign up
				              
										              3

						            	Leodegardo M. Pruna
Professor, Philippines
												
				                Most Critical Business Processes

													Note that the last two (4. decision and 5. communication processes) are the most critical, because t... Sign up
				              
										              4

						            	Marco Coronado
Manager, Mexico
												
				                Understanding Business Processes Well

													I think this types of classification is important and  helpful to understand some specific character... Sign up
				              
										              1

						            	Fernando Valdez
Consultant, Panama
												
				                Communication Processes are Key

													@Leodegardo M. Pruna : 100% agree with you. The communication processes are key for all others, spec... Sign up
				              
										              0

						            	Ben Schlussel
Career Consultant, United States
												
				                Value Stream Business Processes

													Also when you are considering the specific business' value stream, there are those processes that mo... Sign up
				              
										              8

						            	Claudio Priolo
Director, United States
												
				                Business Process Types like Wooden Barrels

													Great comments on business processes! It is very important to acknowledge the value and key part tha... Sign up
				              
										              5

						            	nan zeng, China
												
				                There is Complex Interaction Between the 5 Types

													The efforts in corporate process categorization are appreciated. However, the processes, systems and... Sign up
				              
										              2

						            	Mansingh Jaswal
Director, India
												
				                Organisational Framework is Important for Communication Processes!

													@Fernando Valdez : (On the other hand) the communication processes are based on the framework set by... Sign up
				              
										              0

						            	Abdullahi Mohammad Hari
HR Consultant, Nigeria
												
				                Understanding Different Kinds of Business Processes

													I am impressed with this discussion because it helps me a lot to understand which kind of business  ... Sign up
				              
										              4

						            	eugenio bastianon
Professor, Italy
												
				                Strategy Process is Missing...

													I find that is the strategic management that lacks most.... Sign up
				              
										              6

						            	Lawrence Chinkhunda
Student (MBA), Malawi
												
				                The Link between Business Processes and Management Functions

													The 5 processes are quite alright. Managers should however bear in mind that these processes are int... Sign up
				              
										              2

						            	Miguel Sacramento
Business Consultant, Brazil
												
				                Isn't the Decision Process Most Important?

													@Leodegardo M. Pruna: in order to keep a company alive in a constantly mutant environment as the cur... Sign up
				              
										              2

						            	Dayson Castilhos
Consultant, Brazil
												
				                All Business Processes are Important!

													Interesting discussion; we see that every comment enlightens the subject: Coronado and the SIPOC; Pr... Sign up
				              
										              7

						            	Jackeline Molina
Consultant, Dominican Republic
												
				                3 + 4 + 5 = Management Processes

													@Lawrence Chinkhunda:
I haven't read the book, but to classify communications, taking decisions and... Sign up
				              
										              1

						            	ashraf serry
Financial Consultant, Egypt
												
				                Creating Process Interactions

													Should we want to consider the levels of process in a business environment, then we have to track th... Sign up
				              
										              4

						            	Jerry Talley
Business Consultant, United States
												
				                An Alternative Category Scheme

													I'd suggest a different schema; I distinguish processes that..
1. Operate on things (make, ship, et... Sign up
				              
										              5

						            	Miguel Sacramento
Business Consultant, Brazil
												
				                6th Business Process Type

													I would suggest an additional category of business Processes:
6. Monitoring the environment. This h... Sign up
				              
										              2

						            	Leodegardo M. Pruna
Professor, Philippines
												
				                Communication and Decision-making

													@Miguel Sacramento: I believe that a decision maker would best be in the position to decide when the... Sign up
				              
										              1

						            	Andy Lake
Management Consultant, United Kingdom
												
				                Does This Categorisation Work for All Organisations?

													Interesting. But I wonder if it works for all organisations?
Say you are a public sector organisati... Sign up
				              
										              1

						            	Alice Quevedo O.
Consultant, Mexico
												
				                New Classification of Business Processes is Very Interesting

													Thanks Marten for sharing this new classification.
In my personal opinion, the implementation of th... Sign up
				              
										              3

						            	Suman Rao
Turnaround Manager, India
												
				                Are the Classifications Mutually Exclusive?

													Hello Marten - thanks for bringing this to our attention.
However I think one of the fundamental re... Sign up
				              
										              0

						            	Sohail Ejaz
Consultant, Pakistan
												
				                Is R&D a Primary or Secondary Process?

													I have one question, R&D is listed as a primary process. Why it is not under category 2 as R&D is ge... Sign up
				              
										              0

						            	LESAFFRE Serge
Consultant, France
												
				                Add 6. Environment Monitoring Including Competitive Intelligence

													@Miguel Sacramento : I agree to add environmental monitoring process which includes the competitive ... Sign up
				              
										              4

						            	Akin Akinreti
Management Consultant, Canada
												
				                Process Integration

													@Jackeline Molina and @Lawrence Chinkhunda intelligent contributions: the business process model of ... Sign up
				              
										              2

						            	Le My
Student (University), Viet Nam
												
				                Internal and External Business Process Types

													Business processes can also be divided in 2 types: internal and external:
- External processes incl... Sign up
				              
										              -2

						            	Jerry Talley
Business Consultant, United States
												
				                Type versus Location of Processes

													I urge a distinction between where a process occurs and the essential nature of a process. To call a... Sign up
				              
										              2

						            	shahmohammadi
Business Consultant, Iran
												
				                Process Classification Framework (PCF)

													I think the PCF (Process Classification Framework) is a more comprehensive and better classification... Sign up
				              
										              4

						            	Mick Breare, United Kingdom
												
				                Business Process Relevance Depends per Organization

													Very interesting but in my experience, things do not generally work like that in reality. What might... Sign up
				              
										              0

						            	Alex
Accountant, China
												
				                Alternative Business Processes Classification

													We can also classify business processes by their role and duties:
1. Operation process
2. Analytic... Sign up
				              
										              0

						            	Suman Rao
Turnaround Manager, India
												
				                Agree on PCF

													@Shahmohammadi:
Yes indeed agree that PCF (the important one I am atleast aware of is APQC's PCF) i... Sign up
				              
										              3

						            	Fernando Valdez
Consultant, Panama
												
				                3 Categories of Business Processes

													I tend to disagree with large lists of categories. I only see primary processes (in the value chain)... Sign up
				              
										              3

						            	Osman Abdel-Rahman
CEO, Ghana
												
				                Position of Financial Processes

													@Mick Breare : I very much like the 5 business process types, and I think it will work for most orga... Sign up
				              
										              0

						            	Ajanaku Adewunmi
Consultant, Nigeria
												
				                Internal and Expernal Business Processes

													@Le My : The internal business processes could encompass: decision processes, systems or steering sy... Sign up
				              
										              0

						            	Alba Lucia Duque Salazar
Project Manager, Colombia
												
				                eTOM

													What about eTOM (enhanced Telecom Operations Map)?
This framework has been developed for telcos ind... Sign up
				              
										              0

						            	Leodegardo M. Pruna
Professor, Philippines
												
				                Business Processes Differ per Industry

													@Alba Lucia Duque Aalazar: every industry has its own business processes to follow. Besides, sequent... Sign up
				              
										              3

						            	Kurt Ludikovsky
Consultant, Austria
												
				                Summary

													This is somewhat an interesting thread, and the comments are valuable. Nevertheless is seems to me a... Sign up
				              
										              0

						            	venkataramanan
Professor, India
												
				                Business Process Classification

													I agree with the first classification.
1) primary processes and 2) secondary processes.
All others... Sign up
				              
										              1

						            	Tin Win

				                Keep Business Process Categorization Simple

													Making a categorization simple is better than making complicated ones.
The first two is more prevai... Sign up
				              
										              0

						            	Matthias Bittrich
Business Consultant, Germany
												
				                Think End-to-end And..

													Think end-to-end: what about redundant processes? If your goods or services are perfect, for example... Sign up
				              
										              2

						            	Kurt Ludikovsky
Consultant, Austria
												
				                ... But also Left and Right

													@Matthias Bittrich: _disagreement! Think at Nokia: they had excellent products, now they lack custom... Sign up
				              
										              2

						            	Matthias Bittrich
Business Consultant, Germany
												
				                Voice of Customer is Fundamental

													@Kurt Ludikovsky: Very true. Same as Microsoft, or is anyone here who likes the new menu structure o... Sign up
				              
										              0

						            	Kurt Ludikovsky
Consultant, Austria
												
				                Processes are Essential, But Uniformity is a Risk

													@Matthias Bittrich: fully agreed. So for me the point is: each organisation is different. And this i... Sign up
				              
Leave a comment

		                            More on Business Process Modeling and Simulation:
		                          
													            	Summary
													            
												              Discussion Topics
												            
		                          	👀Types of Business Processes - Classifications
Policies and Procedures Progress Tracking
Mission Statement, Modeling and Simulation: a Synergy
Business Modeling not the Same as Business PROCESS Modeling
How to Implement a Business Process Once it has been Designed?
Introduction to Business Process Analysis
People Should Be in the Center of Business Processes
Standard Operating Procedures
Warehousing Simulation Software
What is the Value of Categorizing Business Processes?
🔥Impact of Administrative Procedures in Modern Office Work
Combine Process Modeling with Systems Theory
Learning Simulation and Business Modelling... Recommended Sources?
Uniform Processes are also a Risk
Learning from Preparing a Simulation
How to Start the First Business Process
Complex Organizations Have Complex Processes
Names of Business Processes Differ per Industry

		                              Special Interest Group
		                            
Do you know a lot about Business Process Modeling and Simulation? Become our SIG Leader