Activity-Based Management

Discover how leading organizations use activity-based management (ABM) to improve their processes.Learn how best-practice organizations utilize the full value and potential of ABM information to implement ABM technology and measure results in Activity-Based Management.

KEY FINDINGS

ABM Best Practices Model

• The development of the ABM Best Practices Model to create a structural framework to understand best practices in the development, application, and use of ABM.

ABM Value Cycle

• The development of the ABM Value Cycle that specifies 16 frequently used applications of ABM information. The study consolidates the benefits and value of these applications into three areas: process related, decision making, and performance measurements.

• Most of the time the methods and techniques were adapted to the specific requirements of the best practice companies. Each organization insisted on a common language that could be understood across the organization.

Management Commitment and Priority

• The ABM initiatives at each of the best practice companies had high visibility and were important to the success of the organization.

Cost Efficient, Reliable, and User-Friendly Systems

• In general, those organizations using ABM information in the applications of process improvement, cost control, measuring operational performance, and day-to-day operational decision making tended to report ABM information more frequently and in more detail.

Culture that Supports Change

• Best practice companies manage their internal environment by nurturing a culture that supports change. Teamwork, trust, and a common vision were evident at each of the best practice companies.

Emerging Management Tool

• Every best practice company indicated that it had not fully implemented ABM and had a long way to go. The lesson here is that we must continue to "push the envelope" in terms of understanding the use and application of this management tool.