Quantcast

6 Lessons Learned from 6 Years of Using Bizagi at Stone Coast Fund Services

Woman looking stock market Data on smart phone

Operating from the Maine coast in the US, the staff at Stone Coast Fund Services manage $119 billion in fund assets. They take pride in investing in technology and staff for the long-term, without distraction or impediment. 

Stone Coast started its journey with Bizagi in 2015 to digitize its financial processes for better operational efficiency. Their mission was to automate all labor-intense, mission-critical processes to focus on efficiency, risk mitigation and providing transparency to the organization. After successfully using the tools for six years they were ready to go deeper and integrate the tools in their existing custom application stack. 

David Gilligan, Development Manager and Justin Wood, Manager of Business Analytics, joined us at Bizagi Catalyst 2021 to share the lessons they have learned since deploying Bizagi’s process automation platform in their organization, and the success they’ve seen during that time. These are their top take aways when starting a process automation project:  

 

Create a dedicated process automation team

It’s important to have a process expert to lead your efforts. For the initial integration, Stone Coast hired a single person who was solely dedicated to building out the Bizagi tool. After a few years, as the number of users increased, it became too large of a job for one person to manage. 

Stone Coast re-assigned a few people from the development team in an effort to alleviate the growing pains. There are now six Business Analysts who not only perform all the requirements for gathering and testing new processes, but also help at the support level for other users in the organization.

“Bizagi was originally brought in as an operations tool to improve our workflows. We quickly realized how other departments could benefit from its use and it now permeates the entire organization. It’s one of our most critical applications at this point.” - David Gilligan.


Knowledge sharing is vital

Once you have created a small, dedicated team to build out the application, it’s time to transition your automation knowledge to the mainstream. Creating a Center of Excellence is an excellent (pardon the pun) way of ensuring that governance and guard rails are put in place, while enabling more people, such as citizen developers, to get involved with your automation project. 

“We went from a Center of Excellence type model with developers who knew .net and .sql to one that's more integrated with the rest of our technology team. Now Bizagi is just another tool in our belt and we no longer need the specialized resources.” - David Gilligan


Take an iterative approach and get support

The beauty of process automation is that you don’t have to build with 100% accuracy on your first attempt. Process models allow you to map out the process, identify bottlenecks and go back and make incremental changes as you get feedback. This could be advice from your colleagues, the Bizagi Professional Services team, or the wider Bizagi community through user forums: there are plenty of people to support you as you build your solution. 

“My advice to other companies in the Bizagi community is that it’s ok to not know what you don’t know. Reach out to the team. I have found working with Bizagi’s product team enlightening for advice on architectural best practices and industry-specific approaches.” - Justin Wood

 

 


Start small, then scale up

You don’t have to boil the ocean. Start simple with smaller, basic workflows before fully integrating with your existing stack. Ensuring that the process is well defined typically leads to a higher level of success. This also helps to get buy in from others across the business and provides clarity as you expand your project. 

“Instead of trying to enhance the processes during the conversion, emulate each process as it is done on paper as a like-for-like scenario. Otherwise, it can lead to speculative conversations and uncertain outcomes.” - Justin Wood

 

Enhance existing processes

Keep in mind that you may reap a better ROI by digging deeper into an existing process and enhancing it, rather than looking to create brand-new processes. Identify what your pain points in the business are and examine what the potential benefits of automation could be.  

“We have to carefully evaluate our data to decide where the most value lies when deciding on which processes to automate. Making a tweak on a process used daily could be much more valuable than a process that only has 20 transactions per month.” - Justin Wood

 

Visibility is key

Transparency and visibility of processes are not only essential to governance and compliance, but also for day-to-day work. Stone Coast’s set-up proved its worth when the pandemic hit, as their business-critical processes were already documented and automated, which meant they were easily able to transition to a work-from-home environment and thrive during a time when many corporations struggled with the transition to remote work.

“Stone Coast is heavily transaction-based so it’s important for a manager to have the type of transparency and visibility that Bizagi provides so they can know to where the work stands, especially in a remote environment. We were very fortunate to be well positioned to change our work model.” - Justin Wood

stone coast video.png

Watch the full interview with David and Justin now to learn more about success seen with Bizagi as Stone Coast, and tips on how to deploy a successful automation initiative in your organization:

 


 

Digital Process Automation

What is Data Orchestration and How Can it Benefit Your Business?

Agile & Low Code

[Infographic] How Low-Code Benefits Grow Over Time

Agile & Low Code

Enterprise Application Development Best Practices

Digital Process Automation

[Infographic] Top 5 Pain Points That Could be Solved by Automation

Digital Process Automation

Top 6 IT Department Challenges and How to Overcome Them 

Banking

Banking Fraud Prevention: System Silos Create Gaps for Criminals

Agile & Low Code

Jump to Lightspeed: How to Use PaaS to Drive Transformation Velocity 

Banking

[Infographic] 3 Processes Ready for Automation in Banking

Use Cases

How CBC Orchestrated Their Distribution of PepsiCo Products

Banking

Loan Origination: The Benefits of Automating the Process

Banking

5 Ways to Empower Banking Employees with Automation 

Infographics

[Infographic] Bridging the Gaps in Banking

Use Cases

4 Ways Tatweer Petroleum are Using Automation to Optimize Operations

Banking

Perfecting the Customer Experience in Banking

Digital Process Automation

Ease the Strain of Supply Chain Disruptions in the Energy Sector with Low-Code Automation 

Manufacturing

3 Ways Unilever International Achieved Agility at Scale 

Banking

Banking Automation: 4 Essential Tips to Transform Your Bank

Agile & Low Code

Why You Need a Cloud-First Strategy 

Banking

3 Ways IT Leaders in Banking can Drive Transformation

Banking

How AgFirst Bank Ensures Compliance with Automation

Banking

3 Processes Ripe for Automation in Banking

Use Cases

Automating the Vendor Management Process: Benefits at 5 Key Steps

Banking

Transforming Approval Processes in Banking: Real-Life Examples

Manufacturing

What is Supply Chain Sustainability?

Process Modeling and Mapping

How to Find and Fix Bottlenecks in Your Supply Chain 

Process Modeling and Mapping

What is Process Improvement? Methodologies to Help Your Business

Manufacturing

Want a Resilient Supply Chain? It’s Time to Automate Manual Processes 

Manufacturing

[Infographic] Supply Chain Orchestration: Fixing the Gaps in Your Operations

Manufacturing

Supply Chain Automation: Use Cases for Every Point in Your Logistics Network 

Manufacturing

How to Build a Connected Supply Chain

Person at desk building business process map in Bizagi Modeler on laptop Agile & Low Code

3 Low-Code Use Cases: How Low-Code Platforms Can Accelerate Digital Process Automation 

Intelligent Process Automation

5 Intelligent Process Automation Use Cases to Inspire Your Automation Project

Robotic Process Automation

IPA vs RPA – What’s the Difference?

Use Cases

16 Real-World Business Process Automation Examples That Sparked Success

Digital Process Automation

Why Your Shared Services Center Needs Automation 

Agile & Low Code

Low-code and No-code Platforms: Which Approach Should I Use?

Process Modeling and Mapping

Process Documentation Examples: Tools, Use Cases & more

Agile & Low Code

[Infographic] Low-code vs No-code: What’s the Difference

Agile & Low Code

The Citizen Developer Revolution: How to Enable and Support Developers

Digital Transformation: Technology

What is Hyperautomation and How Could It Help Your Business?

Man wearing headphones working on laptop at desk in empty office Finance Solutions

The Benefits of Audit Automation: Real-Life Examples

Use Cases

AP Automation: Getting Started with Accounts Payable Automation 

Process Modeling and Mapping

Process Mapping vs Process Modeling: What’s the Difference?

Cardboard boxes on a conveyor line in distribution warehouse Use Cases

Automation Success Story from Deutsche Post DHL Group’s Shared Services Hub

Agile & Low Code

Low-Code Automation: The Benefits

Manufacturing

Supply Chain Automation: 4 Benefits it Brings to Your Organization

Infographics

[Infographic] Automate to Innovate in Manufacturing - 3 Essential Strategies

Finance Solutions

What CFOs Really Think About Automation in Finance

Process Modeling and Mapping

What is Process Mapping? Benefits and Examples of Process Maps

Business Analysis and Strategy Digital Process Automation

What is Business Process Automation (BPA)?

Confident smiling businessman using smartphone in office Intelligent Process Automation

Process Automation ROI: How to Calculate Yours

Workspace with Blank Computer Screen Agile & Low Code

What is Low-Code Automation and How Could it Benefit You?

Digital Process Automation

Automation Predictions for 2021 and Beyond

CREATOR: gd-jpeg v1.0 (using IJG JPEG v80), quality = 82
Process Modeling and Mapping

What is Process Modeling? 6 Essential Questions Answered

CREATOR: gd-jpeg v1.0 (using IJG JPEG v80), quality = 82
Insurance

Transforming the Insurance Claims Process: Real-Life Examples

CREATOR: gd-jpeg v1.0 (using IJG JPEG v80), quality = 82
Finance Solutions

5 Reasons for Automating the Procurement Process

CREATOR: gd-jpeg v1.0 (using IJG JPEG v80), quality = 82
Banking

Loan Origination Automation at AEON Credit Service Asia (ACSA)

Digital Process Automation

3 Ways Process Automation Can Aid Your Business Recovery

HR & Employee Experience

[Infographic] 3 Processes Your HR Department Need to Automate Now

HR & Employee Experience

4 Ways to Deliver Change Management for Process Automation

Depressed frustrated trader tired of overwork or stressed by bankruptcy, sad shocked investor desperate about financial crisis or money loss, upset businessman having headache massaging nose bridge Business Continuity

4 Technology Priorities for Enterprises Preparing for Economic Downturn

Digital Transformation: Technology

The Building Blocks You Need for Digital Transformation

CREATOR: gd-jpeg v1.0 (using IJG JPEG v80), quality = 82
Robotic Process Automation

How to Use Bizagi and RPA to Achieve True Digital Process Automation

Insurance

5 Insurance Processes Transformed by Digital Process Automation

Insurance

Insurance Peer Review Just Got Easier, Thanks to Process Automation

Governance & Compliance

5 Governance, Risk and Compliance Automation Templates You Can Use Right Now

Manufacturing

Smart Manufacturing: How Geesinknorba Increased Production Efficiency by 45%

Insurance

4 Important Wins from Digital Transformation in Insurance

Banking

Intelligent Process Automation: Bizagi and RPA in Action at Bancolombia

Product News

Bizagi Deepens Intelligent Process Automation Capability with 11.2.2

Banking

3 Ways Bizagi Transforms Wealth Management Organizations

Insurance

Tackling the Frankenstack: Legacy IT Evolution for Insurers

CREATOR: gd-jpeg v1.0 (using IJG JPEG v80), quality = 82
Robotic Process Automation

How to Build World-Class Digital Operations

Digital Transformation: Strategy

Digital Transformation Strategy: Get it Right & Become a Digital Master

CREATOR: gd-jpeg v1.0 (using IJG JPEG v80), quality = 82
Healthcare

3 Ways to Ensure Data Security in Healthcare

Customer Experience & Engagement

The Customer Journey: How to Capitalize on Critical Moments

CREATOR: gd-jpeg v1.0 (using IJG JPEG v80), quality = 82
Healthcare

Telemedicine: Meet Customer Expectations in Healthcare with AI

Digital Transformation: Strategy

[Infographic] 3 Ways to Tackle the Tensions Around Digital Transformation

CREATOR: gd-jpeg v1.0 (using IJG JPEG v80), quality = 82
Insurance

Rescue Insurance Policy Administration with AI & Process Automation

Governance & Compliance

[Infographic] 4 Ways to Reduce Risk & Keep Your Business Compliant

Insurance

Insurance Claims Process: Don’t Leave Your Customers Waiting

Digital Transformation: Strategy

Digital Operations: Transform your Business in 6 Simple Steps

Customer Experience & Engagement

[Infographic] 3 Ways to Transform Your Customer Engagement Strategy

Insurance

Customer Experience in Insurance: How to Accelerate the Digital Transformation

Customer Experience & Engagement

Contextualization: The New Rules of Customer Engagement

Governance & Compliance

Governance and Compliance: Mitigate Risk in 6 Simple Steps

Insurance

[Infographic] 5 Steps to Digitally Transform Your Insurance Company

Insurance

Insurance Onboarding: The Key to Lasting Customer Relationships

Governance & Compliance

Why Agility is The Key to Regulatory Compliance

Use Cases

Lotus Notes Migration: Modernizing Your Applications with Bizagi

Banking

Blockchain: The Fuel to Energize Your Financial Services Transformation