SSRP Implementation within webMethods BPMS

March 2010

Introduction

• webMethods is a Business Process Management tool that automates end-to-end business transactions, coordinating people and systems in formalized interactions

• The process does not need to be complete. It will evolve incrementally over time as more of the business is formalized and as adaptations and improvements are made

Introduction (cont’d)• The Strategic Surface Route Plan (SSRP) in its current

state is a highly labor intensive analytical process with a mean process cycle time (PCT) of 45 days. – The goal is a PCT of 30 days– Undocumented process– Reliant on the knowledge of a single individual

• SSRP provides a rigorous, timely review of the business rules governing the movement of cargo to ensure cargo is moving in the most efficient means possible while maintaining customer service levels

Overall SSRP Process

Figure 1: Overall SSRP Process

Overall Process Explanation

• webMethods begins with a blank design canvas, analysts/designers can then select the elements they wish to use to represent their process– Pools: representations for internal and external

organizations involved in the Process– Swimlanes: provide a fine-grained representation of

actors or departments within the internal pool– Steps or subprocesses are placed in pools and

swimlanes to communicate which actor or organization “owns” or performs those steps or subprocesses

– Steps are connected together to create a process

Overall SSRP Process Explanation cont’d

• The overall process is the responsibility of a single enterprise (USTC pool) and a single organization (SSRP team)

• Including start and end steps, in this draft there are thirteen steps to the process– Each step is a major functional activity that must

be completed to perform the analysis and distribute the results for implementation

– Each step may contain several subprocesses, as captured in the later slides in this presentation

Request Data Step/Subprocesses

Figure 2: Request and Collect Data Steps

Request and Collect Data Explanation• SSRP collects data from a number of systems in order to

perform this analysis– Department of Defense Activity Address Code (DoDAAC) association

plan– Global container movement data over the past six months– Financial data associated with the container movements– Truck schedules, costs and utilization– Deconsolidation costs

• webMethods allows notes to be posted, so you can see issues that need to be resolved in the Design phase of this DMADV project

• Once received, the data needs to be organized, validated, and normalized

• In this draft, historical velocity analysis is captured as subprocess under collect data, in the future, it will be a unique step in the overall process

Create Derived Data Elements

Figure 3: Creation of Derived Data Elements

Derived Data Element Explanation

• For the purpose of follow on steps, the data needs to be transformed.

• In this subprocess at the end of the collect data step, average historical costs and 40’ container utilization rates need to be calculated and used to populate a look up table.– The table is re-populated with each iteration, so that

recent trend data in cost and utilization are given greater weight in the analysis then they would otherwise be. This provides a more accurate reflection or reality in the analytical model

Determine Eligibility Step

Figure 4: Determine Eligibility

Determine Eligibility Explanation

• In this step, the data is further filtered so that analysis is conducted on only those DODAACs eligible for mixed containers– Combatant Commands (COCOMS) may make certain

DODAACs “off limits” for mixed movement, and they must always go pure

– There may not be a theater consolidation and shipping point (TCSP) capability (a cross-dock) or a DODAAC may not be supported by a TCSP

– In selected areas (Hawaii), it is possible to configure containers for multi-stop delivery

Calculate Historical Baseline Cost

Figure 5: Calculate Historical Baseline Cost

Calculate Historical Baseline Cost Explanation

• In the first part of this subprocess that describes this step, cargo is segregated by cube and weight to determine the “driver” on a specific lane

• Costs are then calculated to arrive at a cost/cube, and cost/pound figure for each DODAAC

Determine “To-Be” Velocity

Figure 6: Calculate “To-be” Velocity

“To-Be” Velocity Explanation

• There is an error in this diagram: instead of “to-be cost,” it should be “to-be velocity”

• The point of this calculation is to determine the amount of time it would take previously “pure” loaded cargo to make the same transit if it were to move via “mixed” containers– Takes into account time spent in deconsolidation– Utilizes requisition data as a proxy for containers and

is determined at the 85th percentile to prevent skewing the data with outliers that don’t reflect container movement

Calculate “To-be” Cost

Figure 7: Calculate “To-Be” Cost

“To-Be” Cost Explanation

• As in the baseline, calculations for each DODAAC are performed based on weight or cube as the lane driver

• Based on average container utilization in the lane for 40’ containers

• Includes “additional” costs (deconsolidation, trucking) associated with mixed container movement

Apply Business Rules Step

Figure 9: Business Rules Decision Tree

Apply Business Rules Explanation• The objective function of the SSRP process is to minimize

cost while maintaining or improving velocity

• Decision tree created for population of the SSRP report– If cost decreases, and velocity improves/constant, then lane

switches to mixed

– If cost increases, and velocity improves/constant, the COCOM determines if it remains pure or switches to mixed

– If cost decreases and velocity improves/constant, COCOM makes determination

– If cost increases and velocity worsens, the lane remains pure

Generate Report Step

Figure 10: Generate Report

Generate Report Explanation

• After the report format is populated out of webMethods, human centric tasks must occur for quality assurance and “sanity check” prior to forwarding to stakeholders for review

Validate/Vet Step

Figure 11: Vet SSRP with Stakeholders

Validate/Vet Step Explanation

• Draft SSRP report is pushed to stakeholders for review and validation

• Negotiated Business rules determine length of time stakeholders have to vet and review SSRP

Capture Response Step

Figure 12: Capture Responses

Capture Response Step

• Responses and recommended changes are received, adjudicated and then incorporated for final SSRP report production

Publish SSRP Step

Figure 13: Publish SSRP

Publish Explanation

• Final SSRP is pushed to stakeholders for execution