Model for the improvement of processes using Lean techniques and BPM in SMEs

Process improvement is an important need in SMEs for competitiveness. Successful alternatives for this are the Lean techniques aimed at waste reduction and the business process management (BPM) aimed at process optimization, both approaches complement each other, but there are still no studies that integrate them. This paper proposes a model for process improvement in SMEs based on a hybrid of 3 Lean techniques and 1 BPM methodology for SME, consisting of three phases: evaluation, initial process mapping, and process improvement. A simulation of scenarios on a manufacturing SME shows that the proposed model increases efficiency by 6.09 % in relation to Lean and 15.47 % in relation to BPM.