Process Mining im Wareneingangsprozess

Abstract

As the interface between procurement and logistics, the goods receipt process acts as a central role in ensuring a smooth flow of materials. Internal and external influencing factors, such as incorrect allocation or missing documents, can affect the process and lead to increased throughput times and warehousing costs. Despite its relevance, the goods receipt process and its specific key performance indicators (KPIs) have been insufficiently analysed in previous research. This research gap is also evident in the application of process mining, where processes in procurement and logistics are the subject of research, but goods receipt is only superficially considered. This thesis aims to examine how process mining can be used in the goods receipt process for process management and knowledge acquisition through the visualisation of KPIs and the identification of weak points and process deviations. The thesis combines a comprehensive literature review with a practice-orientated case study. The literature analysis investigates the theoretical foundations of the goods receipt process and process mining as well as the previous application of process mining in goods receipt and goods receiptrelated areas. Based on this theoretical foundation, a case study was conducted focusing on the goods receipt process of a steel producer. The required data was identified, the case identification selected, the activities defined, filters set and the corresponding data model created. The SAP ERP system served as the data source. Taking into account the findings from the literature review, the three process mining types process discovery, conformance check and process enhancement were applied using the process mining tool Celonis. The analysis identified and visualised weak points and deviations in the process. The case study concludes with recommendations and potentials, which are divided into suggestions for the further use of process mining in the company and processrelated findings and measures. The results of the literature research and the case study show that process mining is suitable for managing the goods receipt process by adding critical KPIs and systematically analysing the process on a real time basis. The actual process, the diversity of variants, deviations from the standard process and existing weak points can be identified and made transparent and measurable through visualisations and key figures. Process mining thus provides a sound basis for identifying root causes and deriving suitable measures on the basis of the analysis results. Thematic analysis sheets and the integrated KPIs enable continuous process monitoring in real time, allowing rapid intervention in the event of deviations or non-compliance and effective control of the goods receipt process.

Date of Award	2024
Original language	German (Austria)
Supervisor	Sonja Straßer (Supervisor)