digital accounting group 12

Author

Kevin and Jens

1 Introduction

In the always evolving fashion world, where numerous businesses fight for consumer attention and loyalty, BrandCustomizer.com quickly stands out as a source of inspiration, innovation and creativity. Founded by two visionary entrepreneurs from Tilburg University who studied Economics and Business Economics, BrandCustomizer.com has grown to a household name, which is known for its trendy, customizable clothing that suit everyone’s tastes and preferences.

It all started a week before Kingsday in the Netherlands. One of the founders was searching for a good looking orange sweater, but unfortunately he could not find any. Although he saw many sweaters he liked, none of them had an orange color. The next day he discussed this problem with the other founder and after a little chat with each other a new business idea was born: Wouldn’t it be great to be able to customize the color of the clothing from your favorite brands. This is where their journey began with an ambitious goal: to build a platform that not only offers high-quality branded clothing but also empowers customers to customize the color of the clothing.

The business model of BrandCustomizer.com revolves around collaboration with famous brands and innovation. Instead of relying on designers from famous brands only, the founders decided to tap into a global pool of designers who know best what they want, that is yourself. They sourced the internet with the best-selling fashion items and entered into partnerships with these brands to reproduce these clothes, but with the ability for the customer to change the color to whatever they like. This approach not only ensures a broad range of color palettes but also builds towards a healthy relationship between large brands and the creative community.

At BrandCustomizer.com, customers are spoiled with choice. The platform provides an extensive catalog of their favorite brands’ clothing that reflect the latest trends or all-time favorites in fashion. The thing that truly sets BrandCustomizer.com apart is its color customization options. In addition to choosing from the few standard color options from the most famous brands’ clothing, customers have the ability to personalize their clothing by choosing from more than 200 color palettes. This feature allows individuals to create garments with any color they need to complete their outfit. However BrandCustomizer.com also collaborates with brands to make exclusive limited edition clothing pieces to add to the popularity of the brand.

But BrandCustomizer.com isn’t just about style, it’s also about fairness. The founders make sure sustainability and ethical sourcing are reflected in every aspect of the business process. They only partner with brands and manufacturers who prioritize good working conditions and use eco-friendly materials. By making well-thought choices about sourcing and production, they aim to contribute towards a positive change in the world and limit their environmental footprint.

Regarding the platform, BrandCustomizer.com has a simple yet aesthetic design, is user-friendly, and optimized for clients shopping via mobile devices, which all ensures a seamless shopping experience. For every clothing piece listed, customers can use the advanced customization tool which allows them to test all sorts of colors on their favorite pieces in real-time, making them a designer of the world’s most famous brands. After their creative process, multiple trusted payment options are available for a seamless checkout, after which a reliable delivery service takes care of a fast delivery of their package.

But maybe the key aspect of BrandCustomizer.com is their community-driven approach. With a dedicated social media team, BrandCustomizer.com actively engages with its customers through social media. On their social media pages they solicit feedback, share behind-the-scenes of the design process and repost user-generated content of their customers who wear their self-designed clothing pieces. This way of doing business has fostered a loyal following of brand advocates who gladly spread the word about BrandCustomizer.com.

In conclusion, BrandCustomizer.com is more than just an online fashion store, it’s a movement. BrandCustomizer.com has redefined what it means to find clothing that fit your color requirements. By implementing modern-day technology, fostering partnerships, building a community, and a commitment to sustainability, BrandCustomizer.com has become the go-to platform for individuals who seek clothing in more color options. Whether you’re looking to express your creativity, or simply find apparel that matches your outfit, BrandCustomizer.com has it all.

2 Business processes

The business model ofBrandCustomizer.com encompasses various efficient business processes, from sourcing materials to customizing clothing and delivering it to the customers. In this section we delve deeper into each process to get a comprehensive understanding of the operations atBrandCustomizer.com

Purchase-to-pay process

In order for BrandCustomizer.com to partner up with large brands, making use of high quality materials is essential. They buy their raw materials such as fabrics, dyes and ink from suppliers who foster sustainability and a fair working environment. The purchase process starts when a purchase requisition is made. The purchasing department then checks if a purchase is necessary and either authorizes the request or rejects it. If approved, the purchasing department selects a supplier and prepares a purchase order which they then send to the supplier. After some time, the order comes in and is inspected for any defects. If the order is not correct it gets rejected and sent back to the supplier, but if it gets accepted a receiving report is created. After which the raw materials are stored in the warehouse. The purchase order, receiving report and invoice from the supplier are then checked by a three-way match. If they all match each other, the supplier gets paid within the required timeframe. When BrandCustomizer.com is sitting on sufficient cash they will pay in the discount period to save costs, but when they are relatively short on cash they will pay at the end of the time period. Lastly, once the supplier has been paid, the general ledger gets updated with the accounting transactions that took place.

Conversion process

The conversion process ofBrandCustomizer.com involves turning raw materials into branded clothing with the color schemes requested by the customer. Designing the products itself is already done by the partner fashion brands with some additions done by BrandCustomizer, however the customer eventually chooses the color he prefers on the clothing piece. BrandCustomizer.com uses the materials from self-selected suppliers in the production process to ensure sustainability and the ethical sourcing of the materials. As soon as the customer’s order comes in, the bill of materials and bill of operations is reviewed, after which the order is added to the master production schedule. The schedule ensures that orders of the same color are made one after the other to ensure that fabrics less often need to be changed from the sewing machines. Then a materials requisition request is sent to the warehouse who make sure the correct materials are issued for production. After this, labor is allocated and materials are getting prepared to start production. The steps in the production process are as follows: Fabric spreading and cutting -> sewing and assembly -> finishing with labels. After every one of these steps an inspection takes place. If it gets rejected the process starts over again, and when it gets accepted the process continues. After this, the order is packaged and sent back to the warehouse where it will await shipment. As the products are customized orders, the company inventory mainly only consists of raw materials, as finished goods are shipped out every other day. The production department creates a job time ticket and production report in order to track labor time, machine time and materials used in the process. Lastly, based on this information, the general ledger gets updated.

Order-to-cash process

Human resource process

One of the things BrandCustomizer.com is most proud of are its employees. Employee satisfaction is of paramount importance to enhance productivity and preserve a positive work culture. With more than 50 people successfully employed, it can be said that the company has extensive human resource processes. The daily operations of the human resource department include employee management, training, recruitment and termination. In the hiring process HR sends an offer letter to the candidate. If the offer is accepted HR does a background check on the candidate and if they pass, a hire package is sent to the candidate together with their start date. The company then creates a new hire record in the payroll system and creates an account for access to corporate systems for the new employee. The employee receives the account details and a badge for building access. The employee is now employed and HR follows up with the new hire after their first 30 days.

For the employees, getting paid a salary is very important and this process must run smoothly. At the end of the payroll period the employees enter their period hours into a timekeeping system, which gets reviewed and approved by the department manager. The payroll is then checked for any missing employees and any missing paid-time-off (PTO), after which the payroll is sent to the controller for approval. Once approved, department payroll reports are generated and the payroll is sent to the payroll administrator (ADP) who calculates deductions, taxes, and benefits. After this, the final payroll report is generated and the employees receive their salary at the end of the month. Lastly, the general ledger gets updated.

Financial reporting process

Lastly, the financial reporting process is just as important as the other processes. Up-to-date financial information is crucial for BrandCustomizer.com to monitor past performance and profitability. The financial reporting process starts with an accounting transaction. If this is not a regular transaction, it gets recorded in a general journal. If it is a routine transaction, it gets recorded in a special journal and the subsidiary ledger. Both routine and non-routine transactions are then posted to the general ledger. These processes take place during the reporting period. At the end of the reporting period unadjusted trial balances are prepared, adjusting entries are posted and journalized, and adjusted trial balances are prepared. Lastly, the financial statements are prepared. At the end of the fiscal year, closing entries are posted and journalized, and post-closing trial balances are prepared. By using cloud-based accounting software for this process; sales, expenses, and profits can be tracked which enables the company to generate monthly financial reports. This enables them to analyze the latest trends, identify potential improvements, allocate resources efficiently, and make informed strategic decisions. The financial statements provide key information, such as cash flows, for management to improve day-to-day operations. Next to that, it offers transparency and provides an insight into the company for partners, employees and investors.

The foundation ofBrandCustomizer.com is built on partnerships with already well-established brands in the fashion industry. We create value by offering customizable color patterns for consumers their favorite brands, which positively contributes to building brand recognition for the partnering brands as well as increase their sales and market share. On the other hand, this positively affects BrandCustomizer.com by being able to get associated with well-known brands.

Purchase-to-pay process

In order for BrandCustomizer.com to partner up with large brands, making use of high quality materials is essential. They buy their raw materials such as fabrics, dyes and ink from suppliers who foster sustainability and a fair working environment. Once an inventory item runs low, a purchase requisition is sent to the purchasing department, who then accepts the purchase, selects the supplier and sends the order to the supplier. Once agreed on the price and quantity, the raw materials are ordered. The materials are then shipped to BrandCustomizer.com and upon receipt the order is checked on any defects and whether the bought amount is received. After which a receiving report is made and the raw materials are getting stored. The purchase order, receiving report and invoice from the supplier are then checked by a three-way match, and if these match the accounts payable and inventory ledgers are updated. Lastly, payment needs to be made. The treasury department is responsible for paying the supplier by either EFT or check. Once paid, the accounts payable and cash disbursements ledgers are updated and checked with the supplier statement for the accounts payable and the bank statement for the cash disbursements. Lastly, the general ledger gets updated with the new subsidiary ledgers balances. Inventory control can be skipped

Conversion process

The conversion process ofBrandCustomizer.com involves turning raw materials into branded clothing with the color schemes requested by the customer. Designing the products itself is already done by the partner fashion brands with some additions done by BrandCustomizer, however the customer eventually chooses the color he prefers on the clothing piece. BrandCustomizer.com uses the materials from self-selected suppliers in the production process to ensure sustainability and the ethical sourcing of the materials. As soon as the customer’s order comes in, the bill of materials and bill of operations is created/reviewed, after which the order is added to the master production schedule. The schedule ensures that orders of the same color are made one after the other to ensure that fabrics less often need to be changed from the sewing or printing machines. Then a materials requisition request is sent to the warehouse who make sure the correct materials are issued for production. After this, labor is allocated and materials are getting prepared to start production. The first step consists of spreading the fabric and cutting it, which is done by manual labor, after which inspection takes place. If passed, the second step takes place which consists of sewing and assembly, performed by manual labor and sewing machines. If it passes the quality check, it goes to the next production step which consists of pressing and finishing it with labels. This is performed by manual labor and a pressing machine. If it also passes this quality check, the order is packaged and sent back to the warehouse where it will await shipment. The production department creates a job time ticket and production report in order to track labor time, machine time and materials used in the process. Lastly, based on this information, the inventory ledger is updated with raw materials used and finished goods, after which the general ledger gets updated. As the products are customized orders, the company inventory mainly only consists of raw materials, as finished goods are shipped out every other day.

Order-to-cash and marketing process

The marketing and sales department of BrandCustomizer.com attracts customers by using social media marketing. Both males and females from all age groups are targeted, but the main focus is the 18 to 34 age group. When they get to the website, customers can shop all sorts of apparel from sweaters and t-shirts to jeans and underwear. The customer chooses the desired color and adds the selected apparel to their online shopping basket, after which they start the checkout process. The customer fills in their personal details and selects whether they want to receive promotional offers in the future, if yes, they get added to a promotional database which is used by the company to retarget the customers and increase their customer lifetime value (CLV). Whatever the customer chose in the previous step, they continue by choosing a shipping option and eventually a payment option. Once payment is confirmed, the customer order is placed, they receive their sales order in their email, and the order details are sent to the sales department. They approve the order and forward it to the production department. The order is manufactured after which it goes to the warehouse as a finished good. The warehouse receives a shipping notice and hands the package over to the delivery service. The customer receives their package and if they have already made a payment, the cash disbursement ledger is updated and checked with the invoice the customer received. In case no payment is received, they update the accounts receivable ledger and check this with the invoice the customer has received. Lastly, the customer receives a payment reminder and the general ledger gets updated. When the customer decides to pay the invoice, the bank processes the payment and sends a notification to the company. The accounts receivable gets updated and the treasurer receives the deposit. Lastly, the general ledger gets updated again.

Human resource payroll process

One of the thingsBrandCustomizer.com is most proud of are its employees. Employee satisfaction is of paramount importance to enhance productivity and preserve a positive work culture. With more than 50 people successfully employed, it can be said that the company has extensive human resource processes. The daily operations of the human resource department include employee management, training, recruitment and termination. For the employees, getting paid a salary is very important and this process must run smoothly. At the end of the payroll period the employee enters their period hours into a timekeeping system, which gets reviewed and approved by the department manager. If the employee doesn’t have an hourly rate, the payroll processing checklist is initiated. After this, the payroll is checked for completeness, missing employees are contacted and payroll submissions are being reviewed. If an employee misses their paid-time-off (PTO), they are contacted to submit this information and the department manager reviews and approves this. Then the payroll is finalized for batch processing and sent to the controller for approval. Once approved, the payroll is sent to the payroll administrator (ADP), who calculates and distributes the payroll. Lastly, payroll reports are generated for each department.

Financial reporting process

Lastly, the financial reporting process is just as important as the other processes. Up-to-date financial information is crucial for BrandCustomizer.com to monitor past performance and profitability. The financial reporting process starts with an accounting transaction. If this is not a regular transaction, it gets recorded in a general journal. If it is a routine transaction, it gets recorded in a special journal and the subsidiary ledger. Both routine and non-routine transactions are then posted to the general ledger. These processes take place during the reporting period. At the end of the reporting period unadjusted trial balances are prepared, adjusting entries are posted and journalized, and adjusted trial balances are prepared. Lastly, the financial statements are prepared. At the end of the fiscal year, closing entries are posted and journalized, and post-closing trial balances are prepared. By using cloud-based accounting software for this process; sales, expenses, and profits can be tracked which enables the company to generate monthly financial reports. This makes them able to analyze the latest trends, identify potential improvements, allocate resources efficiently, and make informed strategic decisions. The financial statements provide key information, such as cash flow, for management to improve day-to-day operations. Next to that, it offers transparency and provides an insight into the company for partners, employees and investors.

3 Business events in Odoo

Purchase-to-pay process

1.Create a product and define the bill of materials

Here we create the product called NIKE X BD white #FFFFFF tee logo stitched in size M. This Shirt is a collaboration between Nike and BrandCustomizer and the particular T Shirt is order in size M and in the color white with color code #FFFFFF. The sales price is €100,- and the cost price is €25,90.

The bill of materials for the Tshirt shows that the following materials are needed: Cotton fabric, cotton sewing thread and cotton logo thread. For the cotton fabric a role with a width of 60 inch and a length of 25 meters is ordered with color code #FFFFFF and a quantity of 0,08 is needed per Tshirt. Also the sewing thread of 100 meters with color code #FFFFFF is used, also a quantity of only 0,08 is needed to make one T-shirt. Lastly for the logo special thicker thread is used with the color code #C4A484, from the 100 meters thread only 0,01 is used for one T-shirt.

2. Purchasing materials

Next the materials which are needed for the Tshirt which are not in stock are bought. In this case there are no materials in stocks so all components need to be bought. The yarn is bought from a company called “sustainable yarn inc.” and one role of “cotton sewing thread 100 meters #FFFFFF” is bought for €18,15 including tax and one role of “cotton logo thread 100 meters #C4A484” is bought for €24,20 including tax. The total of the sales order is €35,- exclusive of tax and €42,35 including tax. The order reference number is: SYI-NL2024-ORDP00002 and the money will be paid when the materials arrive at BrandCustomizer.com and are checked for defects and verified by the three-way match. The second order is the cotton fabric for the T-shirt which is bought from “Only Cotton inc.”. One role of “cotton fabric width 60 inch length 25 meters #FFFFFF” is bought for €250,- exclusive of tax and €302,50 including tax. The order reference number is: OCI-NL2024-ORDP00003. The same payment method is used as before.

3. Receiving materials

Next the materials are received from the suppliers and stored in the warehouse.

4. Controlling the bill

Next the bills are controlled and confirmed if they are correct.

5. making the payment

If the bills are correct finally the payment is made.

Conversion process

Starting production

The production request for one T-shirt. In the above screenshot the request can be seen to produce one T-shirt “NIKE X BD white #FFFFFF tee logo stitched M” which requires 0,08 of cotton, 0,08 of sewing thread and 0,01 of logo thread.

Adding operations

The first manufacturing step is cutting the fabric which requires about 10 minutes and is done at the fabric cutting station. The next step is stitching the fabrics together which is done in 90 minutes at the stitching station in the 6 steps above.

3.Quality control

During the manufacturing process 2 quality control tests are performed to prevent defective T-shirts from continuing through the manufacturing process and to guarantee that the T-shirts are of good quality. The first control is at the fabric cutting station where the quality of the fabric and the measurements are checked. The second control is at the stitching station where the finished product is checked for faults in the production and the general quality of the product.

4. Manufacturing the T shirt

In the manufacturing process the product order is placed and the materials go through the manufacturing steps. First the product is measured and cut, when this is finished the quality is controlled. If there are no problems the product proceeds to the next step which is the stitching step. The product is put together and again the quality is controlled. If there are again no problems the product is finished and can be stored are sent to the customer.

5. Control cost

Next a final control is performed to check the total costs of one Tshirt. This overview consists of the amounts of materials that were used and the amount of time it took to put the product together. From this overview the real costs of the product can be calculated.

Order-to-cash and marketing process

First an order is placed by a customer and registered in the system.

The customer receives the price of the product. If the customer goes ahead with the acquisition a sales order will be made and sent to the delivery department.

Next when the order is confirmed the delivery will be arranged. In this case the order only includes one T Shirt. The order needs to be validated to be sent.

Next the invoice will be made and sent to the customer, in this case it is a regular invoice.

5. Finally the payment is recorded in the system when the customer pays.

Human resource payroll process

timesheet.

First the contract for a new employee is made after he is accepted by the department manager.

Next the wage is determined, in this case it is €2000,- per month

Next the amount of hours the employee is going to work is determined and entered into the system.

Next a payslip is made with all the important information.

Finally a deduction for carbon emissions is added for this employee.

Financial reporting process

Journal entries, producing and selling 12 T-shirts

The buying of the materials

Paying off the creditors

Selling the T-shirts, the money is collected afterwards as the customers used afterpay.

The accounts receivable are paid.

Profit and loss account

Here you can see that the cost of goods sold was 285,- and the sales totaled 1,200,- which means the total results after taxes are 915,-

The cash flow statement

The cash flow statement provides an overview of the cash in and outflow in the business. Here we see that the company received 1,520.00 and 344,85 went out of the company.

General ledger

In the general ledger an overview of all debit and credit transactions, like revenue, expenses, assets, liabilities and ownership equity.

Trial balance

The trial balance provides an overview of all the accounts in the general ledger.

Balance

The balance provides an overview of the activa and passiva.

4 Process mining

Explanation

Process mining starts with extracting event logs from a company’s information system. The event logs consist at minimum of a case ID, timestamp, and activity. The activities performed in a process are recorded in chronological order. The extracted event logs are then inserted into an extensive software which is able to visualize the process. This shows the interconnectedness between the different activities. Once the process is visualized, analysis can be applied. By using several analysis techniques patterns can be identified, but also inefficiencies and bottlenecks in the process. All this together can help a company gain more insight into how processes are actually executed, instead of only looking at the process via a self-made flowchart. With this information the company can improve their processes which can be beneficial for both customers and employees.

Example

A company wants to analyze their procurement process, so they extract the event logs from the information software. These event logs contain case IDs, timestamps and activities such as purchase requisitions and approvals, purchase orders, receipts and invoice payments. These event logs are then put into a process mining tool which visualizes this process in a sequential order. Once visualized, the company starts analyzing their process for inefficiencies or bottlenecks. An example of an inefficiency can be the approval process of purchase requisitions. The analysis shows that it takes managers about a day to approve the purchases, meaning raw materials are ordered a day later, which causes a delay for new goods to be produced. This can potentially be fixed by implementing an automated approval system which approves the order when it’s a regular purchase or by tracking down the managers that take the longest to approve orders and offer them training to fasten their approval process. By finding these inefficiencies through process mining, a company can streamline their processes, improve efficiency, reduce cycle time, and potentially reduce costs.

Event log analysis

In this part, an event log is generated from the purchase-to-pay process, focusing on the activities starting from the purchase requisition up to the storing of raw materials. The generated event log can contain up to ten activities per Case ID, and contains 20 Case IDs in total. In order to visualize the real process of procurement, in some Case IDs an activity is skipped, and in others the time frame is not in the correct order. Also, some cases end early.

Now we can start analyzing the generated event log using Disco. First, the csv file is loaded into Disco. The program already recognized the three columns; Case ID, Timestamp, and Activity. Also, the time frame was correctly recognized by the software, therefore no adjustments had to be made and we continued to the visualization part by importing the file in the right bottom.

To start off, we visualize the absolute frequency of the activities and we reduced the activities and paths bar on the right to 0%. This showcases the process with the least noise and looks most familiar to the normative process diagram created in Lucidchart. An interesting finding in this figure is that while twenty purchase requisitions were started, only fourteen of those resulted in raw materials getting stored in the warehouse. This already indicates that in the real process, activities turn out differently than expected on paper. Reasons for this can be that the process ends early when a purchase order is denied or when the shipment is rejected. To draw conclusions about this, we have to zoom in further on the process and check whether a process ended early or if there were any other disturbances.

We indeed see that in the first step 3 purchases and 2 purchases get rejected in this example. This results in only 15 orders coming through.

Secondly, we visualize the absolute frequencies again, but now with both the activities and paths bar at 100%. This showcases the process exactly as it happened. We start off with twenty purchase requisitions again, but it is now visible that three of these are already being denied. This can be seen as an inefficiency, as the time of the purchasing manager is now wasted. This could be solved by training employees so they know exactly when and how a purchase requisition should be made. We continue this process with seventeen cases, which are all authorized, and a supplier got selected. After this, it can be seen that only sixteen purchase orders were sent to the supplier, although seventeen shipments have been received. This can indicate that a purchasing manager might have placed the order without using the system of the company. After receiving the shipment, it can be seen that in fourteen cases the shipment was directly inspected, but in two cases the inspecting step was skipped and a receiving report was directly created. This step is essential, because when the ordered items are incorrect or broken, the company might find out about it too late, and not receive a refund. Also, in one case the shipment was directly stored in the warehouse which can cause the same issues as previously mentioned. After inspecting the shipment, in two cases the shipment got rejected, in ten cases a receiving report was created, after which in ten cases the materials were stored in the warehouse. Also, after inspecting the shipment, in three cases the materials were directly stored in the warehouse without preparing a receiving report. This can cause issues for the accounting department to check whether it is a three-way match and for updating the ledgers with the correct financial information. Lastly, in one case, after the materials were stored, the shipment received an inspection. This can be seen as an inefficiency, as employees stored the materials in the warehouse, after which the materials had to be searched for in the shelves of the warehouse to inspect them. Overall, in the visualization it can be seen that the process is not performed without any disturbances. The company can solve most inefficiencies by training their employees so that they have sufficient knowledge to perform their job, and on the other hand by putting restrictions in their software when an employee performs an activity in the wrong order or accidentally skips an activity.

Besides analyzing absolute frequency, the duration of the processes are also of great importance. Here we take a closer look at the mean, minimum and maximum durations of the purchase process to get a better understanding about the time activities take. Firstly, the mean duration. There are a few noticeable times in the map, one of them being the average time for the purchasing department to authorize/reject a purchase requisition. It takes about 7.6 hours to authorize a purchase, but only 2.2 hours to reject a purchase. In order to bring this duration down in general, purchasing managers can potentially be trained to check for purchase requisitions more frequently. Another noticeable duration is the time needed to receive the shipment after placing an order at a supplier. Most suppliers are located in a range of a couple hundred kilometres from the company, therefore an average of 66.2 hours to receive shipment is more on the longer side. Especially considering that the production process starts after receiving an order from a customer. If the warehouse is missing an item to manufacture this product, the customer has to wait three more days which can be detrimental for the customer experience. This inefficiency can potentially be solved by creating a purchase requisition once a raw material runs low instead of completely out of stock. Another noticeable duration is the time needed to start inspecting the shipment, which is roughly one hour. By bringing this time down, when a shipment gets rejected, the company could potentially benefit from truck drivers who have not left the warehouse yet and are going back to the sorting center. They can immediately take the rejected shipment with them, which contributes to a cleaner warehouse, as useless materials do not have to be stored, and on the other hand by receiving a refund more quickly if the company already paid the invoice. Lastly, reducing the fifty minutes it takes to store the materials in the warehouse after a receiving report is created, could potentially benefit the customer, as the production process can be started earlier, which might result in their order getting shipped a day earlier.

Next, we look at the maximum time it took for some activities to be executed. In one case, it took the purchasing department almost 28 hours to authorize the purchase. This can significantly impact the production process, as some customer orders might not be able to get manufactured quickly due to missing materials which can dissatisfy the customer with long waiting times and potentially burden customer service with more emails. Therefore, it is important to train the purchasing manager in question to check purchase requisitions more frequently. Secondly, the time needed for the shipment to arrive is at most roughly five days, which is an entire working week. This can have a negative impact on customer satisfaction due to long waiting times. The company can solve this inefficiency by negotiating faster delivery times with the supplier or maybe by finding other suppliers. The last two activities that take quite some time are the time needed to start inspecting the shipment which is 2.8 hours in one case, and the time needed to store the raw materials after preparing the receiving report which is 2.5 hours in one case. Both of these could potentially cause finished goods to go out a day later because the production process can only start once the raw materials are stored in the warehouse, and not once the shipment arrives.

Lastly, we take a look at the minimum duration it took for some activities to be executed. This gives interesting insights into how fast the company is able to execute certain tasks, which can indicate that the company does have good duration for their processes, but due to inefficiencies sometimes is not able to carry out tasks optimally. Interesting to see is that the duration for the activities mentioned in the previous paragraph are significantly lower in other cases. For example the authorization of a purchase requisition in the fastest case was done in 5 minutes. An explanation for this could be that the employee who created the requisition notified the purchasing department of this, which resulted in immediate execution. The company could continue this low duration by for example sending a notification every 15 minutes to the purchasing department when they receive a purchase requisition. Another activity which is significantly lower in one case is the time needed to receive shipment which is roughly 30 hours. This is because this supplier has their own trucks they use to deliver to companies placing large orders. In this way the shipment goes directly from supplier to the company. The company could continue this low duration by for example buying their own truck to pick-up materials themselve from the suppliers as they are all located relatively close to the company. Lastly, there are two activities that both have a significantly lower duration, one being the time needed to inspect shipment which is five minutes, the other one being the time needed to store the raw materials after preparing the receiving report which is also five minutes. This indicates that the company is able to perform these activities relatively fast, but sometimes due to inefficiencies such as not having a sufficient amount of employees working, they are not able to perform these activities optimally. The company could continue this low duration by for example more actively communicating with suppliers at what time shipments come in, so the company can ensure a sufficient amount of employees are ready at the time of delivery.

Overall, it can be concluded that in reality the process does not always run as smoothly and efficiently as pictured in the hand-made flowchart. This can also be seen in the picture on the right. Variant 1 are all the cases that followed the exact path as described in the flowchart. As can be seen this only happens in seven cases which is only 35% of the total cases. By using the process mining and analyzing techniques, the company gets a deeper understanding of their process and is able to find any inefficiencies and bottlenecks in their processes. This data can be used by the company to solve these problems, and start working more efficiently, cost-effectively, and customer-oriented.