How Important is Business Process Reengineering?

Business Process Reengineering (BPR) is known asservice, and speed."
the secret to a successful business. It plays anThomas H. Davenport (1993) is another example of
important role in today's business world but whathow well-known Business Process Reengineering
exactly can BPR do for you?theorist uses the term process innovation, which he
BPR means understanding the processes which aresays:o "encompasses the envisioning of new work
involved in your company. BPR is a managementstrategies, the actual process design activity, and the
approach aimed at improving your business by meansimplementation of the change in all its complex
of elevating efficiency and effectiveness of thetechnological, human, and organizational dimensions".
processes that exist within and across organizations.Additionally, Davenport (ibid.) points out the major
The key to BPR is for organisations to look at theirdifference between Business Process Reengineering
business processes from a clean slate perspectiveand other approaches to organization development
and determine how they can best construct these(OD), especially the continuous improvement or TQM
processes to improve how they conduct business.movement, when he states:o "Today firms must
BPR can also be known as Business Process Redesignseek not fractional, but multiplicative levels of
and Business Process Change Management. BPR hasimprovement - 10x rather than 10%."
become a viable way of implementing lean structures.BPR, if implemented properly, can give huge returns.
BPR is important to businesses for a number ofBPR has helped giants like Procter and Gamble
reasons such as it is the organisational process, whichCorporation and General Motors Corporation succeed
is required to align people, processes and technologyafter financial drawbacks due to competition. It has
with strategies in order to achieve businessalso helped American Airlines to get back on track
integration. BPR can also be thought of as taking afrom the bad debt that was hanging over their
business in its current state and forming ancompany practice. BPR is about the proper method
organisational and operational blueprint in order toof implementation within a company.
redirect skills policies, information or data, culturalSo where is the best place to approach in order to
values, organisational skills and processing as well asgain full benefits from Business Process
incentives towards making targeted improvements toReengineering? I recommend that you talk to a
the business.finance business, such as an entrepreneur and
Below are some quotes from the best and mostinvestor business who will be able to help you with
experienced people surrounding BPR:your BPR.
Hammer and Champy (1993) define Business ProcessFor more information about what Business Process
Reengineering aso "... the fundamental rethinking andReengineering can do for your business get in touch
radical redesign of business processes to achievewith an investor today and start gaining the benefits
dramatic improvements in critical contemporaryof BPR as soon as possible.
measures of performance, such as cost, quality,