BPR

1. BPR

2. Business processes are simply a set of activities that transform a set of inputs into a set of outputs. • For example suppose you are waiting in line at the grocery store, the "process" is called the check-out process, and the purpose of the process is to pay for and bag your groceries. • The process is not a single aspect. Here the process begins with you stepping into line, and ends with you receiving your receipt and leaving the store. • You are the customer and the store is the supplier.

3. Process Supplier Inputs Customer Outputs Feedback

4. Need for BPR • Improving business processes is vital for businesses to stay competitive in today's marketplace. • Over the last few years companies have been forced to improve their business processes because customers are demanding better and better products and services. • And if the customers do not receive what they want from one supplier, they have many others to choose from. • Many companies began business process improvement with a continuous improvement model ( also known as business process improvement, functional process improvement, etc). • This model attempts to understand and measure the current process, and make performance improvements accordingly.

5. This method is effective to obtain gradual, incremental improvement. • However, over the last 10 years several factors have accelerated the need to improve business processes. • The most obvious is technology. New technologies (like the Internet) are rapidly bringing new capabilities to businesses, thereby raising the competitive needs to improve business processes dramatically. • Another apparent trend is the opening of world markets and increased free trade. • Such changes bring more companies into the marketplace, and competing becomes harder and harder. In today's marketplace, major changes are required to just stay even. It has become a matter of survival for most companies. • As a result, companies have sought out methods for faster business process improvement. • Moreover, companies want breakthrough performance changes, not just incremental changes, and they want it now. • Because the rate of change has increased for everyone, few businesses can afford a slow change process. • One approach for rapid change and dramatic improvement that has emerged is Business Process Reengineering (BPR).

6. BPR Concept • Business process reengineering (BPR) is the redesigning of business processes and the associated systems and organizational structures to achieve a dramatic improvement in business performance.  • BPR is not - downsizing, restructuring, automation, new technology, etc.  • It is the examination and change of five components of the business: • Strategy • Processes • Technology • Organization • Culture

7. Michael Hammer defines business process reengineering in his book “Reengineering the Corporation” as: • Fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of business processes to bring about dramatic improvements in performance.

8. When to Use BPR? • It is very difficult to formulate a general principal that can be delivered as an advice when to use BPR. However following factors can be considered – • Does the company clearly outperform due to heavy competition in the market? • If there are many conflicts in the organization. • Is there high frequency of meetings? • Excessive use of non structured communication (memos, emails). • Is there any opportunity of continuous gradual, incremental improvements? • If the answers of above questions are yes then BPR is needed in the organization.

9. BPR Methodology • There are various methodologies given in literatures. • Here a consolidated model adopted from various methodologies is presented. • In this model there are following steps- • Plan for Reengineering (Planning) • Map and Analyze process to-be reengineer (Analyzing) • Design alternative process (Designing) • Implement reengineered process (Implementation) • improve process continuously (Continuous Improvement )

11. Limitations of BPR • The most frequent and harsh critique against BPR concerns the strict focus on efficiency & technology and the disregard of people in the organization that is subjected to a reengineering initiative. • Very often, the label BPR was used for major workforce reductions. • Thomas Davenport, an early BPR proponent, stated that- "When I wrote about "business process redesign" in 1990, I explicitly said that using it for cost reduction alone was not a sensible goal.” • Michael Hammer similarly admitted that- "I wasn't smart enough about that. I was reflecting my engineering background and was insufficient appreciative of the human dimension. I've learned that's critical." (1996)

12. Other criticism are- • lack of management support for the initiative and thus poor acceptance in the organization. • underestimation of the resistance to change within the organization. • implementation of generic so-called best-practice processes that do not fit specific company needs. • Over trust in technology solutions.