Business Process Re-Engineering [BPR]

Too many, Business Process Re-engineering [BPR] only means cost cutting and head count reduction. Whilst these are typical outcomes of BPR, undergoing this business improvement activity can mean gains to the revenue line, as well as reduction to expenses.

A good business process is customer facing. If there is not a customer value, there is no process value. BPR is about maximising the value chains throughout your business so they are ALL customer facing - they are ALL contributing to the business objectives.

A bit like remodeling a house - it can be more costly than just starting from a fresh page. But the payback more than compensates for the short term pain. A BPR project involves five main steps:

1. Current Analysis - mapping of all your current business processes, current issues, technology used, timelines, resources consumed. This provides you with a clear understanding of 'WHERE YOU ARE NOW'
2. Ideal Design - working with your staff to design the best possible process to achieve desired outcomes in the least possible time, with the least resource cost. If new technology is required, a functional requirement is specified, and a vendor selection process undertaken. This is your 'WHERE YOU WANT TO BE'
3. Developing Performance Measures - key performance indicators [KPI] are meaningful metrics to support process performance. Without them, BPR intitiatives cannot be measured for effectiveness and processes measured for efficiency. This is your 'HOW DO I KNOW I AM THERE' More on Developing Key Performance Indicators.
4. Implementation - mapping the changes to a step by step project plan, then working with your staff to make the desired changes. This may or may not mean the introduction of new technology. Your 'HOW TO GET THERE'
5. Ongoing Improvement - customer markets are constantly evolving, at speeds that seem to be increasing every year. If you business is not continually evolving with the needs of your customers, you face either losing customers or not being able to fulfil their needs. Continuous Process Improvement is as much about ensuring processes evolve to meet new requirements, as it is about maintaining process standards. 'DO I STILL WANT TO GET THERE?' and 'AM I STILL TAKING THE BEST ROUTE'

Next: Key Performance Indicators

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