What is business process reengineering and does my business need it?

Business process reengineering (BPR) is the redesign of core business processes to achieve dramatic improvements in productivity, costs, cycle times and quality. BPR aims for fundamental and radical change by obliterating any work that is being done that does not add any value to customers.

Implementation process:

1. Consider whether we really have to do it? (Implementing BPR involves large costs, dedicated resources, and a new start).
2. Set the vision – Businesses must be clear on why they want or need to reengineer their processes i.e. falling profitability, changing industry dynamics, increased competition, etc.
3. Assemble the team – Comprised of the CEO, management, internal employees and consultants.
4. Define the objectives – These must be defined in quantitative and qualitative terms i.e. 20% reduction in costs, 30% reduction in staff, increased employee satisfaction & engagement, etc.
5. Identify customer needs – The redesign must clearly add value to the customer or it fails i.e. lower price, large range of goods or services, faster service, etc.
6. Study the existing process – This involves a comprehensive study of the business itself, how current processes are performing, current weaknesses and under-performance.
7. Create a Redesign Plan – This involves not making old processes better but completely re-designing how they are performed. The ideal redesign process should be detailed in a written Redesign Business Plan.
8. Implement the redesign – The critical success factor is continued communication with employees about the process, the results, and their part.