The term “business reinvention” and “business Transformation” gets thrown around a lot these days, but its meaning may vary for different organizations and individuals. In a world dominated by market turbulence and unprecedented disruption, business reinvention is driven by the never-ending battle for supremacy. A business is either generating value, driving growth, unlocking new opportunities, or losing to competitors. In other words, business reinvention needs organizations to continue sustained growth and evolution despite facing the threat of constant disruption. One of the most effective ways to ensure that it happens is to invest in business process reengineering (BPR).
The big question is how to choose the most impactful BPR implementation steps that propel guaranteed organizational growth? Keep reading this blog to learn how and when to do it successfully.
Must-follow BPR implementation steps
As the name suggests, BPR is all about redesigning a process holistically that involves reconsidering how the organizational task should be done to achieve targets. Reengineering also works for situations where the processes require optimization or functional or incremental improvement.
- Step #1: Define the vision and identify the organizational goals
The C-Suite/Company Leaders vision is a must here as they need to identify what the customer expectations are, who the competitors are, which opportunities to unlock, and the current business situation. This will come in handy to understand WHY the change is imperative and then create a crystal-clear vision of where the enterprise should be or what goals the company should achieve in the future. After which, the objectives are clarified in both qualitative and quantitative/measurable KPI terms.
- Step #2: Build an expert team
Establish a cross-functional team of thought leaders and influencers in the organization, including operational managers, senior managers, and reengineering experts, as the diverse range of resources with a wide range of expertise and perceptions, will be able to curtail the chances of any failure. Don’t make the classic mistake of selecting people in a top-down/hierarchical or tenure approach as many innovations and new ideas come from new and unbiased/unencumbered individuals with a passion for the business to change.
- Step #3: Identify the unproductive processes and define the KPIs
After the expert team is in place and you are ready to launch the initiative, next it is time to define the KPIs. The reason? It is better to know about the expenses in detail before adapting to a new process because BPR’s aim is to optimize and find the low-hanging fruit along with areas that need an overhaul (aka transformation).
When the KPIs are defined, it’s time to review the individual processes that can be achieved through value assessment. This is a crucial step as the discussions are not just about process change but managing the organization’s ability and impact to adopt the changes, aka Organization Change Management (OCM).
- Step #4: Initiate process reengineering and KPI comparison
Finally, it is time to kick start the implementation of the redesigned solutions and modifications on a small scale. After reaching this stage, the focus should move to put the theories to practice and understand if the KPIs are performing as desired.
If the KPIs prove that the redesigned solution is able to bring forth the defined goals, you can scale the solution and implement it on a larger scale. In case it doesn’t, start afresh and make the necessary adjustments.
In large complex multi-departmental changes, it is often better to do a proof of concept (POC) to test the waters of the change. Don’t localize the changes to just one step or flow or system, but take a vertical sliver of change approach across processes/systems that support a new outcome and then incrementally validate the KPI’s and benefits. Then evaluate, adjust, and expand to larger impactful areas. However, don’t get stuck in the trap of not making enough changes and being overly cautious because sometimes it is better for the organization to rip off the band-aid fast and consider building a “greenfield” that leapfrogs the organization and does not carry the old problems/constraints, aka ‘debt’ forward.
Real-world examples of organizations using BPR to drive process innovation
- Airbnb: The California-based company that operates an online marketplace for lodging, primarily homestays for vacation rentals, and tourism activities, leveraged BPR to re-engineer their product development process and attain quantum leaps.
- Mahindra & Mahindra: The India-based auto major implemented BPR back in the 90s due to manufacturing inefficiencies, poor productivity, long production cycle, and sub-optimal output.
- Ford: The globally renowned automobile company chose BPR to radically change its accounts payable process that enabled the conglomerate to achieve a 75% reduction in employees in the administration department.
The right time to consider BPR
The call for BPR should be based on what the company is aiming to achieve. BPR implementation works wonders when organizations are eyeing to turn the tables to attain business goals. When you decide to opt for BPR, find the answer to the following questions:
- Are the present processes offering expected results?
- Do the current processes need to be redesigned?
- Are the present processes in sync with the organization’s mission and goals?
- Is our customers and stakeholders happy? Is our performance on par with the competitors?
Conclusion
Sooner or later, all enterprises, even the most successful ones, look for potential ways to bolster growth. This reality pushes them to undergo periodic transformation. And the ability to pull off this difficult feat is only possible with the implementation of BPR.
BPR implementation brings desired results only when you have the right partner by your side who is capable of doing all the heavy lifting while you can focus on building the business. With Forsys’ BPR solutions, you get a practitioner-led approach, frameworks, toolkits, techniques, and digital capabilities to perform operational diagnostics, value assessment, identify roadblocks and remove the inconsistencies that yield dramatic results in terms of improved cycle times, product quality, productivity, and so on.
Connect with our team to know how our BPR methodologies have helped Fortune 500 companies to infuse a fresh lease of life into their organizational processes.