Business Process Re-Engineering (BPR): Definition, Steps and

Examples
By Indeed Editorial Team: Updated February 17, 2022 | Published March 9, 2021

Business process re-engineering is a strategy that allows you to enhance your organization's workflow by updating existing
processes. In this article, you will learn what business process re-engineering is, provide steps and examples, and compare
business process re-engineering with business process improvement.

What is business process re-engineering?

Business process re-engineering is the process of redesigning a business process to enhance product output, improve
quality, improve speed or reduce costs. Business process re-engineering involves eliminating unnecessary and inefficient
aspects of the workflow or aspects that don't add any value. Another aspect of the re-engineering process is combining
similar tasks to reduce the number of steps employees must take to complete a procedure. Switching from a paper-based
data system to an electronic storage option is an example of business process improvement, as this eliminates an
inefficiency and makes the work easier for employees.

Why is business process re-engineering important?

Frequently updating business operations ensures your company stays up-to-date on procedures and technology. Here are
some of the benefits of business process re-engineering:

1. Lower operational costs: Through eliminating unnecessary fees that may be part of outdated processes,
you can lower your company's operational costs.

2. Enhanced quality of products or services: Changing the company's workflow allows employees to
focus more energy on output, which can lead to higher quality.

3. Increased speed of business operations: By streamlining operations, you eliminate aspects that slow
the process down.

4. Better customer service: Speeding up the process of operations can lessen customer wait time.
5. Higher profits: Business process re-engineering allows you to reorganize your company so that efficiency and
output remain priorities, which can lead to higher profits.

6. Clarity of purpose: Business process re-engineering allows you to re-familiarize yourself with your company's
mission and evaluate any changes that occurred over time.

Business process re-engineering vs business process improvement

While both business process re-engineering and business process improvement work to improve the organization's
system, they differ on the degree of change they focus on. Business process re-engineering consists of a complete change
of the business process, while business process improvement focuses more on adjusting the current process. Some other
differences include:

1. Level of change: Business process re-engineering involves a greater organizational change than business
process improvement.

2. Occurrence: Business process re-engineering is a project-based effort, while business process improvement is
ongoing.

3. Reason used: Business process improvement is a preventive technique, and business process re-engineering
responds to changes in the environment.

Steps of business process re-engineering

To implement business process re-engineering, follow these steps:

1. Analyze your organization's current business process

Gain an understanding of how the business process is currently working and find out how the current operations utilize
stakeholders and tools. You can do this by creating a workflow diagram that outlines the current business process.

2. Identify any process gaps

Take note of areas where there are frequent delays or errors in the business process. These are your opportunities for
improvement, such as creating a more efficient method for accomplishing a task that takes too much of an employee's
time.

3. Create a future process diagram

Find a way to solve the problems you identified by creating a new process to address them. To outline the new process,
you might create a diagram that simplifies the process and identifies how the new process is more productive.

4. Implement future changes

Once you've informed stakeholders and employees about the change, you can move into the implementation phase. It's
useful to ask for feedback from your team to see if any additional changes need to happen.

Examples of business process re-engineering

Here are some examples of business process re-engineering in various industries:

Example 1: Updating technology

While giving tests to her students, Kyla notices that it's hard to read some of her students' handwriting. Every time she
has to stop to figure out what a student wrote adds time to Kyla's grading. Kyla decides to have her students take their
tests electronically instead of using pen and paper so she knows what their response is. The school district is able to
provide classroom computers for this purpose and offers them to other teachers as well. After switching to this method,
Kyla and the other teachers significantly reduces their grading time and can spend more time planning their lessons.

Example 2: Employee reduction

Bob manages an automobile company, and the director of operations asks him to reduce his staff to save the company
money. Bob creates a workflow diagram to see if there are any areas where similar jobs are being done by separate people.
After analyzing the work process, Bob realizes that one job handles billing to those selling cars and another job handles
billing to those buying cars. Bob decides that he could combine these two roles, so he presents this information to the
director of operations so they can determine which position to eliminate.

Example 3: Improved output

Jess works at a fast food restaurant and is looking for a way to make the food delivery process speedier. Jess determines
that if the restaurant creates two teams to simultaneously prepare the two portions that comprise most orders, they can
put meals together more quickly after a customer places an order. This change in the process allows for a higher
satisfaction in customers since the new system reduces wait time. The new system also leads to higher profits because
the restaurant can prepare more meals in a given time period.

Tips for business process re-engineering

In order to implement successful changes through business process re-engineering, here are some tips to keep in mind:

1. Identify your goals and purpose: Before beginning business process re-engineering, consider your

organization's goals and purpose so you can create a workflow centered around them.

2. Consider your tools: Upgrading software and equipment can allow you and team members to work more
quickly and more securely store important information.

3. Look to the future: Keep up with trends to develop a workflow process that meets the changing demands of
your clients.