企業流程再造(BPR, Business Process Re-engineering)是一種戰略管理工具,最早誕生於1990年代早期。企業流程再造注重分析、設計企業內的工作流程和過程。BPR的目標是幫助企業從根本上,重新思考怎麼樣工作,以便根本上地提高客戶服務,削減運營成本,成為世界級競爭者。[1]在1990年代,全球500強企業中有超過60%的公司啟動了企業流程再造,或者有計劃進行該方法。[2]
在1990年,麻省理工大學前計算機科學教授Michael Hammer(英語:Michael Martin Hammer)在哈佛商業評論上發表了一篇文章,提到經理人的主要挑戰是,消滅不能創造價值的商業流程,而不是用科技將其自動化。[3]這篇文章說經理人常用錯精力,一般常用信息科技將現有的流程進行自動化,而不是將沒有用的流程變得更加繁複。
Hammer的觀點很簡單:很多工作沒有客戶附加值,應該取消,而不是通過電腦進行加速。公司應該重新整理流程,提高客戶價值,減少資源浪費。Thomas H. Davenport和J. Short在1990年也在斯隆管理評論上發表了同樣的想法。[4]
BPR不僅僅意味着變化,而且是根本性的變化。首先,需要徹底檢查公司的結構、管理系統、員工責任和績效指標、激勵系統、技能發展和IT使用情況。BPR可以影響商業運作的每個環節。這種規模的變化可能導致非常成功,或徹底失敗。在進行BPR改革之前,近期調查顯示88%的公司CIO對BPR改革的結果滿意。(Motwani, et al., 1998)。成功的BPR讓成本和循環壽命都可大大減少。
Eliyahu M. Goldratt(約束理論的創始人)提出,流程再造在企業約束改進方面不是一個有效的方法
其他人認為,流程再造只是一個名詞噱頭。Abrahamson(1996)說,管理的流行詞彙一般都有壽命,流程再造在1993到1996年間很輝煌。(Ponzi and Koenig 2002)他們認為流程再造實際上不是新內容。(例如,福特公司在1908年就實行了流水線生產,實際上就是流程再造,徹底改變了企業的思考方式)
Johansson et al. (1993): "Business Process Reengineering, although a close relative, seeks radical rather than merely continuous improvement. It escalates the efforts of JIT and TQM to make process orientation a strategic tool and a core competence of the organization. BPR concentrates on core business processes, and uses the specific techniques within the JIT and TQM」toolboxes」as enablers, while broadening the process vision."
A set of short papers, outlining and comparing some of them can be found here, followed by some guidelines for companies considering to contract a consultancy for a BPR initiative:
Davenport, Thomas & Short, J. (1990), "The New Industrial Engineering: Information Technology and Business Process Redesign", in: Sloan Management Review, Summer 1990, pp 11–27
Davenport, Thomas (1993), Process Innovation: Reengineering work through information technology, Harvard Business School Press, Boston
Drucker, Peter (1972), "Work and Tools", in: W. Kranzberg and W.H. Davenport (eds), Technology and Culture, New York
Dubois, H. F. W. (2002). "Harmonization of the European vaccination policy and the role TQM and reengineering could play", Quality Management in Health Care, 10(2): pp. 47–57. "PDF"
Greenbaum, Joan (1995), Windows on the workplace, Cornerstone
Guha, S.; Kettinger, W.J. & Teng, T.C., Business Process Reengineering: Building a Comprehensive Methodology, Information Systems Management, Summer 1993
Hammer, M., (1990). "Reengineering Work: Don't Automate, Obliterate", Harvard Business Review, July/August, pp. 104–112.
Hammer, M. and Champy, J. A.: (1993) Reengineering the Corporation: A Manifesto for Business Revolution, Harper Business Books, New York, 1993. ISBN 0-06-662112-7.
Hammer, M. and Stanton, S. (1995). "The Reengineering Revolution", Harper Collins, London, 1995.
Hansen, Gregory (1993) "Automating Business Process Reengineering", Prentice Hall.
Industry Week (1994), "De-engineering the corporation", Industry Week article, 4/18/94
Johansson, Henry J. et al. (1993), Business Process Reengineering: BreakPoint Strategies for Market Dominance, John Wiley & Sons
Leavitt, H.J. (1965), "Applied Organizational Change in Industry: Structural, Technological and Humanistic Approaches", in: James March (ed.), Handbook of Organizations, Rand McNally, Chicago
Loyd, Tom (1994), "Giants with Feet of Clay", Financial Times, Dec 5 1994, p 8