Business process re-engineering using a customised mapping model: a case study in a SME

Abstract

Increasing customer expectations in terms of cost, quality and services, together with competition in global markets has placed a premium on effective internal business processes. Companies are investing to streamline internal workflows, reduce costs and improve efficiency by re-engineering their business processes. Various mapping tools, such as Process Mapping and Value Stream Mapping, have been widely used as the vehicle for leveraging these improvements. However, in isolation any individual tool is often insufficient to achieve the desired results. This article uses a case study approach to investigate a real business process re-engineering (BPR) project in a medium sized manufacturing and service company. Process improvement is carried out using a set of mapping tools that have been selected, simplified and combined for practice. It has been shown that human factors are also crucial to the success of a BPR project. The case study illustrates the success of BPR with real practical examples of what works. Benefits include: increasing stock accuracy from 22% to above 95%; a reduction from about 40 reversed orders per month to zero, order fulfilment time reduced by 50%, and profitability improved 3 times at the end of the project. Non-quantifiable benefits include the elimination of a need for corrective actions, employees are more motivated, and the business stream is flowing smoothly allowing other business processes perform efficiently without disturbance