Provide insight regarding what is business process re engineering

1. BUSINESS PROCESS RE-ENGINEERING
Business Process Re-engineering (BPR) is a management strategy aimed at improving
organizational performance by re-designing and optimizing business processes. BPR is
a systematic and radical approach to change, focused on transforming and
streamlining core business processes to achieve dramatic improvements in quality,
efficiency, and customer satisfaction.
BPR involves a comprehensive analysis of existing business processes, identifying
inefficiencies, bottlenecks, and waste, and then developing new and improved
processes that align with the organization’s strategic objectives. The objective is to
eliminate unnecessary steps, reduce cycle time, and improve overall efficiency, while
maximizing the value delivered to customers.
The benefits of BPR can include reduced costs, increased productivity, improved
quality, faster time-to-market, and greater customer satisfaction. However,
implementing BPR can also be a complex and challenging process, requiring
significant investment in resources, time, and expertise.

2. BPR requires a fundamental shift in the way an organization thinks about its business processes,
emphasizing a customer-centric approach to process design and management. It involves a
collaborative and cross-functional approach, involving stakeholders from across the organization
to ensure that process improvements are aligned with the organization’s strategic objectives.
WHAT IS BPR?
Business process reengineering (BPR) is a management theory founded by Michael
Hammer. According to Dr Michael Hammer
Business Process Re-engineering is the fundamental rethinking and radical design of business
processes to achieve dramatic improvements in critical, contemporary measures of performance
such as cost, quality, service and speed.”
However, business process reengineering is not business process improvement. It’s not
automating existing processes and keeping them, but restructuring them, reshaping them so they
bring value to the company and customers.
It means throwing away all your current process documentation and creating a new one
from scratch

3. Why Is BPR Important?
Business process reengineering involves time, a lot of risk, and proper project management
skills.
Michael Hammer describes three types of companies that need BPR:
1.Organizations that are in big trouble and are heading towards failure
2.Companies that are very close to trouble and are experiencing high risk because of new
competitors, changing customer requirements, an altered regulatory or economic environment.
These companies are threatened to be swept away by the competitors. Here, reengineering can
help to avoid troubles in advance.
3.The third group is companies that are in great condition, don’t face or expect difficulties
but see improvement opportunities. For such companies, business process reengineering is a
chance to exceed competitors. BPR can improve performance, help them stand out against
competitors, and better meet customer needs.

4. PHASES OF BPR
There are 6 key steps involved in carrying out business process re-engineering. These steps are
as follows
1. Defining the need for change
In this step the following questions are asked
•Why do we need a change in the existing business processes?
•How we wish to change the process and why do we do it the way we do?
•What do we want to achieve?
•What will the business process reengineering change in our company?
It’ll help to determine core business processes, company needs, and the way workflows
happen.
Defining the need for change is the crucial decision point for reengineering.

5. STEP 2: Forming a case management team
Business process reengineering is challenging. Have one person or a specific group of
people responsible for business process reengineering. Hammer distinguishes the
following roles to take part in the reengineering business operations:
•Leader: a person who authorizes and motivates the Business Process Re-engineering.
•Process owner: a manager responsible for a specific process and the reengineering
effort focused on it
•Reengineering team: employees dedicated to the reengineering of a particular
process, who diagnose the existing process and oversee its redesign and achievement
•Steering committee: usually it’s senior management who develop the organization’s
reengineering strategy and monitor its progress.
•Reengineering advisor: a person responsible for developing reengineering techniques
and tools within the company and for achieving cooperation across the company’s
separate reengineering projects or departments
Of course, you don’t have to define all the roles — you can combine them, adjust, or create your
own. But it’s important to have a person or group of skilled employees who oversee the BPR.

6. STEP 3: Choosing the process to reengineer
Not all business processes are suitable for BPR. Once you decide that it’s time for a
change, it’s also a good idea to consider what should be changed. To choose the right
processes for reengineering, you need to really understand what the process is trying to
accomplish.
Analyze your data, identify the gaps and problems, and choose inefficient processes
based on careful analysis.
STEP 4: Mapping the process & setting objectives
When you know what you want to work on and what you want to achieve, it’s time to
take the right steps — start rebuilding the chosen business process from scratch.
Sometimes complex procedures create chaotic workflows that complicate business
activities. That’s why mapping can help you create a clear structure for processes.
Another important element are KPIs against which you will measure performance and
implement changes. Performance indicators make it possible to capture all the crucial
data.

7. STEP 5: Reengineering management
Now it’s time to put all the theory into action. Reengineering processes is much
like change management — you create a plan, adopt changes, and use the solution to
improve. It’s the execution moment for all the ideas of the redesign.
STEP 6: Continous feedback & audit
Business process reengineering isn’t a one-step action. It’s about constant monitoring
and evaluation, spotting bottlenecks and errors, and taking immediate action when
things go wrong.
Audit your BPR to ensure compliance. Update your KPIs according to the changes in
your business model, shifting market demands and trends, and other factors.
And don’t forget about critical judgment. Feedback, both negative and positive, is a
good thing and it can help support your business process reengineering.

8. Application of business process reengineering (BPR) in real business world:
One of the companies that successfully implemented the business process reengineering (BPR) model is Ford. Ford is
an American multinational automobile company. The company applied the BPR model in its early years and
restructured its “Accounts Payable” function. Before the implementation, the account department of the company had to
reconcile purchase order, invoice and the goods received note to generate a payment to the vendor. After the
implementation of process reengineering, a central database was introduced in this particular system. This was an
Invoice less process. Whenever a purchase order was placed, it was entered into the database. This was then matched
with the goods received note which was also updated into the database and a payment check was electronically
generated to the vendor except for the purchase orders that had discrepancies. Ford achieved its required efficiency into
this system and a 75% reduction of employees in its administrative department.
Mahindra and Mahindra, an Indian multinational company that manufactures cars applied the business process
reengineering model in its overall processes. Before the implementation of BPR, the company was facing inefficiencies
in relation to its manufacturing procedures, productivity, labor capacity etc. which ultimately lead to prolonged
operational cycles and low quality outputs. Major changes were introduced to tackle these complications under the
‘process reengineering’. This involved human resource restructure, in result incompetent and corrupt employees were
fired and replaced. This oozed a ‘signaling effect’ all around the organization and the labor of Mahindra & Mahindra
become more efficient. Other than this, major changes were introduced in relation to communication, infrastructure and
automation/IT in the company. Simultaneously company introduced ‘Total Quality Management (TQM)’ and ‘Just-in-
time (JIT)’ approaches in their manufacturing. These steps lead to improvement and upgradation in current products as
well as encouraged research and development for new products. The number of employees reduced by 400, incremental
productivity reported to rise by 125% and the company achieved an overall improved efficiency by 50% to 60%.

9. Many other companies like Cisco System – an American multinational IT and telecommunication
company, General Motors – an American multinational automobile company, Toyota – a Japanese
multinational automobile company etc. also implemented business process reengineering (BPR)
successfully.
Advantages and disadvantages of business process reengineering (BPR)
Advantages/benefits:
1.The main advantage of business process reengineering (BPR) is to identify any processes, sub-processes,
costs and labor that are not required in an organization. It not only highlights the deficiencies of a
procedure but also shows areas where business is incurring costs without getting required returns.
2.The BPR provides management an opportunity to understand the systems of their business in more
detail. It improves the communication within the enterprise and also enhances the quality of internal
management reports.
3.The BPR approach provides an insight of business analysis to management which can help in future
decision making as it presents a better picture of the strengths and weaknesses of the business and
business’s ability to adapt and respond towards the changes in external environment. It makes a business
entity more pro-active and a learning organization.
4.BPR provides long term solutions to minimize the deficiencies of a business. The focus of the exercise is
to take short-term damage control measures but specifically initiate a long-term plan enabling for
improvement in efficiency, capability and effectiveness of the organization.
5.One important advantage of implementing a BPR function is to meet the customer needs and maintain
product value. However, BPR does not directly affect the customer satisfactions but it provides
organizations room for improvement. As the non-value adding costs are minimized, businesses can
improve the quality of products and services by inducing or shifting these costs to the parts that ultimately
add value for the customers.

10. Disadvantages/limitations:
The major disadvantages or limitations of business process reengineering (BPR) are given
below:
1.Although the Idea of process reengineering is easy to understand in a literal manner, its
practical implementation is very difficult. Business process reengineering (BPR) not only
requires monetary assets of a company but also consumes time and human resources.
2.Business process reengineering may not suit every business. The size, availability of resources
and needs of every business are different. BPR usually benefits large organizations.
3.The approach does not provide immediate results. Incremental improvements in processes can
be seen instantly as these focus upon the costs of business, but BPR focuses majorly upon long
term revenue synergies of a business which take time to crystallize and are difficult to forecast.
4.The sustainability of a change in a business process is a difficult task. BPR follows many
aspects that are unfavorable for certain levels of business i.e. redundancies, cost cuttings,
changes etc. So, the development of a consensus among all the stakeholders of the organization
to experience and continue the processes after change has occurred is difficult.
5.It may be difficult to align the BPR with a common goal of an organization. A business can
have many priorities and choosing the most appropriate section of business for implementing the
process change can become problematic.

11. DIGITAL INDIAPROGRAMME
Digital India is a flagship programme of the Government of India with a vision to transform India into a digitally
empowered society and knowledge economy.
Digital India is a campaign launched by the Government of India to make its services available to citizens
electronically through improved online infrastructure and by increasing Internet connectivity.[1][2] The initiative
includes plans to connect rural areas with high-speed internet networks. It consists of three core components: the
development of secure and stable digital infrastructure, delivering government services digitally, and
universal digital literacy.
Launched on 1 July 2015, by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it both uses and supports other Government of
India schemes, such as BharatNet, Make in India, Startup India, Standup India etc.
Digital India is a transformative initiative launched by the Government of India with the vision to empower the
country's citizens by leveraging digital technologies to transform India into a digitally empowered society and
knowledge economy. The program was launched on July 1, 2015, with the aim of bridging the digital divide and
ensuring inclusive growth through the widespread adoption of digital technologies across various sectors

12. Vision and Objectives:
1. The primary vision of Digital India is to transform India into a digitally empowered society and
knowledge economy.
2. The program aims to ensure that every citizen has access to digital services, information, and
opportunities, regardless of their location or socio-economic status.
3. Key objectives include providing digital infrastructure, delivering government services digitally,
promoting digital literacy, and enabling digital empowerment of citizens.
Pillars of Digital India:
•Digital Infrastructure: Focuses on building robust digital infrastructure, including high-
speed internet connectivity, broadband highways, and secure digital platforms.
•Digital Services: Aims to deliver government services digitally to citizens, making them
more accessible, transparent, and efficient.
•Digital Literacy: Aims to promote digital literacy and digital skills among citizens,
particularly in rural and remote areas.
•Digital Empowerment: Seeks to empower citizens through digital platforms and
services, enabling them to access information, education, healthcare, and financial
services digitally.

13. New digital services
Some of the facilities which will be provided through this initiative are digital locker, e-education, e-
health, e-sign, e-shopping and the National Scholarship Portal. As part of Digital India, Indian
Government planned to launch Botnet cleaning centers.
•National e-Governance Plan aimed at bringing all the front-end government services online.
•MyGov.in is a platform to share inputs and ideas on matters of policy and governance. It is a platform for
citizen engagement in governance, through a "Discuss", "Do" and "Disseminate" approach.
•UMANG (Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance) is a Government of India all-in-one
single unified secure multi-channel multi-platform multi-lingual multi-service freeware mobile app for
accessing over 1,200 central and state government services in multiple Indian
languages over Android, iOS, Windows including services such as AADHAAR, DigiLocker, Bharat Bill
Payment System, PAN EPFO services, PMKVY services, AICTE, CBSE, tax and fee or utilities bills
payments, education, job search, tax, business, health, agriculture, travel, Indian railway tickets bookings,
birth certificates, e-District, e-Panchayat, police clearance, passport, other utility services from private
companies and much more
•eSign framework allows citizens to digitally sign a document online using Aadhaar authentication.
•Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) Mobile app is being used by people and Government organisations for
achieving the goals of Swachh Bharat Mission.

14. •eHospital application provides important services such as online registration, payment of fees and appointment, online
diagnostic reports, enquiring availability of blood online, etc.
•Digital attendance: attendance.gov.in was launched by PM Narendra Modi on 1 July 2015, to keep a record of the
attendance of Government employees on a real-time basis. This initiative started with implementation of a common
Biometric Attendance System (BAS) in the central Government offices located in Delhi.
•Facilities to digitally empower citizens
• Digital Locker facility aims to help citizens to digitally store their important documents like PAN card,
Passport, mark sheets and degree certificates. Digital Locker will provide secure access to Government-issued
documents. It uses authentication services provided by Aadhaar, and is designed to eliminating the use of
physical documents and enable the sharing of verified electronic documents across Government agencies.
• BPO and job growth: The government planned to create 28,000 seats of BPOs in various states and set up at
least one Common Service Centre in each of the gram panchayats in the state.
• e-Sampark Vernacular email service: Out of 10% English speaking Indians, only 2% reside in rural areas. Rest
everyone depends on their vernacular language for all living their lives. However, as of now, email addresses
can only be created in the English language. To connect rural India with Digital India, the Government of India
impelled email services providers including Google, Microsoft, and Rediff to provide the email address in
regional languages.[25] An Indian-based company, Data Xgen Technologies Pvt Ltd, has launched world's first
free linguistic email address under the name ‘DATAMAIL’which allows creating email ids in 8 Indian
languages, English; and three foreign languages – Arabic, Russian and Chinese. Over the period of time, the
email service in 22 languages will be offered by Data XGen Technologies.
• The India Business Promotion Scheme (IBPS), was designed to stimulate the growth of the Business Process
Outsourcing (BPO) and Information Technology Enabled Services (ITES) sector nationally, with a budget of
Rs. 493 Crore.

15. •Facilities to digitally empower citizens
• Digital Locker facility aims to help citizens to digitally store their important documents like PAN card,
Passport, mark sheets and degree certificates. Digital Locker will provide secure access to Government-issued
documents. It uses authentication services provided by Aadhaar, and is designed to eliminating the use of
physical documents and enable the sharing of verified electronic documents across Government agencies.
• BPO and job growth: The government planned to create 28,000 seats of BPOs in various states and set up at
least one Common Service Centre in each of the gram panchayats in the state.[24]
• e-Sampark Vernacular email service: Out of 10% English speaking Indians, only 2% reside in rural areas. Rest
everyone depends on their vernacular language for all living their lives. However, as of now, email addresses
can only be created in the English language. To connect rural India with Digital India, the Government of
India impelled email services providers including Google, Microsoft, and Rediff to provide the email address
in regional languages.[25] An Indian-based company, Data Xgen Technologies Pvt Ltd, has launched world's
first free linguistic email address under the name ‘DATAMAIL’[26] which allows creating email ids in 8 Indian
languages, English; and three foreign languages – Arabic, Russian and Chinese. Over the period of time, the
email service in 22 languages will be offered by Data XGen Technologies.[27]
• The India Business Promotion Scheme (IBPS), was designed to stimulate the growth of the Business Process
Outsourcing (BPO) and Information Technology Enabled Services (ITES) sector nationally, with a budget of
Rs. 493 Crore. [28][29][30]
• Visakhapatnam created 10,000 jobs under the India BPO Promotion Scheme (IBPS) of Digital India, Andhra
Pradesh state got 13,792 seat, out of 48,300 seats in India.

16. • Visakhapatnam created 10,000 jobs under the India BPO Promotion Scheme (IBPS) of Digital
India, Andhra Pradesh state got 13,792 seat, out of 48,300 seats in India.
Impact and Benefits of Digital India Programme
1. Digital India has led to significant improvements in access to digital infrastructure and services
across the country.
2. It has facilitated the delivery of government services directly to citizens' doorsteps, reducing
bureaucracy and corruption.
3. Digital empowerment initiatives have empowered citizens to access education, healthcare,
financial services, and government information digitally, leading to increased inclusivity and
socio-economic development.
Challenges and Future Directions:
1. Despite significant progress, challenges such as digital divide, connectivity issues in remote
areas, and cybersecurity threats remain.
2. The future of Digital India lies in continued investment in digital infrastructure, promotion of
digital literacy, and innovation in digital technologies to address emerging challenges and
opportunities.