What is the objective of business process re-engineering?

The objective of business process re-engineering (BPR) fundamentally revolves around redesigning processes to achieve significant improvements in critical aspects such as quality, speed, and efficiency. The aim is to take a fresh look at how work is done within an organization, questioning existing procedures and workflows, and determining how these can be adjusted or completely overhauled to better serve the organization’s goals.

By focusing on performance improvement, BPR seeks to eliminate unnecessary steps, enhance productivity, and re-align processes with the current needs of customers and the market. This often involves leveraging technology, simplifying workflows, or changing organizational structures to create more effective outcomes.

While cost-cutting and layoffs can sometimes be outcomes of process changes, they are not the primary aim of BPR. Maintaining current processes contradicts the essence of re-engineering, as it is all about transformation and not just keeping things as they are. Compliance with regulations, while essential in many business environments, is also not the core focus of BPR, which is about proactive improvement rather than merely ensuring adherence to existing rules.