Since the early 1990s, there has been an explosion of interest on the topic of Business Process Reengineering (BPR), also known as Business Process Redesign. Yet many claim that it is not new but just a redefinition of Systems Analysis (see The Soft Systems Methodology) or Time Based Competition (see Time Charting and Analysis), or "JIT in the Office". These views have some validity. Indeed, BPR incorporates a "systems view", recognises the importance of time, and time-base approaches such as simultaneous engineering, and builds in the JIT /Lean views about waste reduction, simplicity, small frequent batches, and supplier partnerships. BPR can also be seen as a natural extension of Total Quality; it recognises that customers want value and value is made up from quality, time, and cost, and delivery. As for the newness, as noted in the section on business process mapping, Joseph Juran carried out a BPR exercise in 1941.

The essence of BPR sees the organisation as a set of processes that together achieve the core business objectives. This is as distinct from the traditional view of organisation with sees functions as distinct "silos". Customers, of course, are not interested in the way the business is organised; they want the product. The silo view only leads to delay and waste. There are some advantages of silos, however, mainly to do with the fostering of specialist skills. So BPR shifts the emphasis from strong vertical silos but weak cross processes, to strong processes but weaker silos. A lecturer cannot run a good course by herself. She needs admin support, library support, support from maintenance to ensure the equipment is working, and so on. This is process or cross-functional management.

A process is a system of activities that lead to the satisfaction of a customer by producing a particular output. Process is fundamental to Lean. BPR looks at the core processes in the organisation and reorganises and simplifies accordingly. Most organisations will have less than 8 core processes: the essence of what the organisation does. Internal customers form a logical chain focusing on external customers; they do not look upwards to serving the boss, but sideways to serving the customer. The lack of a process view may help explain why so many good organisations, with good people, and good product ideas, fail to perform well. They are hide bound by the organisation. BPR is not matrix organisation, or automation ("don't automate, obliterate!", says Hammer), or more effective information technology, or even as some would have us believe, an improved form of computer systems analysis.

Once the core processes have been identified, and the goal of each defined, one asks the simple yet radical question "what are the minimum necessary activities to achieve this goal?", ignoring existing functional departments. This can, and has, led to massive reorganisation; large staff cuts, but also to dramatic reductions in lead-time and improvements in customer service.

Unlike Kaizen that emphasises continuous incremental improvements, BPR goes for a step-function leap in performance. But unlike Kaikaku which aims at a short term productivity "blitz" in a small area, BPR is far more wide ranging. BPR often starts with a blank sheet of paper, Kaizen with existing processes. BPR is top-down management driven; Kaizen relies upon operator initiatives. So BPR and Kaizen should be recognised as partners.

According to BPR Guru Michael Hammer, BPR has the following characteristics:

• Several jobs are combined into one ("is it essential to have a qualified accountant do that?", "does it really have to go to another person?")
• Workers make decisions ("why does that decision have to be referred to the boss?"); The steps in the process are performed in a natural order (can process steps be overlapped, is that non-customer benefiting task necessary?)
• Processes have multiple versions (one simple route for the routine many, another for the complex few, rather than all going the same way)
• Work is performed where it makes most sense, (on the spot, not referring it back to a specialist if possible)
• Checks and controls are reduced (inspect and fix defects immediately, cut out the waste of unnecessary checks)
• Reconciliation is minimised (build supplier partnerships with trust); A case manager provides a single point of contact (customers don't get shunted around), and
• Hybrid centralised / decentralised operations are prevalent (make use of common information systems, but decentralise decision making authority.) So one can see that teams, and especially self-directed teams, are central to BPR.