Re-engineering
If optimisation is all about ensuring that WHAT you do delivers your business’ requirements then re-engineering is all about ensuring that HOW you do those things is as efficient and cost-effective as possible.
The term re-engineering tends to bring to mind large scale manufacturing processes and in fact this is where many of the well known methodologies such as LEAN (Toyota) and Six Sigma (Motorola) are developed. I have been involved in managing and delivering re-engineering projects since 1993 (back then it was called Total Quality Management if anyone remembers that one!) and my experience has been mainly within
- technology intensive service environments such as call centres,
- online processing such as web application forms and
- intra business processes such as HRM and ICT delivery and support.
Ensuring your business is sustainable is much more than being careful about the resources you use. You need to consider if all your processes and systems will work in the real world, with real-world competition, real-world resource constraints and of course real people inventing, manufacturing, delivering and buying your products and services.