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Rethink, Reinvent, Reengineer: How BPR Sparked a Corporate Revolution

· 3 min read
BPR in the 1990s

By John Matthews, BusinessWeek, 1995

It’s 1995, and if you’re working in American business, you can’t have missed it: Business Process Reengineering (BPR) is the word on everyone’s lips. Boardrooms, management seminars, and business school classrooms are abuzz with talk of radical change, organizational transformation, and the promise of a new era of productivity. If the 1980s were the decade of quality and incremental improvement, the 1990s have become the age of bold reinvention — and at the center of it all are two men: Michael Hammer and James Champy.

Out with the Old​

Let’s be honest: by the late 1980s, American industry was struggling. The Japanese had set new standards in efficiency, and our own giants—Ford, GM, IBM—were bogged down by bureaucracy, siloed departments, and outmoded business practices. Simply automating existing processes wasn’t enough. As Hammer so memorably put it in the pages of the Harvard Business Review, “Don’t automate, obliterate!”

That spirit of creative destruction is the core of Business Process Reengineering. Rather than tinker with what’s already there, BPR calls for a radical rethinking of how we work. It’s about questioning every assumption, breaking down every organizational wall, and starting with a blank slate. The goal? Achieving dramatic improvements in cost, quality, service, and speed.

Hammer & Champy: The Gurus of Reengineering​

The 1993 book, Reengineering the Corporation, written by Hammer and Champy, has become the bible of this new movement. In it, they detail how companies like Ford and IBM reimagined their workflows from the ground up — and in doing so, cut costs and response times by 50% or more. Their message is simple and compelling: in the age of global competition and technological disruption, only those who dare to rethink everything will survive.

Success Stories and Real Results​

Already, the business landscape is littered with stories of transformation. Ford, for instance, reengineered its accounts payable process, slashing the headcount by 75% and eliminating mountains of paperwork. Taco Bell turned itself from a traditional restaurant chain into a lean, fast-moving “quick service” powerhouse by reengineering everything from supply chain to store layout.

Technology is a big enabler, of course — but, as Hammer insists, it’s not about the latest gadget. It’s about using technology as a lever to fundamentally rethink how work gets done.

Not Without Its Critics​

Sure, there are naysayers. Some argue that BPR is just a management fad, or that it puts too many jobs at risk. But talk to executives on the front lines, and you’ll hear a different story: reengineering is tough, yes — but in a fast-moving world, sticking to old ways is a far greater risk.

The New American Spirit​

Perhaps what’s most exciting about BPR is the sense of possibility it brings. It’s a call to action for every company, every manager, every employee: think boldly, act decisively, and don’t be afraid to reinvent yourself. The old rules are gone. In their place is a new spirit of American ingenuity and dynamism.

Business Process Reengineering isn’t just a new management tool — it’s a revolution. And if you’re not on board yet, you’d better catch up — or risk being left behind.

Sources:

  • Hammer, M. & Champy, J. (1993). Reengineering the Corporation.
  • Harvard Business Review, 1990: “Reengineering Work: Don’t Automate, Obliterate”.