Reengineering: the second time around

Purpose – Companies are once again launching large reengineering projects. Will they repeat the mistakes of the reengineering boom of the nineties? Two veterans offer guidance around the pitfalls. Design/methodology/approach – Many of today's major reengineering projects involve the implementation of an ERP – “enterprise resource planning” system that spans processes from finance and accounting to human resource management to supply chain optimization., based on readily available software packages that can run almost all of a company's standard processes. The authors explain how top management can better manage implementation of these systems. Findings – At a company that recently implemented an enterprise resource planning (ERP) initiative that achieved it business goals the CEO advised: put the best people, internal and external, on the program full‐time; establish clear alignment and accountability for target actions and results, top to bottom in the organization; drive a bias for leveraging off‐the‐shelf solutions, not customized technology; and strike the right balance when defining goals and the cost versus benefit plan for the program. Research limitations/implications – The authors are veterans of scores of mission‐critical enterprise and operations solution implementation projects. Practical implications – Senior executives are privately crossing their fingers that this round of investment in reengineering will not result in an endless drain on corporate resources. Executives need this checklist for getting beyond IT train wrecks to achieve real business value. Originality/value – Business process reengineering, which turned from fad to flop a few years ago, has rebounded, and is now utilized by some 61 percent of companies according to a recent survey. Senior executives need a strongly worded reminder not to make the same leadership mistakes that caused so many reengineering failures in the past.