| Article ID: | iaor2014352 |
| Volume: | 13 |
| Issue: | 3 |
| Start Page Number: | 349 |
| End Page Number: | 375 |
| Publication Date: | Apr 2014 |
| Journal: | International Journal of Productivity and Quality Management |
| Authors: | Helo Petri, Takala Josu, Belay Alemu Moges, Welo Torgeir |
| Keywords: | business process reengineering, case studies, concurrent engineering, team effectiveness, product development |
This paper investigates the effects of combining business process reengineering (BPR) and concurrent engineering (CE) on companies' capability to deliver products faster to the customers. Two medium‐sized companies are considered to use primary data; previous performance records and on‐site interviews. The study uses tools for business process improvement, ternary plot and statistical process control tools. The study showed that 50% to 80% of the products were not delivered to customers on schedule, mainly due to the case companies who were using sequential product development methods. By using cross‐functional teams, and combining BPR and CE, the work‐flow steps and product development times are reduced significantly. A conceptual model is proposed to show the benefits of combining the aforementioned methodology, which is in line with contingency theory.