Stephen J. Childe

Frameworks for Understanding Business Process Re‐engineering

Introduces a number of concepts and frameworks developed during the first phase of an EPSRC/CDP grant entitled “A Specification of a Business Process Re‐engineering Methodology for Small and Medium Sized Manufacturing Enterprises”. A traditional, functionally oriented organization is characterized by fragmentation and staged inventories of work caused by a failure to integrate and synchronize activities. A process focused organization aims to optimize performance across the whole process. Outlines many of the key issues facing organizations seeking to adopt a process orientation. Presents two frameworks for analysis. The first identifies the major business processes in any manufacturing company, the second seeks to classify types of business process re‐engineering intervention. Concludes by discussing the major issues currently facing those researching into business process re‐engineering.

Business Process Re‐engineering

Investigates the current literature surrounding business process re‐engineering (BPR). Defines BPR and distinguishes between re‐engineering and other change programmes. Sets out a general approach to BPR and outlines the results from the application of this approach to the bank. This analysis of results includes an assessment of the applicability of the ICAM definition method, IDEF0, in helping companies implement BPR programmes.

Current issues in business process re‐engineering

Presents the results of empirical research into issues faced by 25 companies undertaking business process re‐engineering (BPR) programmes. The research team sought to understand the BPR phenomenon through visits to 21 leading practitioners and four in‐depth case studies. The research indicated that six key issues affect the way in which BPR programmes are carried out, namely the nature of the change proposed (radical or incremental), the performance measures applied during the programme, the impact of information technology, the impact of human factors, the presence or absence of a process architecture and the link between BPR and strategy. The outcome of this research has implications for both practitioners and researchers. Where practitioners are concerned, the conventional, step‐by‐step BPR methodology should be amended to take into account these six issues more fully. For researchers there is a need for substantial research into good practice in BPR in each of the six areas.

The extended concept of co-operation

This paper describes the idea of the extended enterprise, in which manufacturing companies co-operate closely to maximize the benefits of the business they are all involved in. The concept ofthe extended enterprise is explored, and itseffect on purchasing relationships is considered. Production planning considerations are dealt with and the extended enterprise is considered from the viewpoint of the supplier. Modelling and analysis of the extended enterprise in connection with process improvement is reviewed, and some questions that arise from the co-operative approach are presented. The paper concludes that the concept stems from supply chain management and the interest in integration across boundaries. The extended enterprise presents many challenges, but may be a new source of competitive advantage.

Modelling quality dynamics, business value and firm performance in a big data analytics environment

Big data analytics have become an increasingly important component for firms across advanced economies. This paper examines the quality dynamics in big data environment that are linked with enhancing business value and firm performance (FPER). The study identifies that system quality (i.e. system reliability, accessibility, adaptability, integration, response time and privacy) and information quality (i.e. completeness, accuracy, format and currency) are key to enhance business value and FPER in a big data environment. The study also proposes that the relationship between quality and FPER is mediated by business value of big data. Drawing on the resource-based theory and the information systems success literature, this study extends knowledge in this domain by linking system quality, information quality, business value and FPER.

Case study in Six Sigma methodology: manufacturing quality improvement and guidance for managers

This article discusses the successful implementation of Six Sigma methodology in a high precision and critical process in the manufacture of automotive products. The Six Sigma define–measure–analyse–improve–control approach resulted in a reduction of tolerance-related problems and improved the first pass yield from 85% to 99.4%. Data were collected on all possible causes and regression analysis, hypothesis testing, Taguchi methods, classification and regression tree, etc. were used to analyse the data and draw conclusions. Implementation of Six Sigma methodology had a significant financial impact on the profitability of the company. An approximate saving of US

Vision, applications and future challenges of Internet of Things: A bibliometric study of the recent literature

70,000 per annum was reported, which is in addition to the customer-facing benefits of improved quality on returns and sales. The project also had the benefit of allowing the company to learn useful messages that will guide future Six Sigma activities.

A non-linear redesign methodology for manufacturing systems in SMEs

Purpose – The emergent field of Internet of Things (IoT) has been evolving rapidly with a geometric growth in the number of academic publications in this field. The purpose of this paper is to review the literature of IoT in past 16 years using rigorous bibliometric and network analysis tools, offering at the same time future directions for the IoT research community and implications for managers and decision makers. Design/methodology/approach – The authors adopted the techniques of bibliometric and network analysis. The paper reviewed the articles published on IoT from 2000 to 2015. Findings – This study identifies top contributing authors; key research topics related to the field; the most influential works based on citations and PageRank; and established and emerging research clusters. Scholars are encouraged to further explore this topic. Research limitations/implications – This study focusses only on vision and applications of IoT. Scholars may explore various other aspects of this area of research....

Case studies in operations management

SMEs often have to adapt their manufacturing systems to changing circumstances such as technology advances and business growth. This paper presents a new methodology for the redesign of manufacturing systems within SMEs.This paper will show that most approaches to manufacturing systems redesign are linear and it will explain why this is not the best option for SMEs. Foremost among these reasons is the uncertainty of the SME environment. Redesign planning that is conducted at the outset of a change episode may be superseded by events that are impossible to foresee. A further issue for conventional redesign approaches is the resource poverty that is a widely reported feature of SMEs. The most obvious impact is on the financial support available for costly technology-led solutions. Resource poverty also includes the available expertise and managerial time to implement complex methodologies.The alternative approach proposed uses an iterative model as its basis for change. The basic helical model is extended to provide four perspectives on systems change. These perspectives focus on structural, people, technology and process issues. It is these perspectives that make the difference between continuous improvement and systems redesign. The model has been developed through action research in manufacturing SMEs. Validation was achieved through a longitudinal case study that provided empirical evidence to support the methodology. A single case was used for validation to provide depth over breadth. The development of the methodology had been broad through action research into several diverse SMEs and it was considered that more detailed case study would add balance to the research. The depth afforded by a single longitudinal study also allowed for greater scrutiny of the methodology under real world conditions.

A modelling technique for re-engineering business processes controlled by ISO 9001

Production Planning & Control welcomes case studies, as most readers will know. But I often hear (or read) queries about the research value of case studies. What can we learn from one or just a few companies? The answer seems to lie in the aim of the research. The widely-used paper by Voss et al. (2002) looks at case research and identifies four broad categories of research purpose – exploration, theory-building, theorytesting and theory extension/refinement. One of the interesting aspects of working with industry is that it is sometimes possible to identify the need for a new avenue of research. This might be when technology is being applied in a new setting, such as a different industry. We might not have a solution to offer to that company, but can report back to the research community. This might lead to exploratory research, in which the research questions are refined. For this kind of research, it might be possible to show a need for new knowledge from just one exploratory case study, together with context and literature background, developing propositions and challenges. Often, cases may be used to develop new models or concepts that help researchers and managers understand or deal with a situation. This kind of work can be deemed to be theory building. This kind of research depends on data from the real world that can illustrate linkage and relationships, and perhaps also show, for example, which variables can be controlled by managers. Theory-building papers put forward models, stating the phenomena under investigation, and suggest relationships between variables. They may compare different companies or different cases within the same company, simplifying some contextual variables. For theory to become accepted, it requires more testing. Theory-testing papers tend to use large amount of data such as from surveys or from aggregating cases. Another area where cases can make a contribution is in theory extension/refinement. Once a theory becomes established, further cases can extend its application into new areas or refine the details such as improving the definition of variables. In operations management, theories that become accepted in the experimental or simulation world may require considerable refinement to allow them to be implemented in practice under conditions of time and cost pressure, lack of resources and lack of data in the real world. This may mean that there are more variables than the model accounted for, or it may draw our attention to implementation issues, which are worthy of investigation in their own right. Cases that help us to identify new research needs, develop models and implement the existing theoretical work are particularly welcome in Production Planning & Control. If the Journal helps direct research that addresses the needs of industry, it is performing a useful function.