On Measuring and Successful Implementation of Process- Orientation: a Literature Synthesis

During the early 1990s the concept of business process-orientation attracted the interest of many researchers and practitioners. Many companies started to realize the benefits associated with implementing process-oriented structure. For example, IBM conducted a review of its business processes and realized that the majority of its corporate customers were increasingly operating on a global basis. Therefore, IBM started to standardize its business processes, and initiated a common business process approach for all its day to day activities. The benefits have been astonishing, with a 75% reduction in the average time to market for new products, a rapid increase in on time deliveries and customer satisfaction, and cost savings of over 9 billion dollars. There is increasing evidence from this and many other successful companies that an exceptional competitive advantage results when a firm combines its organization’s assets and skills (e.g., marketing capabilities, innovation) with process-orientation (McCormack, 2002).