Impact Of Information Technology on BPR: A Study Of Information Technology As BPR Enabler in Tractor Industry In Pakistan

Abstract

Business Process Reengineering (BPR) is defined as the fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of   business processes to achieve dramatic improvements in critical, contemporary measures of performance. Among the potential enablers of BPR is information technology (IT). IT makes it possible to obtain improvements in BPR, though not just by it. This study examines a series of relationships between information technology (IT) and business process reengineering (BPR). Specifically, it argues that those aspiring to do business process reengineering must begin to apply the capabilities of information technology. The purpose of this paper is to answer some questions regarding this issue, like: Is the use of information technology a critical success factor of reengineering ? Is it possible to reengineer the business without the existence of IT sophistications? What are the facilitations that have been contributed by IT to successful reengineering? The methodology that has been adopted in the study is reviewing the literature to explore answers for such questions. It was found that IT has a critical role in the success of BPR project in achieving dramatic improvements, at the same time BPR introduced well defined strategies to make an organization heavily extracts the benefits from such enablers with huge capabilities and to employ IT correctly and efficiently.

The main objective of this study is to explore the possibilities for improvement in the processes of Cost Accounting Information System in Tractor industry after re-engineering through use of information technology. Data has been collected through unstructured interviews from the technical experts in the companies and from the website. Besides, extensive study has been carried out from the existing literature. By applying BPR techniques and technology, Most of the companies in tractor industry has achieved about 50% reduction in waste in production (WIP), 20% reduction in lead times and 90% reduction in overtime resulting into a lot of savings.

Keywords: Businesses Process Reengineering; Information Technology; Manufacturing Companies; Tractor Industry in Pakistan.