Business processes

Business process re-engineering: redesign first, then automate

Some processes need more than a tidy-up. Re-engineering steps back and asks how the work should flow if you designed it today, then changes the rules, roles and systems to match. Automation comes last, once the process deserves it.
Talk to us Start with process mapping

Improvement or re-engineering?

Process improvement makes an existing process better: fewer steps, clearer handovers, better templates. Re-engineering questions whether the process should exist in its current form at all. Should sales enter orders, or should customers? Should three people approve a purchase, or should limits and rules do it? Should job costs be gathered at month end, or captured as work happens?

Most of our work is a mix of both, guided by evidence from mapping and by what the business can realistically absorb.

Where re-engineering usually helps

Order handling

Orders arriving by email, phone and portal, re-keyed into several systems before anything ships.

Purchasing and approvals

Approvals chased by email, purchase orders raised after the goods arrive, bills that cannot be matched.

Job and project costing

Costs collected weeks late, so margin problems are found after the job is finished.

Month end

Days of reconciliations because data lives in disconnected systems and spreadsheets.

Customer onboarding

Credit checks, account set-up and pricing scattered across people and inboxes.

Staff onboarding and offboarding

Accounts, devices and access granted inconsistently, and not always removed when people leave.

Our approach

  1. 01

    Map and measure

    Document the current process and gather simple measures: volumes, delays, error rates, hand-offs. See process mapping.
  2. 02

    Challenge every step

    For each step, ask whether it adds value for the customer or control for the business. Remove, combine or move what does not.
  3. 03

    Design the future process

    A clear target process with roles, rules, approval limits and the system that supports each step.
  4. 04

    Plan the change

    Sequence the changes so the business keeps running: quick wins first, then system and structural changes.
  5. 05

    Support with systems

    Configure the ERP, build integrations and automate repetitive steps. See ERP integration.
  6. 06

    Embed and review

    Train people on the new way of working, update procedures, and check after a few months that the change has stuck.

Where automation fits

Automation is a tool, not a strategy. Automating a poor process makes the poor process faster. Once a process is redesigned, the repetitive parts, such as creating orders from a portal, routing approvals, matching bills to purchase orders or posting to the ledger, are good candidates for automation inside the ERP or through integrations.

We keep automation inside your systems where possible, documented and owned by you. For background reading, see automation approaches compared and the n8n workflow automation guide.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What is business process re-engineering?

Business process re-engineering is the fundamental redesign of how a process works, rather than small improvements to the existing steps. It typically changes roles, rules and systems together to remove delays, rework and duplicate effort.

Is re-engineering only for large companies?

No. Small and mid-sized businesses often benefit most, because a handful of processes run the whole business and a redesign of one of them, such as order handling or job costing, is felt across the company.

Do we need a new ERP to re-engineer a process?

Not always. Some redesigns need only clearer rules, better use of existing systems or one integration. Others show that the current system cannot support the process, which becomes the case for an ERP.

How do you manage the people side?

By involving the people who do the work from the start, explaining why each change is being made, training them on the new process and checking back after go-live. A process nobody follows has not been re-engineered.

Related

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