A Comprehensive Process Improvement Methodology: Experiences at Caterpillar's Mossville Engine Center (MEC)

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Author(s): David Paper (Utah State University, USA)and Steve Dickinson (Caterpillar, Inc., USA)
Copyright: 1997
Pages: 13
Source title: Cases on Information Technology Management In Modern Organizations
Source Author(s)/Editor(s): Mehdi Khosrow-Pour, D.B.A. (Information Resources Management Association, USA)and Jay Liebowitz (George Washington University, USA)
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-87828-937-7.ch009

Keywords: Information Resources Management / Information Science Reference / Library & Information Science

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Abstract

Since the beginning of the 1990s, business process reengineering (BPR) has received considerable attention from the management information systems (MIS) community (Caron et. al, 1994; Davenport, 1993). However, dramatic improvements touted by BPR advocates have failed to materialize in many organizations (Hammer and Champy, 1993; Kotter, 1995). Current research has provided limited explanatory power concerning the underlying reasons behind BPR failure. Hence, in–depth research is needed into companies experimenting with BPR. This case provides a longitudinal view of Caterpillar Inc. Mossville Engine Center experiences with BPR since 1991. It describes how Caterpillar Inc. (Peoria, IL) introduced BPR into one business unit, Mossville Engine Center (MEC), five years ago and saved between US $10 and $20 million. Caterpillar believes that its success with process improvement can be directly tied to adoption and implementation of an enterprise–wide methodology called Business Process Simplification and Improvement (BPS/I). BPS/I provides a systematic methodology for analysis, design, and implementation of reengineering principles. The methodology provides the structure, techniques, and new job roles to effectively implement redesigned business processes. The role of information technology includes facilitation of data transformation, information flow, and communication through each stage of the BPS/I methodology.

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A Comprehensive Process Improvement Methodology: Experiences at Caterpillar's Mossville Engine Center (MEC)

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