Business process improvement (BPI)

Business process improvement (BPI) is making internal changes within a business to improve the efficiency and profitability of the organization, be it for profit, non-profit, or government agencies. During the manufacturing era is when most BPI techniques were developed. During this time and some time after, BPI’s were refined and today we have access to proven techniques of successful business process improvements.
BPI’s begin by solving three basic dilemmas:
1. determining what the organization’s strategic purposes and goals are,
2. determining who the stakeholders or customers are, and
3. changing the business process to achieve the organization’s goals.
A BPI’s goal is to make drastic changes in the organization’s structure, not small incremental changes. Everyone in the organization, from the top all the way to the bottom, must be involved for this to work. The problem arises when managers or employees believe the system they are already using works fine, and no changes need to be made. Managers typically don’t like change, and employees fear they will lose their jobs. If these obstacles cannot be overcome, then the business process improvement designed for that organization will fail.
Every organization is different; therefore different changes are implemented to meet the specific needs of each business. BPI’s approach each new organization as a project, so project management applies. They define the basic structure and processes already being used. It is then decided what the desired results are and a plan is formed that would use the best approach to gain the desired results. Finally, the changes are implemented to gain the results the organization wanted. 
There are different methodologies that use different tools to create a successful outcome. Finding the one to match the business is half the battle. Sometimes the methodology changes and develops as the project moves into different stages. Everyone must be flexible to the changes and work together as a team to acquire a more efficient and profitable organization.