Inter-Enterprise Alliances - Agile and Virtual Companies, Business Process Re-Engineering - Case Study Example

The alliance enables Starbucks customers to determine the music played in Starbucks stores thereby enabling them to enjoy a more fulfilling experience while at the store. The alliance will enable Starbucks to do away with the soporific sounds which have been the norm for a long period. Customers will also be exposed to new music and will even be able to listen to more of the music once they subscribe to the Spotify platform. There has been increased satisfaction from the customers since they have been empowered to control the music being played.

The alliance has made it possible for them to listen to their favorite songs while having their favorite meals. Businesses often take to BPR when they need to improve specific processes in operations. Before engaging in BPR, it is important for a business to look at the existing processes from a clear perspective and then determining how they can increase the efficiency in operations and increase their revenue. Ford Motor Company is one of the companies that has successfully engaged in BPR. The company is one of the largest manufacturers of cars and trucks in the world and its products can be found in most world markets.

The company also employs more than 500,000 employees worldwide (Hammer, 1990). Ford previously experienced problems with its paper-based invoice process. The company’s purchase department and the accounts payable often experienced challenges in verifying purchases and issuing payments. In most instances, mismatches would occur due to a few errors in the process. The mismatches would force an accounts clerk from the accounts payable to look into the process and it often wasted a lot of time.

To deal with the drawbacks and system mismatches, the company instituted a new processing system where invoices were not used. Under the new system, transactions initiated by the purchasing department would be recorded in a database and no purchase order would be sent to any department. Whenever goods would be received, a receiving clerk would simply check in the database system to confirm whether a purchasing order had been recorded and then proceed to receive the delivery. Through the BPR solution, Ford has been able to cut down on the number of people employed in its accounts payable department by 75% (Hammer, 1990).

Many processes have either been eliminated or automated thus eliminating the need to employ many accounts, payable clerks. Examples of Agile Companies: Dell. Basecamp. WordPress. Examples of Virtual Companies:  Zapier. Buffer. FlexJobs. Strategies for Agile Companies. One strategy of successfully transforming to agile operations is to always be open to new ideas and processes. Current processes need to be constantly evaluated and any necessary improvements implemented. Communication is also an important strategy.

One needs to be able to communicate ideas faster and on-time. For virtual companies, planning up-front is an important strategy. It is also important to communicate effectively with the team and to gather any insight which might help in the processes.