be centralized and decentralized at the same time Decision-support tools, allowing decision-making to be a part of everybody's job Wireless data communication and portable computers, allowing field personnel to work office independent Interactive videodisk, to get in immediate contact with potential buyers Automatic identification and tracking, allowing things to tell where they are, instead of requiring to be found High performance computing, allowing on-the-fly planning and revisioning In the mid-1990s especially, workflow management systems were considered a significant contributor to improved process efficiency. Also, ERP (enterprise resource planning) vendors, such as SAP, JD Edwards, Oracle, and PeopleSoft, positioned their solutions as vehicles for business process redesign and improvement. Research and methodology Although the labels and steps differ slightly, the early methodologies that were rooted in IT-centric BPR solutions share many of the same basic principles and elements. The following outline is one such model, based on the Process Reengineering Life Cycle (PRLC) approach developed by Guha. Simplified schematic outline of using a business process approach, exemplified for pharmaceutical R&D Structural organization with functional units Introduction of New Product Development as cross-functional process Re-structuring and streamlining activities, removal of non-value adding tasks Benefiting from lessons learned from the early adopters, some BPR practitioners advocated a change in emphasis to a customer-centric, as opposed to an IT-centric, methodology. One such methodology, that also incorporated a Risk and Impact Assessment to account for the effect that BPR can have on jobs and operations, was described by Lon Roberts (1994). Roberts also stressed the use of change management tools to proactively address resistance to change—a factor linked to the demise of many reengineering initiatives that looked good on the drawing board. Some items to use on a process analysis checklist are: Reduce handoffs, Centralize data, Reduce delays, Free resources faster, Combine similar activities. Also within the management consulting industry, a significant number of methodological approaches have been developed. Framework An easy to follow seven step INSPIRE framework is developed by Bhudeb Chakravarti which can be followed by any Process Analyst to perform BPR. The seven steps of the framework are Initiate a new process reengineering project and prepare a business case for the same; Negotiate with senior management to get approval to start the process reengineering project; Select the key processes that need to be reengineered; Plan the process reengineering activities; Investigate the processes to analyze the problem areas; Redesign the selected processes to