A business process reengineering (BPR) project relating to the materials ma
nagement function of a cement manufacturing plant is presented in this pape
r. The BPR project evolved out of an organisation development (OD) interven
tion initiative. Such an intervention aimed at improving value innovation c
apability of materials management professionals of a large cement manufactu
ring plant in India. The proposition here is that the value metrics relate
to inside-in value innovations in order to deliver inside-out value to the
customers in the face of fierce competition in Indian Cement industry. Mate
rials of all types used in a cement plant constitute 60-70% of the total co
st and hence the effective operations of procurement and inventory are the
critical success factors for strategic value innovations and thereby compet
itiveness. The primary emphasis in this project was on learning and impleme
ntation, by creating an urgency for instilling responsible leadership and b
uilding organic partnership through knowledge networking, (C) 2001 Elsevier
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