Hammer and Champy popularized the idea of a process-centered organization in their book Reengineering the Organization. They said organizations should be core processed and other key activities should be outsourced and project managed. Hammer tells a story where he visited a vertically structured company where Sales, Marketing and Engineering were silo departments focusing on internal tasks. Each department had its own specialists and management structure. It took 180 days to fill an order for an electronic circuit. This was too long! The company was restructured around core processes. Internal functional silos were broken down. The company cut its circuit production time from 180 days to 30 days. Software development time was cut from 22 months to 8 months with the eventual goal of 2 months.[i]
[i] Neuborne, Ellen, “Engineer of Reengineering Finds Fans in the Ranks,” USA Today, July 5, 1996, p. 10B.