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business 

 process improvement (BPI)

 or by Davenport (1993) as ‘business process innovation’. 

Taking the example of a major digital business initiative for supply chain management, an 

organisation would have to decide on the scope of change. For instance, do all supply chain 

activities need to be revised simultaneously or can certain activities such as procurement 

or outbound logistics be targeted initially? Modern thinking would suggest that the latter 

approach is preferable.

If a less radical approach is adopted, care should be taken not to fall into the trap of simply 

using technology to automate existing processes which are  sub‑  optimal – in plain words, 

using information technology ‘to do bad things faster’. This approach of using technology 

to support existing procedures and practices is known as