The Real-Time Enterprise : Competing on Time with the Revolutionary Business S-Ex Machine [Hardcover]

Peter Fingar (Author), Joe Bellini (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2004

There is no doubt something new is going on in business, though it may not be clear exactly what . . .

Why is it that, given two companies with approximately the same assets and number of skilled employees, one struggles and the other grows profits? From where do those profits come? The answer is that they come from how work gets done: how companies "do" what they do, how they operate.

"Operational Transformation" is the next frontier of business advantage. Lacking growth markets, and facing global competition in uncertain times, companies must change the way they conduct business -- or competitors that reinvent their operations will run circles around them. This is a book about new sources of competitive advantage. It's about operational transformation, time-based competition, and flawless execution of business strategy.

Drawing on years of front-line experience across many industries, Fingar and Bellini explore what GE, Wal-Mart, Virgin Group,Toyota, JetBlue, Dell, Progressive Insurance, Amazon, and other pioneers have done to change the game in their industries. The authors show that deep structural changes -- made possible by business process innovation -- have enabled these companies to reinvent the fundamental ways they operate their businesses.

Most companies have plenty of innovative ideas for change, but theyÂ’ve lacked the capability to execute on those ideas -- until now. Companies that transform their operations by mastering the new competitive weapon, the "strategy-execution (SEx) machine," will prosper in the decades ahead.

Editorial Reviews

From the Author

What this book is, and isn't, about...

In this book, we go under the covers of the buzzwords and hype to examine the many facets that make up the notion of a real-time enterprise. We share insights gained from our experiences on the front lines with pioneering companies that have already recognized what it means to become a process-managed, real-time enterprise, and are working intensely to become such. We also assess its implications for business strategy, for our goal is to answer the question of what the real-time enterprise portends for competitive advantage in business.

Along the way we describe some of the enabling technologies that are required to move from concept to reality. But this book is not about those technologies. It's not for programmers or technologists looking for technical guidance or programming recipes. It’s about how the Internet is being forged with a new category of software that gives business people control of their business processes to compete for the future -- a future that’s certainly not business as usual.

When we do talk about enabling technology, it's not to distract the business reader, but to show the substance beneath the hype of both the real-time enterprise (RTE) and business process management (BPM) buzzwords being bandied about by consultants, IT vendors and the trade press.

This is primarily a book for business people, for at its core it's about how time-based competition can and must be mastered by the company that wants to win in the decade ahead.

Peter Fingar
Joseph Bellini
September 2004

About the Author

PETER FINGAR, Executive Partner in the digital strategy firm, the Greystone Group, is one of the industryÂ’s noted experts on business process management, and a practitioner with over thirty years of hands-on experience at the intersection of business and technology. Equally comfortable in the boardroom, the computer room or the classroom, Peter has taught graduate and undergraduate computing studies in the U.S. and abroad. He has held management, technical and advisory positions with GTE Data Services, American Software and Computer Services, Saudi Aramco, EC Cubed, the Technical Resource Connection division of Perot Systems and IBM Global Services. He developed technology transition plans for clients served by these companies, including GE, American Express, MasterCard and American Airlines-Sabre. In addition to numerous articles and professional papers, he is an author of six best-selling business books. He brings that knowledge to life in his provocative talks that deliver business insight and actionable information for executives determined to dominate their industries. Peter has delivered keynote talks and papers to professional conferences in the USA, Austria, Canada, South Africa, Japan, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, Germany, UK, Italy and France.

JOSEPH BELLINI is the Senior Vice President of the Software Products and Services Division at Brooks Automation, a global leader in the semiconductor manufacturing industry. Prior to joining Brooks, Mr. Bellini was CEO of the publicly traded software company, eXcelon, which was acquired by Progress Software in 2002. Prior to eXcelon, Joe was CEO of C-bridge Internet Solutions, an MIT-based startup company. Joe took C-bridge public in 1999, and C-bridge grew rapidly, being ranked as the second fastest growing company in New England. His 20 years of software-related work experience has embraced engineering, marketing, sales and executive management at companies that include i2 Technologies, Oracle, EDS and GE. Mr. Bellini also sits on the board of Yantra, a distributed fulfillment applications provider. Joe holds two Bachelor of Science degrees from the University of Massachusetts in Applied Mathematics and Statistics and Mechanical Engineering. He is also an alumnus of Harvard Business School and holds a U.S. Patent for Extended Supply Chain Planning.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 222 pages
• Publisher: Meghan Kiffer Pr (October 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0929652304
• ISBN-13: 978-0929652306
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #503,471 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

PETER FINGAR is an internationally recognized expert on business process management and business strategy. He is a former CIO and practitioner with over thirty years of hands-on experience at the intersection of business and technology.

Peter has taught graduate computing studies and has held management, technical and advisory positions with GTE Data Services, American Software and Computer Services, Saudi Aramco, EC Cubed, the Technical Resource Connection division of Perot Systems and IBM Global Services.

In addition to numerous articles and professional papers, he is an author of nine best-selling books including the just released Dot Cloud: The 21st Century Business Platform Based on Cloud Computing. Peter has delivered keynote talks and papers to professional conferences across the globe. www.peterfingar.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very practical reading, January 8, 2005

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Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Real-Time Enterprise : Competing on Time with the Revolutionary Business S-Ex Machine (Hardcover)

The collaborative work of Peter Fingar (Executive Partner in the digital strategy firm the Greystone Group, and a noted expert on business process management who has taught computing studies courses in the U.S. and abroad) and Joseph Bellini (Senior Vice president of the Software Products and Services Division at Brooks Automation, a global leader in the semiconductor manufacturing industry), The Real-Time Enterprise: Competing On Time With The Revolutionary Business SEx Machine goes beyond buzzwords and hype to examine and explain the many facets of a real-time enterprise. Divided into eleven chapters that range from "The Real-Time Enterprise in Twenty Minutes" to "Thoughts and Strategies for the Real-Time Enterprise", the thoroughly "reader friendly" the informed and informative text is additionally enhanced with the inclusion of a Foreword by Max Moore; an appendices ("The Myths and Realities of the Real-Time Enterprise" and "Cycle-Time management: A Survey of Six Industries"); and a detailed index. Very practical reading, The Real-Time Enterprise is especially commended to the attention of business managers and entrepreneurs engaged in time-based competition in order to either protect or expand their corporate operations.