  Blockchain has emerged as one of the most promising and revolutionary
technologies in the past years. Companies are exploring implementation of use
cases in hope of significant gains in efficiencies. However, to achieve the
impact hoped for, it is not sufficient to merely replace existing technologies.
The current business processes must also be redesigned and innovated to enable
realization of hoped for benefits. This conceptual paper provides a theoretical
contribution on how blockchain technology and smart contracts potentially can,
within the framework of the seven principles of business process re-engineering
(BPR), enable process innovations. In this paper, we analyze the BPR principles
in light of their applicability to blockchain-based solutions. We find these
principles to be applicable and helpful in understanding how blockchain
technology could enable transformational redesign of current processes.
However, the viewpoint taken, should be expanded from intra- to
inter-organizational processes operating within an ecosystem of separate
organizational entities. In such a blockchain powered ecosystem, smart
contracts take on a pivotal role, both as repositories of data and executioner
of activities.
