The major characteristics are:

1. Several jobs are combine into  one.

2. Employees make decisions ( empowerment of  employees.) decision making  becomes  part of  the job.

3. Steps in the business process are performed in a natural  order and several jobs get  done  simultaneously.

4. Processes may have multiple versions. This enables the economies of scale  that result from  mass production yet allows  customization of products  and services.

5. Work is  performed  where  it makes  the most  sense including at  the  customer suppliers sites  thus work  is shifted if necessary across organizational and even international boundaries.

6. Control  and checks and other non value added work are minimized.

7. Reconciliation is minimized by cutting  back the number of external  contact Points and by rating business alliance.

8. A hybrid centralized/ decentralized operation is used.

9. A single point of contact is provided to customer called a case manager or a deal  structure.