The internal business process perspective describes the internal processes needed to
provide value for customers and owners. Processes are the means by which strategies
are executed. Thus, the process perspective entails the identification of the critical
processes needed that affect customer and shareholder satisfaction. To provide the framework
needed for this perspective, a process value chain is defined. The process value
chain is made up of three processes: the innovation process, the operations process, and
the postsales process.6 The innovation process anticipates the emerging and potential
needs of customers and creates new products and services to satisfy those needs. It represents
what is called the long-wave of value creation. The operations process produces
and delivers existing products and services to customers. It begins with a customer order
and ends with the delivery of the product or service. It is the short-wave of value
creation. The postsales service process provides critical and responsive services to customers
after the product or service has been delivered