Six Sigma improves operational efficiency, saves money, and increases customer satisfaction for businesses across a range of industries, from healthcare and manufacturing to mining and energy.
Xerox Corporation, a Fortune 500 company, has implemented Six Sigma to boost both their business results and the quality of customer experiences. The system can easily be implemented and tailored to the unique requirements of each business.
General Electric
Six Sigma is a quality management system that uses statistical methods to optimize business processes. It focuses on eliminating defects and errors while simultaneously cutting costs. Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric (GE), introduced Six Sigma into mainstream culture when he implemented it at his own company to streamline operations; since then it has become a common strategy used by large enterprises worldwide.
Six Sigma transforms quality management from an isolated function into the center of business activities and professionalises it, creating an exclusive ranking system for statisticians trained in Six Sigma and teaching them tools such as Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control (DMAIC).
Six Sigma allows companies to achieve greater financial visibility by scrutinizing each process and testing its inputs, while simultaneously helping manufacturers develop products and services to exceed customer expectations - it has proven so successful for many industries including entertainment technology.
3M
As a company that emphasizes innovation, 3M is always searching for ways to streamline its processes. That is why they utilize Six Sigma, an approach made popular by Jack Welch that involves employing teams with diverse skill sets and backgrounds who help identify problem areas before devising solutions.
Six Sigma involves identifying problems and improving them using an established set of quality management tools, including "smaller is better" and "larger is better," two statistical techniques that enable companies to define an ideal state for any process - with "smaller is better" creating an upper specification limit while "larger is better" setting lower ones.
Six Sigma cannot be effectively implemented within a company without first aligning it with their core values, as seen when 3M dropped Six Sigma R&D use in 2007 which led them off BusinessWeek's list of innovative companies.
Acme Corporation
Acme United Corporation designs products used in schools, homes, offices and hardware markets. Their flagship offerings include student scissors, rulers and staplers - in addition to providing safety solutions like spill absorbents and medical supplies.
Acme was hit hard in the 1990s due to sharply rising raw material prices, forcing it to pay double for steel and petroleum resulting in significant margin erosion and diminishing profits.
Acme's senior management recognized that applying Six Sigma principles could aid their pricing process, so they hired a pricing manager to lead an improvement project using its five DMAIC steps: Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control. Team members from sales, IT, finance and marketing gathered data through an intensive mapping exercise of existing price agreement procedures before conducting in-depth analyses on it - this increased efficiency while simultaneously decreasing unauthorized prices while creating controls over them.
Amazon
Although many companies use Six Sigma, few utilize its framework as completely as Amazon. This eCommerce giant stands as an example for how Six Sigma should be applied across every aspect of business operations, from logistics to customer service. Amazon has also adopted Lean practices which augment Six Sigma practices.
Six Sigma was originally created to reduce costs in manufacturing businesses; however, its applications can prove useful across industries and can help companies of any kind achieve business stability and streamline control. Six Sigma also helps eliminate unneeded workflows and ensure higher product quality levels.
Six Sigma helps companies identify areas for improvement, leading to reduced operating expenses and greater profit margins. Furthermore, Six Sigma promotes an agile working attitude - for instance at Amazon employees are trained in problem-solving when problems arise and encouraged to share best practices among colleagues. All employee-facing departments at the company must go through Kaizen training and attend Six Sigma sessions.
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