Page 33 - Lean six sigma demystified

12 Lean Six Sigma DemystifieD

underpayment, and so on can cost a fortune. Fielding the phone calls and
fixing the financial transactions can cost more than some invoices are
worth.
Purchasing is another area for investigation. What does it cost to get quotes
from three different vendors for the same product? What does it cost when
you delay a purchase to squeeze a couple of extra pennies off the order?
What does it cost when you order the wrong part and it stops your produc-
tion line?
Call centers are another area for exploration. What does it cost to take a call
from a customer? The average is around $9. Are your systems and literature set
up to force your customer to call you for every little thing? Or are your systems
set up to let customers serve themselves when they need it?
So, if you’re a good manufacturing company, use Lean Six Sigma to simplify
and streamline your service components. If you’re a good service company, use
Lean Six Sigma to make breakthrough improvements that will differentiate you
from all of your competitors.

Small versus Large Businesses

Many small business owners don’t think they can afford the time and effort to
learn and apply Lean Six Sigma. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Are
you a small business guerrilla? Are you willing to ignore the conventional, but
incorrect, “wisdom” about how to implement Lean Six Sigma? Are you willing
to start making immediate improvements in productivity and profitability using
only a small fraction of your employees, time, and money? Or would you rather
follow the Fortune 500 path to Lean Six Sigma and spend a lot of time and

money, and then have to wait up to a year for bottom-line, profit-enhancing
results?

? still struggling

Small or large, service or manufacturing, your company follows some sort of
procedure or process to deliver products and services. those processes can be
dramatically simplified, streamlined, and optimized using Lean Six Sigma.