Lean Six Sigma can be implemented anywhere, wherever there is a business process and a problem.
We use the methodology in engineering companies from a simple rack manufacturing company to a complex rocket engine manufacturing company; retail showrooms to back-office processes, computer manufacturers, food manufacturers, construction companies, banks and hospitals.
I am sharing some sample project and the benefits we achieved by implementing Lean Six Sigma methodology in various Non-Manufacturing, Non-Engineering, Service Industries. Also listing down some Lean Six Sigma Case studies in Service industries.
Lean Six Sigma in Retail Industry
- Increase walk-ins by
- Changing customer perceptions (pricing and delays)
- Improving Pricing policies
- Reducing waiting time (quick response to RfQs, enquiries, small order purchases and billing)
- Market samples analysis
- Changing customer perceptions (pricing and delays)
- Improving floor space utilisation
- ‘Sales per Sq.ft’ improvement
- ‘Sales per staff’ improvement
- Improving the impact of Visual Merchandise
- Experimental Validation
- Sales per Sq.ft display metric improvement
- Display value per Sq.ft metric improvement
- Reducing Cost of Operations by
- Reducing shrinkages
- System shrinkages
- Operational shrinkages
- Cost per employee/cost per sq. ft area
- Improving Inventory turns
- Order – GRN excess reduction
- Order/supplier / purchase team-wise aging improvements
- Reducing inventories
- Right-sizing warehouse inventory based on Lean Scheduling
- Vendor assessment and customised cyclic ordering
- Reducing request to receipt lead-time for stores (from the warehouse)
- Optimising purchase process
- Optimising RoLs (Reorder levels)
- Reducing shrinkages
- Improving the shopping experience
- Customer-Centric Processes from entry to exit
- Customer-focused facilities – Parking, refreshments, escorting, etc
- Improving ambience of the outlet
- Reducing waiting time in billing and packing/delivery counters
- Customer feedback rating
- Customer grievances and complaints
- Customer-Centric Processes from entry to exit
- Improve conversion ratio
- Reduce ‘no-bill’s by avoiding/minimising stock-outs
- Enhancing employee involvement
- Happier employee programs
- Improving employee loyalty
- Reducing infant attrition
- Improving competency score/competency match across the company
- Defining metrics based on KRAs and KPIs
- Customer satisfaction rating
- Customer feedback rating
- Customer grievances and complaints
- Happier employee programs
Some More Cases of Lean Six Sigma in Retail Industry
- Reducing System Faults
- Determining the sales impact of markdown reductions
- Determining the sales impact of bundling products with accessories
- Streamlining the hiring process
- Mitigate consumer frustration and reduce cost
- Streamline the item-order cycle
- Reconfigure the loading dock layout, Eliminate extra handling of merchandise
- Freight moving from suppliers to distribution centres
- Reduce cycle time in getting merchandise into the buildings
- Better handle client account queries and questions over the phone
- Attribute control in order to find out if an item is either good or defective
- Identifying factors influencing recycle rates
- Lowering lead times
- Supply chain improvements
Lean Six Sigma Case Studies in HR Function
- A company has reduced its recruiting cycle time by 56% by
- simplifying the job application and better defining the sales representative position.
- use of simple technology to streamline some processes
- by improving the company’s social media presence and
- Identifying and utilising the most effective talent source for their company.
- Another company reduced the TAT of the recruitment process by more than 66% by
- considering the candidates as Customers and defining VALUE from their perspectives
- eliminating/reducing waiting time – waiting for feedback, indecisions on hold prospects, waiting for offer releases and waiting on application information releases
- end-to-end process streamlining and re-engineering the recruitment process.
Some more Cases of Lean Six Sigma in HR Function
- Reducing delays in Truck TAT (Material handling, major focus area Main Gate Entry and Exit Process)
- Improving on-time arrival of people in the office
- Improving / Achieving Competency score of the organisation
- On-time and complete issuance of uniforms & PPE kits to plant staff
- Improving the robustness of performance management system
- Reducing safety incident (near-miss and accidents) in the factory and improving the robustness of corrective actions to avoid recurrence of such events
- On-time settlement of PF benefit for the retiring staff
- Improving timely completion, 100% coverage of recruit Induction process
- Improving reliability and on-time redressal of employee grievances
- Improving adherence to legal and statutory compliances
- Improving employee satisfaction towards appraisal process
- Improving on-time availability of agents in telecom
- Reducing infant attrition rate in sales and operations department
Lean Six Sigma in Finance & Insurance
- Process Risk assessment and mitigation in a global bank
- Avoidance of wrong entries in ERP system in a global bank
- Improving On-time payment to suppliers in a Retail company
- Achieve 100% Statutory Compliance in a service company
- Reducing collection TAT and reduce the risk associated with the collection process in an NBFC
- Reducing TAT of client on-boarding in an NBFC
- Reducing claim settlement TAT across verticals in a major insurance company (Life, Fire, Motor, Marine, Medical)
- Improving on-time issuance of policies