As Christmas draws near, despite the crisis, people still find time to go shopping. That is what’s happening here in Metro Manila, at least. Stores are on sale, and flea markets are teeming.
This is also the time when sales are brisk and inventories are fast. Somewhere along the way, some things are bound to be amiss, customers unhappy, and salesclerks cranky.
How to improve the retail experience?
Six Sigma and Lean, or together as Lean Six Sigma, can be useful. Let me share with you a transcript of an interview with Tony Curtis, partner, process and innovation performance for Accenture, who talked about Lean Six Sigma in retail.
How can Lean Six Sigma be valuable for retailers?
It can help reduce all the non-value-added activities and focus on the customer, and provide consumers [with] a consistent experience — whether that be in stores, on the web, catalog sales, etc. Lean Six Sigma fits very naturally to the retail world.
In short, you need to make it easy for your customers to do business with you. To be able to do that you need to create processes that address customer requirements. And Lean Six Sigma can help you come up with these processes and sustain them.
