To satisfy the customer is the ultimate goal of (Lean) Six Sigma, or of any process improvement. For (Lean) Six Sigma, particularly, there must be at least a 3.4 DPMO.
More often however this rate is measured at the factory floor, ensuring that once the products are manufactured, out a million opportunities, you only find 3.4 defects. If this is achieved, your products leave the factory floor and readied for distribution to the end users.
However, we often hear of damaged products through handling or customers invoking warranty way before the warranty period expires. This just shows that the distribution process also needs to be systematized.
The work of quality therefore does not stop at the end of the assembly line or at the factory floor. From the time you pack your products and distribute them to your customers, you still have to ensure that quality is preserved. After all as R. Eric Reidenbach and Reginald W. Goeke, founding partners of Market Value Solutions, say: “Value at the point of production does not necessarily translate into value at the point of consumption. As a product moves through the distribution system there are many factors that can diminish its value.”
According to the article (“Value in Focusing Lean Six Sigma on Distribution System”) written by Reidenbach and Goeke for iSixSigma, from the production line to the distribution channel, you will need Lean Six Sigma.
What then are the requirements for reaping the returns of a successful Lean deployment? Here are some of the more critical ones:
- Enhance the relationship that exists between manufacturers and dealers – Recognize that both are partners with the goal of creating and delivering outstanding value to the end user. Lean Six Sigma deployments require cooperation, trust and a sense of partnering between the various distribution channel entities.
- Understand precise value – The ultimate determiner of value for both the manufacturer and the dealer is the end user. All channel systems must align in the most efficient and effective manner to provide this value. This definition of value obtained from the end user should direct focused process changes resulting from Lean Six Sigma initiatives.
- Map value streams across corporate boundaries – This requires a recognition that value creation and delivery require the cooperation and partnering of all distribution channel entities. Redesigning these value delivery systems requires the active participation of all members of the channel. Listening to the voice of the end user will provide an environment that is responsive to market definitions of value.
- Apply the appropriate metrics – The efficacy of a Lean value delivery system is found in changes in the organization’s competitive value proposition. Monitoring these changes is critical to any Lean Six Sigma deployment in this arena.
