First, identify any incidences of misalignment between the business and its customers, such as missed or late deliveries, product or services that don’t meet customer requirements and the cost associated with these incidents.
Second, create a map of the organizational processes to identify where in the organization these incidents may originate.
Third, collect and analyze data for the critical processes. Use the insights from the analysis of the data and an analysis of the map of processes to prioritize improvements to achieve the highest, as close to perfect as possible, alignment with said: “Value Proposition” (as defined above).
The steps identified above are accomplished by utilizing a variety of continuous improvement methodologies and techniques, including Six Sigma, Lean.
Lean focuses on reducing waste in the organization. In particular: Defects, Waiting, Travel, Excess Inventory, Overproduction and Not Utilizing People.
Six Sigma focuses on reducing a variation of any characteristic, such as product or service quality, or missed deliveries or errors in orders.
Together Lean and Six Sigma cover the majority of techniques needed for process improvement:
- Get rid of waste (utilizing Lean)
- Improve production
- Reduce inefficiencies
- Reduce variables (utilizing Six Sigma)
Thus; allowing the business to deliver the highest quality product/service at the highest possible profit.