Where Lean and Business Objectives Collide: Customer Acquisition Through Lean Six Sigma
Eldon Kao
In my post last week, I mentioned some of the lesser touted benefits of Lean Six Sigma. The first of which had to do with increased inshore manufacturing. Coincidentally, this week's post in IndustryWeek by Michael Collins is much related as it critiques the influence of Continuous Improvement Programs on domestic manufacturing growth. In the article, Michael points out the core focus of continuous improvement is on internal processes and although cost savings can be attained, the scope of most continuous improvement programs does not address improving sales or market demand for products. This external or customer facing perspective on continuous improvement is often the biggest hurdle in winning management support for Lean Six Sigma objectives. To reap the full benefits of Lean, it needs to operate as part of a company-wide system. It may be a matter of semantics, however where Lean is inward-facing there is Op-Ex which is outward-facing (I had briefly distinguished between the two in a previous post - here). These two programs should run in parallel. For this reason, I'd like to review some more benefits of Lean Six Sigma that appeal more from a growth perspective:
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