APPLICATION OF LEAN SIX SIGMA IN THE TRANSPORT SECTOR OF THE SUPPLY CHAIN OF A LEADING FMCG IN THE UAE

Abstract

Supply chain management helps improvise the goods, procedures, and operations of the business chain involved in distributing products and services, optimizing consumer loyalty and achieving a competitive edge in the marketplace. The logistics sector plays a significant role in its management. Six Sigma helps the organization identify and define problems, test hypotheses, brainstorm ideas, and schedule improvised plan execution to avoid unintended effects. This article provides a brief ideology and framework of how Six Sigma can be successfully implemented in the transportation sector of the supply chain of an FMCG company in the UAE to mitigate the issues faced in the sector, thereby helping to achieve successful supply chain management. The concept of DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control), which is the core tool in Six Sigma, is also discussed in this paper. The transportation industry is becoming more innovative and introducing Lean Six Sigma to transport goods from supplier to market. This has shown the results of process improvement with success. Trucking and transportation industries are doing less manufacturing on a per-diem using Lean Six Sigma methodology to improve their operations. Organizations' transportation departments have started using Lean tools to review preventive maintenance schedules with a team, including regional managers. As a result, they have a new preventative maintenance schedule. Logistics companies claim the principles of Lean are solid. Techniques such as "The Five" typically gain the job done and lead to discovering the cause of the issue with the least time, logically, and hint at appropriate solutions to fix the issues. Application of Six Sigma in the transport sector, bringing revolutionary output like increasing handling of container arrival by crane, reducing load and unloading with time spent around container arrival, helps make the handling more efficient. It could further improvements to the customs house agents' processes by using data to improve accuracy and shorten the time for preparing entry and shipping bills. The rates of use of incorrect entries made can be eliminated.