Integrating lean six sigma and supply chain approach for quality and business performance

Abstract

Lean manufacturing is one of the initiatives that major businesses all around the world have been trying to adopt in order to remain competitive in the increasingly global market and six sigma was an American “invention”. The central idea behind six sigma is that if you can measure how many “defects” you have in process, you can systematically figure out how to eliminate them and get as close to “Zero Defect” as possible and supply chain is the systematic and strategic coordination between supplier and customer. Integrating supply chain objectives with lean practices and six sigma methodologies can lead to superior benefits including process variation reduction, dramatic business improvement and has a substantial effect on achieving to the targets. Ultimately that integrating Lean Six sigma and supply chain can be combined for optimal results first the six sigma processes are changed from slow to fast by lean manufacturing. Six sigma and lean manufacturing provide the structure easily for optimum flow and integrating lean six sigma and supply chain has a large effect on achieving the targets and competitiveness. In plain language that the ultimate goal for the company is to create value to the customer hence the customer settles the quality and cost for the product. The quality and cost of the product is its ability to satisfy and preferably exceed the needs and expectations of the customers. Integrating lean six Sigma and supply chain approachgrowing prevalence and importance in industry, presently companies have acknowledged that integrating lean six sigma and supply chain share a common objective: to create value based end customer requirement.