Lean Six Sigma Methodology to weather the storm.
Thanks to Food & Drink Scotland for organising the recent 2023 conference!
A welcome gathering during turbulent times that began with the shock of the 2020 pandemic, compounded by unprecedented economic challenges national and global. Some focal points for all are the need to create and communicate value from your customer’s perspective, the growing demand for Scottish food and drink in e-commerce (that’s 15:1 demand to supply according to Alibaba.com!) and the increasing need and desire to make our processes sustainable, #netzero. This, against an economic backdrop that requires we find better ways of utilising our resources and structuring our businesses.
Collaboration, Resilience and Sustainability are key themes to both the survival and transformational growth of this industry now and in years to come. There are times for growth and embarking on new and innovative adventures while other circumstances demand we quickly create ways of “weathering the storm”, so to speak. That means taking stock, maintaining productivity, bolstering value for customers and streamlining our use of resources towards optimal efficiency. But how?
Essentially, we are talking about business process improvement. If you didn’t get a chance to stop by the Change Management Scotland stand and play our Lean Six Sigma 5S game at the conference, we’d like to introduce a tried and tested methodology: Lean Six Sigma (LSS).
Business Process Improvement through Lean Six Sigma
Having reflected on our most successful client stories over 25 years we’ve created a snapshot of the key stages to any successful Business Process Improvement journey above.
Skilful application of LSS towards business process improvement is a continuous journey and importantly, a human journey! Graphs, charts, maps and a tidily presented methodology can come to nothing or worse – cost with no return – if you do not ensure that your staff are aware of the need for change and that they are kept in the loop at each step!
There’s no point in improving processes if this does not support or add value to your customers. It may even be detrimental to your business if more important investment is neglected as a result. This is where Lean Six Sigma ensures that you stay relevant to your business.
Read on for a deeper dive into how LSS works. You can also access our free pdf resource: Lean Six Sigma for Dummies.
Lean Six Sigma: five principles
LSS begins with your customer. When a business or organisation has clarity on the real and perceived value that attracts their customers, it becomes easier to optimise “value streams”. That is, improving the flow and relevance of what activities your people are doing, as well as how they are doing them. Below is a simplified diagram of the Five Key Principles of Lean Six Sigma.
So, instead of gearing processes and setting jobs based on “best practice”, gut instinct, or pure speculation, Lean methodologies require that a business continuously collects and analyses real data about the impact of its processes in relation to customer value creation and acts from there. Using Lean methodologies creates customer trust and real value for both the business and customer by keeping activities relevant to the customer, while actively creating streamlined workflows.
One of the best things about using LSS is it helps you make significant improvements with resources that you already have! Any investment, for example, in new technology is rarely necessary (although it may sometimes be attractive depending on what the data says about productivity gains).
To find out more about how LSS has transformed organisations from shipbuilding, to Formula 1 racing, to MacDonald’s, check out our resource Where does Lean come from? or a real life example of one of our largest clients: Target Operating Model – FTSE 100 Case Study.
Whatever the change you need for your organisation, we’re happy to share our learning and see how we can work together, so definitely reach out and chat with us!