Hispanic Enterprise - February/March 2008 - (Page 51)

and ﬁx the defects that raise your costs. This was Semente’s challenge, and it is the challenge of many who oversee the supply chain. Ask yourself this question: In your business, do you ever have to spend time and money to send overnight packages via FedEx? How many times could you have avoided the overnight rush charges by avoiding poor planning or some other related defect your internal process causes? The Six Sigma methodology can identify and correct this type of defective process. “Six Sigma helps you rank your top 10 defects and start to measure their impact so you can eliminate the most costly ones ﬁrst, or bring them close to zero,” says Alexis Goncalves, principal of Innovation Insight, an innovation management consultancy in Wilton, Connecticut. “You decide what the standard is and apply the methodology to bring operations to that standard.” Of course, once you’ve eliminated the defects, it is possible that you have added cost to the equation. That’s when you apply the Six Sigma methodology to identify waste and costs. Think of it this way: if you look back through two years of your check register, do you think you might ﬁnd some waste? Could it be possible you would ﬁnd hidden or natural spending patterns that don’t need to exist? Six Sigma identiﬁes them. extent of certainty a person has that their standards will be met by the product or service you provide. As certainty increases, the likelihood of satisfaction increases as well.” Customers have what are termed “critical-to-quality,” or CTQ, expectations. CTQ is an important Six Sigma concept. These CTQ expectations are important to understand and help en- GROW AND EXPAND YOUR BUSINESS Finally, Six Sigma helps tackle the growth challenges. Growth, like any other issue, is a problem to solve. So what are the market factors to grow and expand? Is your business ignoring a distribution channel? Perhaps you are not effectively leveraging the Internet. What are the most important factors for growth? What is your growth objective for this year? Six Sigma is about asking new questions and then systematically ﬁnding answers. “You use Six Sigma to generate new ideas, to innovate, to develop new products and services that appeal to your customers,” Goncalves says. “You can apply what you learned in the stages of eliminating defects and cutting costs to design and deliver better goods and services to clients. This gets into the realm of customer experience management.” Customer experience management is a customer-centric business strategy that aims to maximize proﬁtability, revenue and customer satisfaction, and Six Sigma plays an important role. Johnson Controls started its Six Sigma initiative in 2000. Changes in the design and drawing processes saved an estimated $1.7 million per year in tooling costs and $943,000 per year through greater engineering productivity Of course, before you dive into Six Sigma head ﬁrst, it’s important to assess the potential beneﬁts of investing in the personnel and processes required to apply this methodology to your business, according to Joe DeFeo, president and executive coach at Juran Institute, a Six Sigma consultancy based in Southbury, Connecticut., and author of Six Sigma Breakthrough and Beyond. “You must deﬁne the proof of need to really embrace Six Sigma. That proof needs to come from estimating the cost or loss due to poor quality, customer dissatisfaction with your product or service, and the cost structure or low margins in your industry,” DeFeo says. “Don’t embrace the methodology just because it’s a trend. Embrace it because it will make you more proﬁtable.” 51 * “YOU USE SIX SIGMA TO GENERATE NEW IDEAS, TO INNOVATE, TO DEVELOP NEW PRODUCTS AND SERVICES THAT APPEAL TO YOUR CUSTOMERS.” —ALEXIS GONCALVES, PRINCIPAL OF INNOVATION INSIGHT sure that you will satisfy your customers. For example, what are the CTQs for a customer at McDonald’s? First, to be waited on quickly. Second to have your order taken in a courteous manner. Third, to get the right food delivered fresh. Right behind customer satisfaction, Six Sigma can help increase employee satisfaction and commitment level. You and your employees can enjoy solving a problem that costs you time and money. Employees feel like owners when they have the tools and are allowed to ﬁx costly problems in the business, Brue says. It provides a great sense of accomplishment for everyone. FOCUSING ON CUSTOMER, EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION For the small- to mid-sized business owner, increasing customer satisfaction is paramount. After all, says Brue, your main function is to make your customers happy so they will keep doing business with you. Companies exist for one purpose: to proﬁtably serve customers. So it follows that any problem-solving initiative should help you do just that. “The customer is a person, not an organization, business, or corporation. Your customer is a human being with needs, wants, and problems, just like you,” says Brue, author of Six Sigma For Small Business. “Satisfaction is the HISPANIC ENTERPRISE February/March 2008

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Hispanic Enterprise - February/March 2008

Hispanic Enterprise - February/March 2008 Contents Briefcase: BIZBUZZ: Business Briefs Briefcase: Trendsetters Briefcase: BIZTECH: Virtually Meeting BizLife: Travel: Madrid's New Attraction Q & A: Mi Case es su Casa Hispanic Commerce: The Agenda Cover Story: The Top 50 Corporations for Supplier Diversity Technology: Hispanic Web 2.0 Success & Motivation: Sweetening the Deal Politics & Government: The Rescue Generation Managing: The Method Franchising: The Hispanic Face of Franchising Chamber Focus: It's Showtime Movers & Shakers: Open for Business Finance & Investing: Getting Your 401(K) on Target

Hispanic Enterprise - February/March 2008

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