The Glocal Approach in Business Is Applying Practical Intelligence in the Real World
What is Practical Intelligence, Why Is It Important, and How It Works in the Real World The world admires Street Smart tinkerers and Go Getters who get “things done”. For instance, how many times haven’t been in awe of the Fixers and the Technicians, who with little formal education manage to repair mechanical and electrical […]
Importance of Measurement Systems Analysis
Measurement Systems analysis is an integral part of the Six Sigma project. No matter what project is being conducted under the Six Sigma methodology, this part of the process can never be omitted out and the successful results still be obtained. Below is an explanation about what makes Measurement Systems Analysis such an integral part […]
Six Sigma Control Phase: How Statistical Process Control Works?
Control is all around us. We control the household appliances, the time schedules we follow and such mundane tasks of our everyday lives. We are intuitively aware of these principles. However putting these principles down explicitly helps us develop a formal understanding which we can then use in creating a control plan for our process. […]
Finished Goods Inventory Classifications and Terminologies
While inventory classification of raw materials for Inventory Management purposes follows ABC Classification, Finished Goods inventory is classified under additional categories based on various attributes including sales volumes/patterns, functional attributes and operational requirements. Stock Category depending upon Sales Channels Finished Goods at the very basic level is manufactured and stocked separately depending upon the Business […]
ERP Service Module – Planning, Warranties and Contracts
Service Planning – Attending of unscheduled maintenance tasks arising out of breakdown and faults both for internal and external customer is an important service activity of any organization. However, bulk of service activities arise out of planned service activities. For internal customers, this may be routine maintenance of plant and equipments, arising out of preventive […]
The final step in the metrics is to measure the financial benefits that are accruing to the firm because of the Six Sigma project being undertaken. This is important and is also an area of concern. Most criticisms of Six Sigma say that the benefits that are presented in such analysis are incorrect and actually do not accrue to the firm. They claim that the true picture of the projects is often different.
However, to get the resources sanctioned from the finance department, it is essential that the Net Present Value (NPV) of the project be presented to them. The most common category of gains that accrue to an organization because of six sigma projects is as follows:
Increased Revenue: The most obvious benefits of the six sigma project would be an increase in revenue. This could be driven by many factors.
With more efficient processes, the firm may be able to produce goods more cheaply than others and hence sell more increasing revenues. Or with the help of six sigma projects, the firm could increase the quality of its products increasing customer loyalty and adding to revenues.
Avoided Costs: The firm can avoid many costs in the form of regulatory penalties, expansion costs etc, if its processes are efficient.
Let’s assume that a factory manufactures 100 cars. If by efficiently redesigning the processes, the factory can now manufacture 120 cars, then the fixed costs of manufacturing those 20 cars have been avoided. Governments sometimes penalise inefficient behaviour in companies.
For instance if the company does not pay its taxes on time, it has to pay penalties. Six sigma projects can make these processes efficient and avoid such costs for the management.
Reduced Costs: The operational costs of the firm can be drastically reduced with the help of six sigma projects. With the help of Six Sigma, Motorola was able to offer pagers which were much better in features than the competitors at a price which was much less than that of the competitors.
Non-Monetary Benefits: There are several non-monetary benefits that accrue to the firms as well. In many cases these translate into indirect monetary benefits. However since they cannot be precisely measured they must be called non-monetary. Common examples of such benefits are as follows:
Critics of six sigma say that analysts use fuzzy numbers and double counting to increase the NPV of the projects in question. However there is no doubt about the fact that efficiency has never harmed an organization.
Undertaking six sigma projects and completing them efficiently will only make the organization better off.
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