Marketers, brand managers, product managers and planners would be well advised to break down the organizational barriers that exist between themselves and those curious folks that populate the continuous improvement corners of the organization. The arcane (probably to...
The next significant shift in Six Sigma will come from the jettisoning of the time-worn satisfaction model for the more realistic and information-laden customer value paradigm. The value model is significantly better suited to the information needs of Six Sigma. To...
The answer is simple, when it’s a value problem. Value is the relationship between the quality of an organization’s product or service offering and the price that they charge for it. When your customers complain about the price what they may be...
Public Utility Improves Customer and Shareholder Value. The management team at a large Midwestern utility was faced with a perplexing situation. Despite providing gas and electricity at prices that were at or below any neighboring utilities, customers believed that...
Equipment Distributor Targets Key Markets, Quadruples Company Size In 1994, the management team of a very large heavy equipment dealership recognized that the nature of competition was changing dramatically, and that it would no longer be possible to compete...
Mining Equipment Company Streamlines Operations and Qualifies for New Business. A multi-national manufacturer of mining equipment was faced with a significant decline in business at one of its international locations. The alarming aspect of this decline was that...
Telecommunications Firm Improves Equipment Delivery Time and Reduces Churn. A wireless telecommunications provider, serving primarily business customers, was faced with a losing business proposition: with a churn rate approaching 50%, the company would have churned...
Manufacturer in Declining Industry Makes Breakthrough Market Share and Profitability Gains. A small manufacturer of conveying, drying, and blending equipment for the plastics industry found itself in the unenviable position of actually losing market share in an...
If Only You'd Ask! (Are you really listening to the voice of the customer?) Hey, Mr. Six Sigma Blackbelt. It’s me, your customer. I hear all of you six sigma guys talking about how important it is to understand and listen to the voice of the customer, but if you...
Strategic planning has different purposes at different levels of the organization. At the Corporate level, the central purpose is planning for growth. At the level of the Business Unit or Division, the purpose of planning is to identify strategic opportunities for...
