LEAN SIX SIGMA PHILOSOPHY CREATE COMPANIES AND SUPPLY CHAINS THAT IS AGILE

Resumo

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to investigate whether a combined Lean Six Sigma (L6S) philosophy can help to improve agility on supply chain and companies. Individual organizations cannot get agility, until they invest in their supply chain’s agility. Agile Supply Chain is recognized as very difficult to achieve in practice, and use of Lean Six Sigma Philosophy can be one option to get it.

Design/methodology/approach: The research follows the cases study methodology. A theory background is used with the objective of know how the executives and academics see the concept of agility in supply chain (sc) and companies. Furthermore, multiple-case study has been performed, by means of qualitative methods of data collection, such as observations, document analysis and face-to-face interviews with different specialist. Pattern matching is used to compare the empirical result with the predictive one from literature.

Findings: This research demonstrate positively that L6S can help to improve to agility on supply chain and companies. The seven companies included in the study have integrated some tools and methods from both philosophies and all have aligned L6S with good results in agility concept. Also, shows that using L6S philosophy production speed will increase and responsiveness and flexibility will improve combined with a more robust process. It has been indicated that agility implies increased variation, where a Six Sigma approach is useful controlling and monitoring such variations. 

Originality/value: The research point out that a combined Lean Six Sigma philosophy develop the Agile Supply Chain and companies. Lean and Agility philosophies are closely related, and the Lean philosophy may be one stage into the development of agility. Although at the same time, they differ in many respects.

Paper type: Case study.