Marc Wouters

2016

Delivery reliability is seen by many as a potential source for competitive advantage. To establish and sustain high performance, the combination of the data driven quality management concepts Lean and Six Sigma with the people-oriented principles of Total Quality Management is promising. Analyses in this paper demonstrate that delivery reliability in make-to-stock environments is not just driven by inventory levels. Many improvement opportunities relate to functional interfaces, so that the incorporation of the human factor proves critical for success. This paper presents an approach how to embed the related continuous improvement in the existing organization at the case of BASF. Periodic process performance indicator (PPI) monitoring in standard software grants an end-to-end view on the customer order fulfillment process, while cross-functional periodic meetings drive the root cause identification and the implementation of countermeasures. In this manner, delivery reliability was sustainably improved by 10%-points for the investigated entity.