To avoid missing the woods for the trees and to get a clearer picture, let's look at some of the core reasons why businesses opt for Six Sigma project implementations.

For conforming to client or vendor requirements

Businesses, especially those that are already performing quite well, are often too busy to take the initiative of implementing time-tested quality improvement techniques such as Six Sigma. Cost is another major factor that often compels such businesses to think twice before opting for Six Sigma implementations. In fact, Six Sigma would never have made it to the top had it not been for the increasing quality awareness among customers who are becoming more and more demanding with every passing hour.

In many cases, it has been noticed that businesses opted for Six Sigma only when their clients and vendors demanded so, keeping in mind the needs and expectations of the end-user, i.e. the customer. However, in other cases it was noticed that the clients and vendors demanded so because they had already implemented Six Sigma and were facing operational problems while dealing with businesses that had not yet deployed Six Sigma.

Quality was not an issue in such cases; it was only the lack of mutual synergies that forced these businesses to opt for Six Sigma project implementations. It is another matter that quality improvements did happen eventually, even though that was not the main objective.

For neutralizing the threat of competition

Competition has always the bete noire of businesses worldwide, but with globalization, the intensity has certainly increased dramatically over the last few decades. Since survival depends a lot on how well customers take to the offered product or service, businesses seem to have no other option other than to implement Six Sigma that goes a long way in ensuring the quality of the offerings as well as making them available at cost-effective rates.

Six Sigma drastically reduces the total number of defects, thereby accruing substantial cost savings, which are then passed on to the customers. When customers get both quality and price benefits, they get hooked on to the offered product or service, something that helps businesses to build that much-needed loyal customer base. This is probably the best way to rise above the competition and be the leader of the pack.

Exceptions will always be there and businesses may have their own specific reasons for implementing Six Sigma, but if you take a majority view, you will find that most businesses had either of the two or both of the above as reasons for implementing Six Sigma. So, do not be fooled into thinking that Six Sigma comes naturally to businesses; it's just that it is currently satisfying the most vital needs of businesses worldwide, which explains its rising popularity.

Tony Jacowski is a quality analyst for The MBA Journal. Aveta Solution's Six Sigma Online offers online six sigma training and certification classes for lean six sigma, black belts, green belts, and yellow belts.

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