S&OP, Lean and Six Sigma: a Powerful Trio

摘要

One of my master planners recently asked me: "Are lean and six sigma supportive of each other? And how do they work within a sales and operations planning (S&OP) process model?" Despite its thorny nature, I loved the inquiry. In recent years, S&OP reached critical mass while lean and six sigma faded in, out and then back in to vogue. As organizations superficially cycled through training and implementation, many supply chain managers, including me, cynically referred to lean and six sigma as the "program of the month." But 1 was wrong to think that way, and these questions made me probe my own skepticism.