Success Stories
Seven case studies are presented:
- An inability to accurately estimate completion dates for appliance repairs identified factors other than the actual work required to repair the item
- A company was receiving a lot of requests for short-term services rather than long-term contracts. The team identified the contracting process as the issue and, by improving that process, helped to grow the business.
- By identifying a problem in a manufacturing facility, a team was able to boost yields by 85% and save the company the cost of opening a second factory to meet demand.
- A significant boost in late payments was traced to bills that were not paid because of mistakes in orders. By improving accuracy, the team not only addressed the late payment problem, but also improved customer satisfaction.
- Efficiency in making on-site repairs was addressed by changing the scheduling system to ensure that follow-on repairs were handled by the same technician (rather than a random one from a pool).
- By identifying "eight major reasons" that there were defects in loan contracts, a team was able to help a mortgage company sell more of its paper, improving liquidity and increasing their capacity
- A team looked into customer complains about a specific model of automobile and, by improving that design, improved customer satisfaction with that model.
Some of the key points communicated by these case studies are: the breadth of solutions SS can provide (not just manufacturing); the impact SS improvements can have on a company's core business operations; and the ability of SS to identify causes that seemed unlikely.