Motorola, Allied Signal, GE and Honeywell are some the companies that started and refined the Six Sigma quality concept. The methodology includes the use of an advanced set of tools, designed to solve problems faced by the company and improvement in the quality of work.

Enterprise Cost Reduction

Companies should conduct a thorough check of the costs involved, in the same way that they view revenue generation and market expansion.

Enterprise cost reduction is a wider approach towards controlling the company’s expenses and leading the organization towards improvement. It does not only imply focusing on specific operational processes. Enterprise cost reduction addresses a number of key cost-aspects that span the enterprise, such as the business configuration, organizational structure and design, business and process complexity, external expenses and the benefits.

Addressing any one of these cost aspects produces an impressive cost flow understanding. Cost reduction offers the opportunity to examine all the business areas and identify the savings, both within and between those areas. These aspects or ‘drivers’ determine how far the organization can stretch to reduce costs, without it having a negative impact on the organization’s culture and strategy and targets.

The cost reduction achieved in one area of the business through such a program can be identified within another area. There will be a visible shift in the amount and nature of work in the applied area of the business.

External Spending

It is essential to identify the large and small costs incurred by the business. The savings on the purchase of the raw material and on the business trips add up to a considerable amount of money. This could be utilized for the promotional campaigns of the product. This in turn affects the sales and again the business turnover. Improved product sourcing and the controlled expenses can generate dramatic cost reduction.

It pays to investigate the raw materials being purchased and the source. The company must indulge in the products of more than one supplier, to ensure the availability of reasonably priced and quality goods, whenever required.

Most companies spend a lot of time focusing on improvements in sales only. Their most common indulgence is to negotiate with buyers for a greater unit price.

Any organization can benefit from dramatic cost savings by indulging in the Enterprise cost reduction effort. Cost reduction needs a strategic and methodical approach. Six sigma and other similar techniques make important contributions to the business, particularly by helping them to adapt to and monitor the effects of change that is necessary. The Enterprise cost reduction concept ensures fundamental and sustainable improvement to the company. Six Sigma helps the enterprise and its employees equally and can be understood as a vision, a philosophy, a symbol, a metric, a goal and a profitable methodology.