In order to achieve the goal of doing it right the first time , we established and communicated the process that we termed Six Sigma. Using the Six Sigma process has been critical to Motorola's success in its pursuit of continual quality improvement. Beyond this, because the pursuit of Six Sigma quality has required dramatic changes in processes and renewal of work flows, it has also driven new inventions. As a result of the effort of these teams, we have been able to serve our customers with significantly improved quality in products and services and, at the same time, we have saved millions of dollars. See the exhibits Six Sigma and Six Sigma at AlliedSignal Key process management issues Flexibility, cost reduction, and cycle time reduction are increasingly important in all aspects of process management and organisational design.
Flexibility is about adapting quickly to changing requirements.
Flexibility also increasingly involves variety in outsourcing decisions, innovation with suppliers and supplier processes, and novel partnering arrangements. Because cost , cycle time reduction and flexibility often involve similar process management strategies, all three will feature in overall, organisation-wide process management. For an example of the links between cycle time reduction and process management, see the IBM Rochester case study.