Lean and Six Sigma – Key Similarities and Differences?

Lean and Six Sigma are probably the most researched, published and utilized Continuous Improvement methodologies in Operations Management and Supply Chain. Lot of guys in my team are eager to learn both Lean and Six Sigma tools but they don’t always know which method and tools are applied in which problem scenario. I thought I should try  to answer this problem scenario….

One way to look at how lean management and six sigma can complement each other is comparing the strengths and weaknesses of both, as shown in Table below, to understand their correlation. This Table identify the strengths and weakness  for both lean and six sigma, highlight the fact that both philosophies complement each others’ strengths and weaknesses, address process variation reduction, waste reduction, reduction in non-value added work and cycle time at the same time . However, in the current literature it is still not clear how companies can systematically select and align Lean Six Sigma tools, or, in other words, what processes should  companies adopt to systematically select and evaluate use of available CI methodologies to achieve the desired strategic or reactive goal link with their supply chain strategy? Hope fully below mentioned summary can help you with this.