Here are some things to know about Six Sigma SIPOC. The acronym SIPOC (Suppliers, Inputs, Processes, Outputs, and Customers) is a high-calibre method of doing business that shows how today’s customer service process really works. It breaks down exactly what needs to be done and how it needs to be done.
Suppliers will provide inputs for your process. The Inputs will define the service and material, as well as the information that is used to produce any output. This process will be a defined series of activities that typically adds value to inputs to generate outputs for customers. The Products will be the services, products and/or information that are of value to consumers.
Customers will be the users of these products produced by these processes. What Six Sigma SIPOC essentially is, is a map of the highest calibre. When a company makes the moves to improve quality, it will implement this method with great success. It helps the business better understand that what they are implementing is becoming more efficient, which in turn makes it happen.
Creating a SIPOC diagram will be a team activity for you that involves brainstorming to find the hard-to-see details. The team will be made up of the stakeholders and other relevant parties involved in all of this. When implementing SIPOC for new processes under design, it would be a good idea to start with the customer and work all the way back to the supplier. There is a different way through the existing process. For this scenario, start with the definition of the process, and then move on to identifying your products, your customers, your inputs, and then your suppliers.
Process mapping will take process description to a new level of understanding. While verbal descriptions can provide the basics of this process, a map clarifies the flow of each event in the process. A team will then see if there is a good path for the process or if there are obstacles in the way of bottlenecks, rework, etc.
One aspect of mapping Six Sigma processes within an organization is the expectation that the process within a department can be described in different ways. This could be the result of incorporated organizations, and not so much of merger processes. It could simply be the variety of employees carrying out the process.
One way to document the process is to take a tour with others. Meeting with other associates who will be doing the process gives you an opportunity to work together to provide insight into what exactly the current steps are. Help build the variety of the Six Sigma team.
