Six Sigma for Retail

'Defects' in Retail
Michel van Wijk, Netherlands
Dear Lek, your question is basically very general - it generates too many potential answers for the brief space that we have to respond. However a good technique is to analyze the processes you are addressing and the CSF's for your business, retail in this case. Example in the last category: out-of-stock, to differentiate for store either for warehouse. If you can produce a base measure for OOS in store (and this figure is often quite high), you have a good challenge for improvement. OOS in warehouse, on the other hand produces not only lack of delivery to the stores (with all result of loss of sales etc.) but also waste of costs in DC for non-productive pick-pack labour + additional effort to restore stock levels. Can continue with dozens of other examples but the issue is: analyze and define cost drivers with large(st) impact.

Six Sigma for Retail
Leon Booysen, Management Consultant, South Africa
Lek, start with customer complaints. As starting point this will indicate out of stock situations \ poor quality products \ poor service from staff etc.
From there you can start with the processes described in earlier comments. Regards.

Defects in Retail
sadhana ghosh, Teacher, India
In any process improvement one has to have measures. The CSFs are to be identified from the customer complaints. Some of the CSFs are common and others could be specific to the way a process functions in an organization.

Listing More Factors May Help in Improving Retail Sector
Jagdish B Acharya, Consultant, India
Leon has started a good process of listing factors of failure in the retail sector. Detailed listing by more members may help.

Six Sigma for Retail
Cristian Bleotu, Business Consultant, Romania
Hi Lek, not sure if you want to improve customer satisfaction, internal defects' reduction or efficiency? You should probably first concentrate on some of it... Michel mentioned already cost drivers with largest impact - use these to narrow your scope.
Then, clarify the objectives - if it remains: to improve efficiency. what does this mean in your case (usually it is output / inputs consumed) and what is the baseline?
If it is about the defects, similar, what does defects means for your process and what is the baseline?
After that, have a look on the process (use process map / ipo) and identify the potential causes and the proper measures.
Cristian.