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Macy's Case Study

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Introduction
Macy’s has been a pinnacle of success; spanning over a century, delivering nearly 160 years of quality service. Founded in 1858 by R. H. Macy in New York City, New York; its humble beginnings began as a dry goods store – R.H. Macy & Company – in the cities North district (Hanson, 2015).
Through much trial and error, as well as, perseverance and innovation, Macy’s has proved to be a driving force in the retail market. By 1924, they grew to be the largest store in the world; and by 2014, were the 16th largest retail store in the United States. (Hanson, 2015) Their creativity in sales and marketing, inventory management, and customer service are all quality benefactors of their long history. Many of Macy’s innovations have quite literally …show more content…

While looking to enhance quality levels, a group of Motorola engineers designed a set of quality management tools that utilized statistical data as an approach toward the reduction of defects, and the improved maintenance of quality (Reddy & Hutton, 2013). Focusing on process improvement and variation reduction, Six Sigma uses a measurement-based strategy to improve quality, based on a systematic methodology known by its acronym - DMAIC (iSixSigma, 2012). Once problematic issues are recognized, the DMAIC model strives toward finding a long-term solution through the five phases of defining systems. By measuring key aspects of the current process for data collection, analyzing the collected data and verifying cause and effect relationships, improving current processes from data analysis, and controlling operations to prevent impact in any future process disruptions (Wallace & Webber, …show more content…

Lean Six Sigma concepts were introduced in the book titled Leaning into Six Sigma: The Path to Integration of Lean Enterprise and Six Sigma (Lean Six Sigma). Lean Six Sigma methodologies combine lean manufacturing and Six Sigma strategies to rely on improved performance from a collective team effort that systematically reduces variation and removes seven kinds of waste, known as Muda. Muda includes any unnecessary motion, transport, wait time, inappropriate processing, excess inventory, overproduction, and defects (Lean Six Sigma). Furthermore, Lean Six Sigma methods aim to provide customers with the best possible quality, cost, and delivery (ASQ.org, n.d.). In all, Lean Six Sigma is a business performance improvement strategy that uses a systematic approach to improving the way people advance processes. Its methodologies allow for systematically enriched processes to satisfy the customer and make money. Simply put, Lean Six Sigma as a business enhancer, ingrained with tools and techniques people can use to learn how to improve their processes (iSixSigma,

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