A model to assess readiness and evaluate the return of Lean Six Sigma implementation, with a pilot study in an Italian Pharmaceutical Company

At a time in history when uncertainty dominates markets and the international context, Lean Six Sigma is a performance improvement approach that can provide robustness toward the present and ensure greater security toward the future. Despite the continued popularity of Lean Six Sigma, along with many success stories, there still are many cases of unsuccessful implementation, mainly due to organizations not being ready and the inability of Lean Six Sigma projects to provide a return on investment. In this paper, the authors, based on a literature review, propose an innovative model to assess the readiness of an organization for Lean Six Sigma implementation and to prioritize improvement projects by estimating their Return on Investment. The readiness assessment is based on the analysis of critical success factors together with the ability to contribute to business objectives. The Return on Investment is estimated by introducing innovative measures such as Return On Muda, Return On Variability, Return On Quality, Return On Satisfaction and Return On Engagement. The model has been tested in an Italian pharmaceutical company. The result of the application shows what steps the company must take to ensure both economic and cultural returns, as well as the success of Lean Six Sigma projects.