A few retail companies have attempted to adapt this methodology to their
business with mixed success. Perhaps most notable was former CEO Bob Nardelli's
attempt to adapt his systems from his former employer, General Electric, to the
retail industry. One inherent problem with attempting to apply Six Sigma to
retail is that retail involves providing service to people, and Six Sigma
focuses on reducing defects.
Therefore, successfully implementing Six sigma in
the retail domain requires treating deficiency areas as defects. Home Depot
successfully reduced its workforce and implemented training programs for the
remaining employees in order to reduce defects. This approach worked well on
paper, but in application led to massive frustration from the employees and the
customers due to the lack of salespeople on the floor at any one time. Although
the employees were better trained, they were now required to help 22.8 customers
per hour rather than the previous 13.4. Other retailers are learning from such
misadventures and are adjusting the methodology to better suit their company
goals.
