Implementation of Lean Six Sigma in Small Medium Enterprise: Illustrated with C.C.P. Contact Probes Co., Ltd.

The consumer electronics market is changing fast due to new technology and consumers’ desire of having more innovative products. In order to survive in this highly competitive market while remaining profitable, firms would often cut down cost by producing in countries with low labor cost such as China or Vietnam. However, such strategy can not retain in the long term due to the increasing labor wage in those countries. The alternative solution, which this research would like to emphasize on, is to focus on having an efficient factory that would reduce waste and increase throughput with less labors. Lean Six Sigma is often introduced into companies in order to improve overall operations. Although there are many cases of successful implementation of Six Sigma and Lean System in well-known firms like Motorola and Toyota, there are not many cases of the implementation of those systems in Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Given that Taiwan recognized as the hub of manufacturers internationally, and most manufacturers in Taiwan are considered as SMEs, it would be beneficial to those Taiwanese SMEs if relevant, successful implementation cases were available for reference. This research intends on demonstrating how Lean Six Sigma could be introduced into a SME, while sharing successful factors that would enhance the process of implementing the system. The research structure is based on Six Sigma’s technique- DMAIC, and would use a Taiwanese manufacturer, C.C.P. Contact Probes Ltd (CCP), as an example. Starting from defining what to improve base on the customer’s request, measures used to evaluate the success of Lean Six Sigma, and obstacles that CCP had encountered during the implantation of Lean Six Sigma will be analyzed. The result of the improvement will then be reviewed from the operational perspective, and also from the financial perspective