Since its inception, Six Sigma had gained acceptance throughout the world because companies quickly realized that improved quality leads to increased profits and creates a competitive advantage. Testimonials to this fact include:

Motorola, the creators of Six Sigma, have implemented it throughout their organization for over 15 years. As a result, they have documented over $16 billion in savings. Robert Galvin, former CEO of Motorola, says “If you can control the variation, you can achieve remarkable results – it’s just common sense.”

In 1995, Jack Welch, CEO of General Electric, made Six Sigma famous by firmly deploying it throughout GE with great intensity and significant success. Today, General Electric’s chairman, Jeffrey Immelt stated that Six Sigma “has become a permanent initiative – Six Sigma is the way we work.”

Other testimonials include Ford Motor Company who stated in 2004 that it had saved $2 billion since the start of its Six Sigma effort in 2000. 3M’s Larry Thomason said “the Six Sigma initiative has brought a systematic, root-cause analysis to problem solving, with a common language our people use on a global scale.” And, executives at Xerox claimed, “We knew we could be a very good company, but with Six Sigma we thought we could be outstanding – we could truly go from good to great.”

Additionally, Six Sigma can be applied to non-manufacturing or service sectors. In 2004, Duke University Hospital launched a Six Sigma program, which has already made significant improvements in a number of areas. Furthermore, former Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich said, “The CIA has to seriously consider the use of Six Sigma because of the nation’s inefficient counterterrorism.”

These testimonials make it clear that companies who use the Six Sigma methodology achieve significant cost reductions and gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace.