Application of Lean Six Sigma to Manage Consumer Goods Inventory Policies in Periods of Crisis

Abstract

This work was developed during the COVID-19 pandemic, in a multinational consumer goods company that has been suffering from the high use of internal stocks, leading to the use of external warehouses, as well as the destruction of materials. The objective of the work is to apply Lean Six Sigma tools to find ways to correct current inventory policies, so that they can withstand crisis or instability
environments. Bibliographic research and internal company documents were used to carry out case studies in qualitative exploratory research. The results obtained indicate that the root cause of the problem was the planners' insecurity in following the current inventory policy, which could lead to
shortages and shutdown of the factory. The solution proposal, part of the Lean tools studied throughout the work, is the application of a single ABCD classification from finished items to raw materials, making this last classification dependent on the first, making it possible to identify priority raw materials in cases of instability, avoiding shortages of materials that impact the majority of the company's revenue.