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Online Holiday Shopping at 2 Sigma

Metrics are business, product and process specific performance measurements. We can learn a tremendous amount from benchmarking similar processes of different businesses - but they must be interpreted for your purposes.

Below is a short list of customer CTQs (Critical To Quality attributes) with a sample measurement framework. Remember, the key is a metric system that reflects what is truly important to your customer. Not every business should have the exact same metrics.

Six Sigma Sample Metrics Measure Opportunity Defect Web site availability Every minute between October 31 and December 25 One minute of downtime Order status availability A customer need or request for status through phone, Web, online chat, email or other channel An order status not provided, missing or unavailable Product delivery performance Each item purchased with the customer's expectation of delivery before the holidays A purchase delivered after the holidays Customer service response time (email) A customer inquiry for information A return response reaching the customer in excess of 4 hours Customer service response time (online chat) A customer inquiry for information A customer waiting more than 5 seconds for a representative to begin a chat

Also remember that while all processes should be measured to ensure control, many customer experiences can be mistake proofed (Poka Yoke). The metric on-time delivery, for instance, has next business day delivery limitations. Customers can't order products on a Sunday evening at 10 p.m. and expect delivery on Monday. The online customer experience, however, can mistake proof the situation by asking for a required delivery date and verifying the possibility with suppliers before allowing the customer to place the order. It can also present the option of customer pick-up at a local brick-and-morter store.

Will this year 2000 holiday season bring a higher level of quality and customer service to customers? We can only wait and see, but rest assured that iSixSigma will be there charting the evolutionary progress.

First Page > Customer Expectations for Online Holiday Shopping