Procurement process of GlaxoSmithKline includes Six Sigma implementation

GlaxoSmithKline’s Janan Johnson, director of procurement for corporate services, was nominated by Business Travel News as the 2005 International Travel Manager of the Year at the Association of Corporate Travel Executives conference in London last week. The approach adopted by GlaxoSmithKline for its procurement process includes Six Sigma methodology.

According to Susan Lancaster, director of procurement at BTI, Johnson has avoided using Six Sigma principles in isolation, as is so often the case. Johnson approaches procurement by applying Six Sigma on both the operations and services sectors. BTI is also implementing Six Sigma to its relationship with another global airline. BTNOnline.com reports:

GSK’s hard-core procurement approach also incorporates Six Sigma processes. While Lancaster said other customers use Six Sigma, “they tend to do it in what I call isolation. Janan has used procurement processes all the way through the program, using the procurement tool and applying Six Sigma not only operationally, but also on the service side.