By the late 1990s, about two thirds of the Fortune 500 organizations had begun Six Sigma initiatives with the aim of reducing costs and improving quality.

In 1998 GE announced $350 million in cost savings thanks to Six Sigma, which was an important factor in the spread of Six Sigma (this figure later grew to more than $1 billion). As GE's CEO, in 1995 Jack Welch made it central to his business strategy. Honeywell and General Electric were also early adopters of Six Sigma. In 2005 Motorola attributed over $17 billion in savings to Six Sigma. Service Mark 1,647,704) on December 28, 1993, it registered Six Sigma as a trademark. It registered Six Sigma as a service mark on J( U.S. Motorola pioneered Six Sigma, setting a 'six sigma' goal for its manufacturing business. The term Six Sigma originates from statistical quality control, a reference to the fraction of a normal curve that lies within six standard deviations of the mean, used to represent a defect rate. Each Six Sigma project follows a defined methodology and has specific value targets, such as reducing pollution or increasing customer satisfaction.

This is done by using empirical and statistical quality management methods and by hiring people who serve as Six Sigma experts. Six Sigma strategies seek to improve manufacturing quality by identifying and removing the causes of defects and minimizing variability in manufacturing and business processes. It was introduced by American engineer Bill Smith while working at Motorola in 1986. Six Sigma ( 6σ) is a set of techniques and tools for process improvement.

Six sigma success stories