How Xerox Built a Company-Wide Lean Six Sigma Program

Xerox Corporation is one of the most recognized names in business technology. It invented the photocopier. It pioneered the laser printer. It transformed how offices manage documents worldwide. And in the 2000s, it made a commitment that would reshape how it works internally.

Xerox made Lean Six Sigma a company-wide operating discipline. Not a pilot program. Not a department initiative. A full organizational commitment — from the CEO to the front line — designed to improve quality, reduce costs, and deliver measurable value to customers.

This article draws entirely from Xerox’s own published documentation. Every fact is traceable to an official Xerox source.

Does Xerox use Lean Six Sigma?

Yes. Xerox has made Lean Six Sigma a major, company-wide commitment. According to Xerox’s official Lean Six Sigma brochure published by Xerox Corporation, the company has trained 1,300 Black Belts, 9,000 Green Belts, and 45,000 Yellow Belts. More than 70% of Xerox’s senior executives are Green Belt trained. Xerox has completed more than 7,500 Lean Six Sigma projects across every area of the business.

The company applies three distinct Lean Six Sigma methodologies: DMAIC for re-engineering existing processes, DMEDI for optimizing new processes, and DfLSS (Design for Lean Six Sigma) for customer-driven design of new technologies. Xerox also developed its own rapid problem-solving tool called QwikSolver, which brings data-driven decision-making to all employees — not just belt-certified practitioners.

Key Takeaways

• Xerox officially describes Lean Six Sigma as “a major, company-wide commitment” in its published corporate documentation.
• Xerox CEO and Chairman Ursula Burns stated: “We will continue to use tools like Lean Six Sigma to bring great value to our customers.” This statement appears in Xerox’s official Lean Six Sigma brochure.
• Xerox has trained 1,300 Black Belts, 9,000 Green Belts, and 45,000 Yellow Belts, and more than 70% of senior executives hold Green Belt certification.
• Xerox has completed more than 7,500 Lean Six Sigma projects across every area of the business.
• Xerox applies three Lean Six Sigma methodologies: DMAIC, DMEDI, and DfLSS (Design for Lean Six Sigma).
• Xerox developed QwikSolver, a proprietary rapid improvement tool. As of the brochure’s publication, 5,800 employees had been QwikSolver trained and 3,100 had completed a project using the tool.
• Xerox deploys Black Belts and Green Belts as customer-facing consultants. They help clients save up to 35% of total document costs. Document management typically consumes 5% to 15% of a company’s total revenue.
• Xerox applied Lean Six Sigma externally. For Medtronic’s Tempe campus, a Xerox-supported project eliminated 78% of non-value-added mail center activities and reduced non-essential mail by 88.5% over 13 months.

The Commitment: A CEO-Level Priority

Xerox did not adopt Lean Six Sigma as a back-office initiative. The company described it as a disciplined methodology that “builds on our award-winning quality tradition” and drives “dramatic improvements in every aspect of our business.”

That language comes directly from Xerox’s own published Lean Six Sigma brochure. The brochure opens with a clear statement: “We have made a major, company-wide commitment to Lean Six Sigma.”

The commitment started at the top. Ursula Burns, then Chairman and CEO of Xerox Corporation, placed her name directly on the brochure’s central message. She stated: “We will continue to use tools like Lean Six Sigma to bring great value to our customers. Now is time to take Lean Six Sigma to a place of greatness within Xerox and on behalf of our customers.”

These are not marketing words. They are the operating priority of the company’s most senior executive. When the CEO of a Fortune 500 company attaches her name to a quality methodology, it signals organizational commitment at the highest possible level.

Xerox’s 2006 Annual Report, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, reinforces this commitment in formal regulatory disclosure language. The filing states that Xerox uses “such programs as Lean Six Sigma” to drive productivity improvements. Listing Lean Six Sigma in an SEC filing signals that the program is material to how the company operates and competes.

Also Read: Six Sigma at General Electric: A Case Study in Results

The Scale: Training Across the Entire Organization

Xerox did not implement Lean Six Sigma in one division or one country. Its official brochure documents the program’s scale across the entire organization.

The numbers are specific and large:

• 1,300 Black Belts trained or certified and active or back in operations
• 9,000 Green Belts trained or certified
• 45,000 Yellow Belts
• More than 70% of Senior Executives Green Belt trained
• More than 7,500 projects completed in every area of the business

These figures represent one of the largest corporate Lean Six Sigma deployments documented in any official company publication. The breadth of the training — from senior executives to thousands of frontline employees — reflects Xerox’s stated goal of making continuous improvement part of the company’s culture, not just a specialist function.

Embedding Lean Six Sigma at the senior executive level matters because process improvement projects require sponsorship, resource allocation, and organizational authority. A Green Belt certification at the senior executive level means the leaders who approve budgets and make operating decisions speak the language of DMAIC, data collection, and root cause analysis. They understand what a project needs to succeed.

Three Methodologies for Different Problems

Xerox does not apply a single rigid methodology to every improvement situation. Its official brochure documents three distinct Lean Six Sigma methodologies, each matched to a different type of improvement challenge.

DMAIC: Re-Engineering Existing Processes

DMAIC stands for Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control. Xerox describes it as “a standard approach for re-engineering existing processes.”

Xerox’s DMAIC implementation follows five structured phases. The Define phase establishes the problem statement and success criteria. The Measure phase identifies the current state and where the process can be streamlined. The Analyze phase identifies root causes, time-intensive activities, and non-value-added steps. The Improve phase develops and pilots solutions and conducts failure analysis. The Control phase implements the solution, monitors success, and develops process controls and mistake proofing.

Xerox uses specific tools at each phase. SIPOC maps the process at the Define stage. Value Stream Mapping identifies non-value-added, business value-added, and customer value-added steps during Measure. Pareto charts, regression analysis, and bar charts support the Analyze phase. Solution selection methods drive the Improve phase. Dashboards and visual process controls sustain results in Control.

Xerox conducts formal Toll Gate Reviews between each phase. These reviews confirm that the team has completed each phase’s required outputs before advancing. The toll gate structure prevents teams from skipping root cause analysis and jumping directly to solutions.

DMEDI: Optimizing New Processes

DMEDI stands for Define, Measure, Explore, Develop, and Implement. Xerox’s brochure identifies it as “ideal for optimizing new processes.”

When a process does not yet exist — or when the existing process is so far from requirements that redesigning from scratch is more efficient than improving it — DMEDI provides the framework. The Explore and Develop phases replace the Analyze and Improve phases of DMAIC, reflecting the different work required for designing something new rather than correcting something that already runs.

DfLSS: Design for Lean Six Sigma

DfLSS stands for Design for Lean Six Sigma. Xerox describes it as “used, with specialized tools, for customer-driven design of new technologies and services.”

Xerox notes in its brochure that DfLSS “has now launched in our product development and delivery value chain.” Customers have seen greater value from new technologies and solutions developed under this approach. As a result, Xerox reports that “more enterprises in more industries are seeing more reasons to become our customers.”

This statement directly connects Lean Six Sigma methodology to commercial growth. Better-designed products attract more customers. Quality improvement drives revenue.

QwikSolver: Bringing Lean Six Sigma to Every Employee

Xerox recognized that Lean Six Sigma’s impact is limited if it only applies to formally belt-certified practitioners. The company responded by developing QwikSolver — a proprietary tool that brings data-driven decision-making to employees without full belt certification.

Xerox’s brochure describes QwikSolver as “bringing the power of data-driven decision-making to the masses, helping employees who are not trained as Lean Six Sigma belts to access the tools and apply the methodologies in day-to-day real business.”

QwikSolver uses the same five-phase DMAIC logic:

• Define the issue: What do we need to resolve?
• Measure what matters: What are the current situation and impact to the business?
• Analyze the causes: What caused this and how do we know? For deep evaluation, ask Why? Why? Why?
• Improve the situation: How can it be fixed?
• Control the future: How do we keep the solution in place?

The tool makes the DMAIC framework accessible without requiring statistical training. An employee facing a daily operational problem can follow the QwikSolver steps, apply basic data gathering, and implement a structured solution.

At the time of the brochure’s publication, Xerox reported:

• 5,800 employees had been QwikSolver trained
• 3,100 employees had completed a project using QwikSolver in their jobs

This is a meaningful scale of grassroots deployment. Thousands of employees across Xerox were applying structured, data-driven problem solving in their daily work — independent of formal certification programs.

Also Read: Six Sigma at 3M: A Verified Case Study in Corporate-Wide Implementation

External Impact: Xerox Deploys Black Belts for Customers

Xerox’s Lean Six Sigma program extends beyond internal improvement. The company deploys its Black Belts and Green Belts as external consultants for business customers.

Xerox’s official brochure states: “Our Black Belts are helping deliver expert business process consulting and assessment services. They help find ways to save up to 35% of our customers’ total document costs and leverage their IT and infrastructure investments.”

The financial context makes this significant. Xerox’s own research, based on assessments with more than 300 customers, found that “document management costs usually consume between 5 to 15% of a company’s total revenue.” For a mid-sized business with $100 million in revenue, this means $5 to $15 million per year in document management costs. Saving 35% of that figure produces a real, quantified financial impact.

Xerox also documents two customer case studies in its official brochure.

American Red Cross Rochester Chapter

Xerox worked with the American Red Cross Rochester Chapter through a program called the Rapid Cycle Project. The project applied Lean Six Sigma methodologies to a specific operational challenge.

The Red Cross’s sales consultants visited businesses to offer health and safety training sessions. These sessions generated community value and revenue for the organization. But the sales staff spent excessive time on paperwork, reducing the time available for direct customer engagement.

The Rapid Cycle Project focused on decreasing the paperwork time. By streamlining that process, it increased the time sales staff could spend with potential customers — directly improving the organization’s community outreach capacity and revenue-generating activities.

Medtronic Lean Six Sigma Mail Project

Medtronic, described by Xerox as “a global leader in medical technology,” was experiencing an operational problem at its Tempe campus. The campus received an excessive amount of unwanted mail. The influx consumed significant time in retrieval, sorting, and delivery.

A Lean Six Sigma-based project — conducted in collaboration with Xerox — addressed the problem with documented, measurable results:

• 78% reduction in non-value-added activities for administrative support
• 80% reduction in non-value-added activities for mail center support
• 88.5% reduction in non-essential mail over 13 months

These are specific figures from an official Xerox publication. They demonstrate what structured Lean Six Sigma problem solving produces when applied with discipline: quantified, documented, sustained improvement.

The Xerox Quality Tradition

Xerox’s commitment to Lean Six Sigma is not isolated from its broader history. Xerox has a long history of quality leadership that predates Lean Six Sigma itself. The company won the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award in 1989 — one of the most prestigious quality recognition programs in the United States. Xerox was among the first major U.S. companies to receive this recognition.

Lean Six Sigma, as Xerox’s official brochure states, “builds on our award-winning quality tradition.” The company did not adopt Lean Six Sigma as a new direction. It adopted it as the next development in a quality culture that had been building for decades.

The brochure describes the journey as something more than a project cycle: “Embedding a rigorous methodology like Lean Six Sigma into our company’s culture isn’t a short journey. It’s a deep commitment not only to near-term results but also to long-term, continuous, even breakthrough improvements.”

That framing — from the company’s own official documentation — reflects what serious, sustained Six Sigma deployment looks like. Not a one-time initiative. Not a certification drive. A cultural embedding that changes how decisions are made, how problems are solved, and how value is delivered to customers every day.

What Xerox’s Approach Teaches Practitioners

Xerox’s documented Lean Six Sigma program offers several clear lessons for any organization considering or expanding a deployment.

Leadership certification matters. Xerox trained more than 70% of its senior executives as Green Belts. Improvement projects require organizational authority. Leaders who hold Green Belt certification provide that authority from within.

Multiple methodologies serve different problem types. Xerox does not force every problem through DMAIC. It uses DMEDI for new process optimization and DfLSS for product and service design. Matching methodology to problem type produces better outcomes.

Make the tools accessible to everyone. QwikSolver brought structured problem solving to employees without full certification. Broad access multiplies the program’s reach far beyond the belt-certified community.

Deploy expertise externally. Xerox turned its Black Belt expertise into a customer-facing service. This created direct commercial value from the investment in training.

Frequently Asked Questions on Six Sigma at Xerox

Q: Does Xerox use Lean Six Sigma?

A: Yes. Xerox has officially described Lean Six Sigma as “a major, company-wide commitment” in its published corporate documentation. The company has trained 1,300 Black Belts, 9,000 Green Belts, and 45,000 Yellow Belts. More than 70% of senior executives are Green Belt trained. Xerox has completed more than 7,500 projects across every area of the business.

Q: What Lean Six Sigma methodologies does Xerox use?

A: Xerox applies three methodologies, each matched to a specific type of challenge. DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control) is used for re-engineering existing processes. DMEDI (Define, Measure, Explore, Develop, Implement) is used for optimizing new processes. DfLSS (Design for Lean Six Sigma) is used for customer-driven design of new technologies and services.

Q: What is Xerox QwikSolver?

A: QwikSolver is a proprietary Xerox tool that brings Lean Six Sigma’s data-driven decision-making framework to employees without formal belt certification. It uses a simplified five-step version of the DMAIC logic: Define the issue, Measure what matters, Analyze the causes, Improve the situation, and Control the future. At the time of its official documentation, 5,800 Xerox employees had been QwikSolver trained and 3,100 had completed a project using the tool.

Q: How does Xerox use Lean Six Sigma for its customers?

A: Xerox deploys Black Belts and Green Belts as customer-facing business process consultants. According to Xerox’s official brochure, they help customers save up to 35% of total document costs. They also collaborate with customers at managed services sites to generate ongoing measurable improvements. Xerox’s own research, based on assessments with over 300 customers, confirms that document management costs typically consume 5% to 15% of a company’s total revenue.

Q: What results did Xerox’s Lean Six Sigma achieve for Medtronic?

A: A Lean Six Sigma project conducted in collaboration with Xerox at Medtronic’s Tempe campus produced three documented results over 13 months: a 78% reduction in non-value-added activities for administrative support, an 80% reduction in non-value-added activities for mail center support, and an 88.5% reduction in non-essential mail. These figures are published in Xerox’s official Lean Six Sigma brochure.

Six Sigma Training for Organizations Serious About Quality

Xerox’s program demonstrates what a serious, scaled Lean Six Sigma deployment looks like. It requires trained practitioners at multiple belt levels, leadership participation, and tools that make the methodology accessible beyond specialist functions.

Building that capability starts with proper training.

At Six Sigma Development Solutions Inc., our Green Belt and Black Belt programs train practitioners in the same DMAIC methodology, tollgate structure, and tool set that programs like Xerox’s are built on.

We offer training in three formats:

• Onsite training — delivered at your facility, building skills directly in your operational context.
• Live virtual training — instructor-led sessions online with real-time interaction.
• Online training — self-paced Green Belt and Black Belt programs on your schedule.

Explore our Six Sigma training programs or contact our team to find the right program for your organization.

Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Training Brochure

Related Articles

• Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Training Brochure
• Lean Six Sigma White Belt Training Brochure
• LEAN Certification Training Brochure
• Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt Training Brochure
• Fast Track to the Black Belt Training Brochure