Process Excellence explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.
Ninety-one per cent on-time delivery against an industry average of fifty-five. Worth a great deal, and recognisable as nothing.
The programme
Wipro was the first Indian IT firm to have established a robust framework for the implementation of Six Sigma in 1997. Through the years, the Six Sigma Program at Wipro evolved to become among the most mature in the industry with 91% of its projects being completed on time, as against the industry average of 55%. As Wipro scaled the Six Sigma ladder, it has rolled out close to a 1000 project. The Six Sigma Program significantly impacts several departments at Wipro, namely: project management, market development and resource utilization.
As its Six Sigma program neared maturity, Wipro noticed the following phenomena:
- Several large-scale projects had all been completed.
- Adopting the Yellow Belt Culture had helped solve several small problems before they could become big ones.
- An achievement of close to 250%, 6 minutes for data transfer of 1 MB and 18 minutes for average data transfer. The target rate was at 200%.
- Lower maintenance costs, schedule overrun costs, and development costs for customers.
The Standard's note is careful: while Six Sigma certification helps improve process and may lead to improved results for the organisation. But the process is so ingrained into the organisation that it may not meet the separability criteria.
The reasoning differs subtly from the certification cases. A PCMM or ISO certificate fails separability because it attaches to the assessed entity. Six Sigma fails for a stronger reason — there is no discrete thing to separate. What exists is a way of working, distributed across project managers, engineers and the Yellow Belt Culture that trained them.
Ask the separability question directly: could Wipro sell its Six Sigma capability while keeping its business? The methodology is public. The training is available to anyone. What cannot be transferred is twenty years of the organisation doing it — and that is not an asset, it is the organisation.
Note the difference in the guidance too. On certifications the text says they may not qualify to be recorded as separate intangible. Here it adds a further instruction: valuers and accountants should use careful judgement and applicable regulations before considering to identify this as a separate intangible in the Financial Statements. The invitation is to think, not to apply a rule.
Economically the capability behaves like assembled workforce — real, valuable, contributing to every cash flow, and absorbed into goodwill rather than recognised. In a MEEM it would properly attract a contributory asset charge even though it appears on no balance sheet.
The measurable advantage
| Metric | Wipro | Benchmark |
|---|---|---|
| Projects completed on time | 91% | Industry average 55% |
| Data transfer achievement | Close to 250% | Target 200% |
| Projects rolled out | Close to 1,000 | — |
A 36-point gap in on-time delivery is quantifiable in exactly the terms the with and without method needs — schedule overrun costs avoided, maintenance costs reduced, win rates on delivery-sensitive contracts.
Valuation against recognition
The split is the same one that runs through the certification cases. Process excellence is captured in the value of the business and, on an acquisition, inside goodwill — which subsumes the value of an acquired intangible asset that is not identifiable as of the acquisition date and could at times include elements of assembled workforce, going concern value.
It is not captured as a named intangible, and a purchase price allocation that creates one invites challenge.
Common mistakes
- Recognising a methodology or culture as a separate intangible asset.
- Concluding that unrecognisable process excellence therefore has no value.
- Omitting it from contributory asset charges because it is not on the balance sheet.
- Attributing its benefit to a customer relationship or brand instead.