SIPOC

In process improvement, SIPOC or suppliers, inputs, process, outputs and customers (sometimes in the
reversed order: COPIS) is a tool that summarizes the inputs and outputs of one or more business processes
in table form, with each of the words forming a column in the table used in the analysis.[1][2] It is used to
define a business process from beginning to end before work on process improvement begins.

History
It was in use at least as early as the total quality management programs of the late 1980s[a] and continues to
be used today in Six Sigma, lean manufacturing, and business process management.

COPIS variant
To emphasize putting the needs of the customer foremost, the tool is sometimes called COPIS and the
process information is filled out in reverse order by starting with the customer and working upstream to the
supplier.

Use
The SIPOC is often presented at the outset of process improvement efforts such as kaizen events or during
the "define" phase of the DMAIC process.[3][4] It has three typical uses depending on the audience:

To give people who are unfamiliar with a process a high-level overview

To reacquaint people whose familiarity with a process has faded or become out-of-date due
to process changes
To help people in defining a new process

Aspects

Several aspects of the SIPOC that may not be readily apparent are:

Suppliers and customers may be internal or external to the organization that performs the
process.
Inputs and outputs may be materials, services, or information.
The focus is on capturing the set of inputs and outputs rather than the individual steps in the
process.[b]

Mapping
To create a SIPOC diagram, one must first map the overall process in a few steps. Then one must identify
process outputs, who will receive them, and what the necessary inputs and suppliers are for each process.
The final step is to share the diagram with the stakeholders to evaluate and verify the results. [5]

Example
Example SIPOC: Automobile repair
Supplier Input Process Output Customer

Schedule
Appointment date
visit
Repair inquiry and time
Diagnose
Vehicle for repair Repair
Vehicle owner problem
Permission to recommendations
Customer Prepare and cost estimates Vehicle owner
proceed with
service work order Mechanic
individual Work order
representative Source Customer
recommendations Parts for approved
Facility parts service
Open bay repairs
manager Perform representative
Parts for approved Repaired vehicle
Parts window repairs
repairs Telephone/e-
Notify that
Observations mail/text message
service is
notification
complete

See also
Input–process–output (IPO) model
5 whys
Value stream mapping
IDEF, a functional modelling language

Notes
a. The SIPOC is a simplification of a tool that author and quality guru, Philip Crosby called a
Process Model. The Process Model had additional parts, but the center of the process model
was in fact a SIPOC. For example, compare the steps in preparing a SIPOC with the "Xerox
Quality Improvement Process" presented in Kearns, David T.; Nadler, David A. (1992).
"Appendix 7". Prophets in the Dark: How Xerox Reinvented Itself and Beat Back the
Japanese (https://books.google.com/books?id=XIa2AAAAIAAJ). New York: HarperCollins.
p. 318. ISBN 9780887305641. OCLC 25283632 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/25283632).
b. The capture of individual process steps in detail is the focus of business process mapping.

References
1. Simon, Kerri (26 February 2010). "SIPOC Diagram" (http://www.isixsigma.com/tools-templat
es/sipoc-copis/sipoc-diagram/). Ridgefield, Connecticut: iSixSigma. Retrieved 2012-07-03.
2. "SIPOC (Suppliers, Inputs, Process, Outputs, Customers) Diagram" (http://asqservicequality.
org/glossary/sipoc-suppliers-inputs-process-outputs-customers-diagram/). Milwaukee,
Wisconsin: American Society for Quality. Retrieved 2020-01-29.
3. Saxena, Sanjaya Kumar (June 2007). "SIPOC" (http://www.discover6sigma.org/post/2007/0
6/sipoc/). Noida, India. Retrieved 2012-07-03.
 4. Simon, Kerri (26 February 2010). "SIPOC DIAGRAM" (https://www.isixsigma.com/tools-temp
lates/sipoc-copis/sipoc-diagram/). Retrieved 2020-03-07.
5. Simon, Kerri (26 February 2010). "SIPOC Diagram" (http://www.isixsigma.com/tools-templat
es/sipoc-copis/sipoc-diagram/). Ridgefield, Connecticut: iSixSigma. Retrieved 2019-09-21.

External links
SIPOC Template (http://www.hitdocs.com/sipoc-diagram-xlsx/)
SIPOC Methodology (https://www.managementstudyguide.com/sipoc-methodology.htm)

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