Title: Lean Six Sigma in services: a systematic review of the literature

Authors: Siham Alami-Chentoufi; Abdelali En-Nadi

Addresses: Laboratory of Industrial Techniques, Faculty of Sciences and Techniques, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, Fez, Morocco ' Laboratory of Industrial Techniques, Faculty of Sciences and Techniques, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, Fez, Morocco

Abstract: The culture of continuous improvement is weakly anchored in most services, which face similar quality, time, profitability, and customer satisfaction requirements as industries. Service companies such as financial institutions, banks, call centres, and insurance companies can benefit from Lean Six Sigma (LSS), a methodology that combines Lean's process acceleration and Six Sigma's performance reliability. Despite its popularity and proven effectiveness, LSS faces challenges and requires continuous enhancement. This article systematically reviews 102 general literature articles on LSS in the service industry, analysing its implementation. The study classifies the number of citations in articles regarding LSS across departments, identifies 11 major challenges in deploying LSS, 8 critical success factors for its implementation and sustainability, 13 tools for addressing process improvement, and 8 main benefits of LSS in the service sector.

Keywords: Lean Six Sigma; LSS; services; challenges; critical success factors; benefits.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSOM.2026.155442

International Journal of Services and Operations Management, 2026 Vol.54 No.3, pp.351 - 377

Received: 14 Dec 2023
Accepted: 27 Jan 2024
Published online: 03 Aug 2026 *

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