7 Steps to Link Quality Improvement to Your Supply Chain

This is an excerpt of the original article. It was written for the July/August 2015 edition of Supply Chain Management Review. The full article is available to current subscribers.

July/August 2015

When it comes to career development, supply chain managers have to execute a bit of jiu jitsu. They’re charged with nding and developing the next generation of talent while simultaneously advancing their own careers in a eld that is often overlooked by senior management. The biggest challenge of all is getting their agenda in front of the Board at a time when supply chain operations are more critical than ever to an organization’s success, but still largely invisible compared to sales, marketing, and product development. Remember: It’s your career—and your supply chain. We hope this month’s issue will help you make the most of both.

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In a global economy, high performing and high quality supply chains are not only essential to delivering goods on time, global companies also depend on their supply chain processes to manage the divergent expectations of customers and suppliers, to stay one step ahead of the competition, and even to protect a company’s image. News of a lapse in quality, a failure to meet customer demand for a hot product, or a supplier that mistreats labor or uses banned materials can spread like wild fire across social media. Any mishap can have a devastating impact on a company’s reputation as well as its bottom line.

All of this is driving companies to take a closer look at the quality management systems within their supply chains. Whether it is quality inspections during the manufacturing process, quality checks of raw materials and parts entering the factory, or an inspection before finished goods go out to customers, quality is integral to supply chain management. However, challenges such as tight deadlines and staff turnover can make it difficult to accomplish quality goals. For that reason, global supply chain quality has to be an ongoing process that requires a comprehensive plan that is part of an organization’s culture and is intertwined with manufacturing processes.

Two new global research studies from ASQ, a global network of quality improvement experts, suggest that organizations worldwide face a number of similar challenges in leadership, culture, training, and measurement that can affect success in achieving quality goals. The ASQ Global State of Quality Research shares a baseline study of fundamental quality and continuous improvement practices around the world with insights from 2,000 respondents in 22 countries. ASQ’s Culture of Quality study of over 1,000 senior leaders and quality professionals worldwide offers actionable insights that supply chain experts can use to identify quality gaps within their processes and bridge them.

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