What should a company do to ensure that the quality of its supplier provided products remains high?

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Supply Chain Management(SCM) is more than just placing orders and making sure it comes on time. It covers the procurement process, strategic sourcing, supplier relationship management, quality control, and so many other elements. Maybe it includes making sure your engines don't emit nitrogen oxide pollutants up to 40 times the legal limit. Overall though, SCM operations are based on getting a product manufactured. So how do we manage the quality of our products during production?

Evaluate all your options: Request material samples from potential suppliers so you can choose the one that meets your quality standards. Especially with fabrics, half of the consumer decision making process pertains to the look, then the closer/deal breaker is how it feels. This makes it absolutely essential to be able to feel the fabric before committing to it. Sometimes good faith based on a description can result in products of poor quality. 

Pre-Production Inspections: A Technical audit can be done before an order is made. You have chosen a supplier for multiple reasons concerning your strategic sourcing strategy, so the next move is auditing the company. Technical audits are specific to production alone and done by third-party inspection companies in the R&D process like SGS-CSTC Standards Technical Services, V-Trust, and AQM. They will inspect for flaws in the organizational structure of the factory, its production capacity and quality management system.

Be specific: To make sure the product designs are being produced as they are meant to, the order needs to be as specific as possible. A rule of thumb in life and in business is -  never expect someone to know exactly what you want. You have to tell them. If it takes a weeks of messaging to communicate specifically how you want your product made, so be it.

Get a prototype: The best way to make sure your products are made correctly is by putting them in your hands and testing it out. This may be common sense, but you don’t get something you don’t ask for. Request a sample of the finished product before making the big order. If it has technical function, it is important to test it out and make sure it works. If it is an article of clothing, it is important to see how it wears.

During Production Inspections: Be proactive with product inspections. It is better to find defects as early as possible so that you can troubleshoot. Usually, the first inspection can be done as soon as 10% of the merchandise is completed. An inspector will evaluate the first batch and identify defects. The frequency of inspections should depend on the type of product and order size.

Final Inspections: Don’t make the mistake of not checking the shipping logistics. Make sure that the product can get from point A to point B without damage. The inspector should assess the quality, regulatory compliance, measurements and packaging of the order. It is also important to consider the risks, like mode of transportation, how the packages are stacked, who and what machines are handling the loading, etc.  If it is being shipped via air travel, will the high altitude affect the packaging? These are things to consider before having your cargo sent.

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Quality inspections are absolutely essential to getting the best possible outcome. But, you need to first trust your supplier and have them feel like you trust them. You don't want your supplier to feel micromanaged. It could put a strain on your business relationship, so there needs to be a balance between ensuring your projects are done correctly and letting your supplier do its job. None of these things listed should ever be overlooked though. It could be financially risky to neglect these things.

Improving product quality is essential for achieving long-term profitability and sales growth. While increasing product quality is no easy task, the rewards for doing so surpassed the challenges. 

It helps build trust with your customer and fuels recommendations and referrals. Excellent product quality also means fewer complaints and returns from your customers. All of these, impact your bottom line and encourage business growth. 

With that said, how do you increase the quality of your products?

1. Define Product Quality

Before you can start improving product quality, you first need to understand what constitutes a quality product. 

Quality is often defined in two ways:

• Satisfying a set of pre-determined specifications
• Satisfying the customer

In general, product quality describes the capability of that product to meet user standards. Here are the questions to evaluate a product’s quality. 

• Is it tailored to your customers?

A product that’s tailored specifically to the needs of your customers shows that you understand its users and are willing to accept any suggestion they voice. 

• Does it solve a problem?

No product would exist if it weren’t improving or solving something. The extent to which a product fixes and intended problems helps in determining its quality. 

• Is it polished?

Dimensions, colors, fonts, and other elements of the design should all be in proper alignment. The product shouldn’t appear cheap or have any errors or mistakes in its construction in any way. 

• Is it efficient?

A quality product shouldn’t just get the job done but do so efficiently. Meaning, it should deliver quickly with minimal effort from the consumer. 

• Is it easy to use?

Quality products shouldn’t complicate the process of solving a problem. Customers should be able to learn how to assemble or use the product easily and effectively. 

2. Invest In Machinery

If your production primarily uses human laborers, then your products are more likely prone to errors and defects. 

With that said, you need to invest in quality machinery. Production machinery like precision CNC machining ensures accuracy for consistent product quality. Also, machines help increase the production speed and are far more cost-effective than hiring several skilled laborers. 

3. Implement a Quality Management System

A quality management system (QMS) is a set of internal rules that determines how your business will create and deliver quality products. Whether you’re manufacturing your products or outsourcing them, a QMS can keep your organization compliant with the latest regulations and standards in product quality. 

Implementing a QMS can impact your business’s total performance. An effective QMS allows your organization to meet customer requirements and regulatory standards as well as prevent errors, save money, and continuously improve your product offering. Most importantly, by ensuring consistent quality products, you can improve your business’s image and credibility and enhance customer satisfaction levels. 

4. Spy On Competitors

Checking in on your competitors is a great way to develop and improve the quality of your products. Competitor analysis allows you to understand the weaknesses and strengths in your competitors’ products in comparison to your own and find a gap in the market. 

How are their products performing? Look for weaknesses in their products and try to come up with an innovative solution for yours. You can also gain product ideas that you can improve to become more appealing and attractive to customers. 

Conducting a competitor analysis is important not only for matching your competitors’ offerings but also for putting you in a better position to compete with similar businesses in your industry. 

5. Infuse Quality In Company Culture

Implementing a QMS is essential, however, it’s not enough. These quality principles need to be embedded across your entire organization to work effectively. 

Your entire team needs to be on the same page on what constituted a quality product. Encourage managers to constantly reinforce the idea so you can get everyone on board with your vision of quality and more likely become part of the culture. 

Once your employees comprehend the larger part of the quality message, managers should empower them to use their own intuition and judgment to handle individual responsibilities. This means that managers can take a hands-off approach and allow their employees to freely raise concerns if certain procedures and policies take away their ability to pursue quality. 

In order to create quality products, employees need to have a say in the developmental process. After all, your employees can provide you with essential feedback regarding quality production. Allow your employees to have a voice in the business process and organize meetings where they can suggest any improvements to the company’s products. 

6. Train Employees

Training your employees at all levels can help improve product quality and lessen the problems. Training can take several dimensions. You can set up a new-employee initiation program, train your workers to focus on quality problems and in operating production machinery and equipment from the first day of their job. You can assign existing employees to train new employees since they can provide a firsthand perspective of how your business’s operations work. 

Also, you must provide employees with a history of the business through the lens of quality. Show them problems you’ve had in the past and how you corrected these issues. Also, let them know where your business stands with respect to its quality goals today. 

In addition, you also need to train your employees to see a connection between their actions and work ethic and the overall performance of the business. By tying their individual behavior to the overall system of working, you can give them insight on how to ensure product quality and good stewards of your business. 

7. Perform Product Testing

It’s important to test your products before launching. This way, you can anticipate how buyers will react to the product and see what changes you need to do before making an official release to the public. 

Product testing allows you to see how your product performs in the real world, ensuring if your product reflects the quality, usability, and efficiency you intended. Also, it provides insight into marketing strategies as well as your positioning against your competitors. 

8. Listen to Customers

Lastly, don’t be afraid to ask your customers. Collecting customer feedback can give you insight into what improvements can be made and how to enhance product quality. 

You can use any negative feedback to learn more about your customers’ wants and needs and help you in creating products that meet these requirements. 

Conclusion

Standing out in the competitive business world can be extremely difficult. But, if you’re offering quality products, you’re already a step ahead of your competitors. 

By following the above tips, you can offer quality products to delight your customers and make them come back for more.  

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