Ensuring quality throughout the manufacturing process is one of the biggest challenges that companies face. In a fiercely competitive industry such as manufacturing, any advantage you can bring to your processes can help set your company apart. Providing high-quality products and exceptional service is one area where you can excel and gain a positive reputation which will attract more customers to your doorstep.
What Are You Doing to Create a Culture of Quality?
A “culture of quality” is one in which everyone from the receptionist to the CEO emphasizes quality in everything they do. When an entire organization is focused on quality, it becomes part of the company culture, an ingrained asset that permeates everything you do.
Quality control isn’t the job of just one department. It’s everyone’s job to ensure that no detail, no matter how small, is left to chance.
Everyone must be engaged in the quest for quality. Senior-level management must take the lead and prioritize activities and actions around quality assurance, testing, and problem-solving.
Assessing Metrics and KPIs
How your company sets goals, assesses metrics, and analyzes KPIs also speaks volumes about its emphasis on quality assurance. In order to use such metrics, however, your company must be able to trust its data.
Trustworthy data is at the heart of using metrics as part of the quality assurance processes. Enterprise resource planning systems (ERP) such as Sage 100 and Acumatica can help with this process. By ensuring clean, error-free data that is updated real-time in the cloud, the data reported by ERP systems is trustworthy and can be used to assess whether or not your company is meeting, exceeding, or falling short of KPIs.
Tightening Links in the Supply Chain
Another area where quality can be compromised is in the supply chain. Managers must keep a close eye on the inputs into the system to ensure that quality is measured not just in output but in the raw goods and materials entering into the manufacturing process. Tightening the QA process to include both raw materials, processes, and outputs can help improve the entire production process and end products.
One Company, One Process
Lastly, it helps to have one set of quality goals throughout the company rather than individual goals for each department. Although departments may have their own ways of measuring quality, the overall goals should be set by management.
Too many disparate goals can lead to varying levels of quality. If you aren’t all aiming for the same target, there’s little chance you can hit it. To keep everyone on the same page, departments should share consistent quality goals.
ERP Systems Help with Quality Initiatives
ERP systems can help with quality measurement and monitoring initiatives in many ways. Cloud-based ERP such as Sage 100 and Acumatica provides a real-time window into every aspect of your business so that you can view and monitor the process. Examine data, timelines, and customer feedback to enhance the manufacturing process.
Quality assurance isn’t just the goal of one department. It’s the goal for your entire manufacturing facility. When you improve quality, you boost your company’s reputation throughout the industry, resulting in more sales, happier customers, and higher profits.
Accounting Systems Incorporated (ASI)
Enterprise resource planning software, such as Sage 100 and Acumatica ERP, provides an excellent tool for monitoring, measuring, and improving processes throughout your company. If you’re serious about improving quality, such cloud-based systems can help you with data and reports for accurate goals and milestones. Accounting Systems Incorporated (ASI) can help you find the right ERP software that meets your needs. For more information, visit our website, or call us at 803-252-6154.