Part (1) General Quality Strategies and Tools
The business environment is characterized by fierce rapid changes and stiff rivalry among businesses. Attaining a competitive edge lies in ensuring that customer needs are attained. Businesses must strategize to ensure that their services and products of high quality lest they are rendered obsolete or pushed out by competition. For these reasons, there are various methods and techniques used to ensure quality. However, each strategy has its benefits and risks, which necessitates a company to study them to make an appropriate choice keenly. The following table explores the various standard quality management techniques.
| Tactic | Definition | Advantages | Risks |
| Six Sigma | It is a strategy that aims at the identification and elimination of errors and defects or their causes in business processes through the use of statistical methods (Anthony, 2015). | · It aims at attaining financial returns, which are quantifiable and measurable to a company’s bottom line. · It places much importance on adequate and enthusiastic leadership as well as those who are assigned to support it. · Inculcates the human element in problem-solving. · The strict focus on the number of errors/ defects in processes can quickly turn bureaucratic at the expense of focusing on the bottom-line. | · Its application is a challenge, especially where there is no or inadequate data. · Its success is based on the correct prioritization of projects, yet this is usually subjective; hence, it is vulnerable to biases. · The investment required for its start-up is vast; hence it is costly especially for SME’s · The determination of rates of error is dependent on assumptions of normality. |
| Kaizen | It is a management style that focuses on continuously improving processes based on the cooperation and commitment of all employees in an organization (Rahmanian & Rahmatinejad, 2013). It is mostly used in Japanese companies. | · It is process-centered; hence it is easy to point out mistakes and correct them. · All participants are given responsibilities, which means employees can own processes and get motivated as a result. · It Fosters cooperation and teamwork. · It comes with less need for supervision hence reduces on costs of administration. · It encourages short and long term identification of the company’s goals to ensure their easy achievement. | · It often requires a lot of mass training to change the mind-set of employees in the organization. · It is not easy to sustain the initial excitement of employees, especially in instances where results might not be seen quickly. |
| Cost of Quality (CoQ) | It refers to the methodology an organization applies to gauge the degree of costs incurred in the prevention of poor quality in its operations (Arenas, 2014). The methodology is based on the fact that some most of the costs incurred in the prevention of poor quality can be reduced significantly or entirely avoided. | · It avails information through which budgeting can be based. · The data provided in this methodology can be used as motivation as it outlines the contribution of employees. · It can be used to compare the various modes used in cost-effectiveness. · It provides data that helps identify areas that need improvement. · It helps determine the successes and failures of various projects in the organization. | · The determination of non-value added cost is difficult with this approach. · The entire method is dependent on the chosen cost collection system. If it is faulty, the entire quality system is rendered inadequate. |
| Total Quality Management | It is a broad and integrated system that covers both the planning and controlling process in an organization to ensure that products and services that come out, as a result, are beyond the expectations of the customers (Aized, 2012). | · It results in reduced costs in the long run. · There is a vast improvement in quality if well applied. · It brings about customer satisfaction. · Its focus on the improvement of quality leads to the reduction of defects. · The broad participation of employees is motivating since they end up owning the organization’s processes and activities. | · The results take longer to show; hence employees might be bored along the way. · It emphasizes standardization for consistency purposes, which comes with the risk of compromising creativity. · It is expensive hence might be unaffordable to SME’s · It is demanding in terms of resources and time. |
| Defining metrics | This is an approach that makes use of objectives and the use of numbers in order to measure progress in business processes (Lehtonen, Suonsyrj¨a, Kilamo, & Mikkonen). | · Metrics can help in focusing on one aspect of the business and exclude others. · Metrics can be essential to forecast hence proper planning accurately. | · Choice of metrics is often subjective hence subject to biasness · Inappropriate metrics will lead to skewed results. |
| Mistake Proofing | This is a method that involves the changing or tweaking the physical aspects of processes to reduce human error (Grout, 2006) | · Eliminates or reduces the need for reworking or repairing a product · It is economical | · It can be time-consuming · It majorly focuses on the face value of products and processes. |
Part (2) Quality Tactics and the Logistics and Supply Chain Functions
There are various quality tactics in Logistics and supply. The quality measures are of two kinds. These are those that are applied within and without the company setting.
Internal Quality Tactics.
Activity-Based Costing (ABC)
This is a method this applied to examine cost as well as margins, although it can do more than calculating the return costs. It is internally based since it is concerned with the logistics activities before goods are channeled to the customer. Through process logic, activities are grouped. This method helps to acquire in-depth knowledge about the company.
Framework for Logistics Research (FLR)
It is a tool that outlines the inter-relation of the logistics organization, the performance achieved level, and the competitive strategy of the company. Using this tool, the logistics function is structured in terms of various dimensions like control areas, integration, formalization, and integration (Pasanen, 2015). For this reason, this system is internally applied.
Balanced Core Card (BSC)
This is a tool that is employed to reinforce the strategy of the company. To balance measures, four analytical dimensions are sought (Chibba, 2017). These are finance, customer expectations, the application of human element in the measurement of performance, and all the internal processes. All these aspects are explored before the product leaves the company; hence the tool is internally applied.
External Quality Tactics
Shipping Status Tools
These are mainly alerting tools that are used to monitor the movement of goods or products during shipment. The tools are usually used by large companies with chain supply in high volume that needs to be shipped to different customers (Sweeney, 2012). The tools are externally used to monitor the external movement of shipments. They provide various stakeholders with real-time movement updates.
Order Processing tools.
These are tools that make the procurement of products easy and efficient. The tools are used to process the order, manage and fulfill it, and bill the order to cash (Sweeney, 2012). They involve the initiation of the movement of goods from outside the selling company; hence it is categorized as an external quality method.