Don’t Let Your “Customer” Run Your Quality Department
In today’s global marketplace of manufactured products the pressure for cost reduction and quality improvement can be overwhelming. Nowhere is this more evident than in the business of automotive parts production. OEM parts suppliers are being squeezed heavily to produce parts at a reduced cost everywhere in the world. OEMs want the parts cheaper. They are also demanding stricter quality standards across the board, and they are enforcing that requirement with “teeth.” Mandated containments and controlled shipping are sapping away the meager profit margin agreed upon in the price concession negotiations.
Containments and controlled shipping are very expensive. Not only are you saddled with the cost of sorting your parts, but all administrative and set-up costs as well. Then there is still no guarantee your customer will release you as soon as you have met their requirements. Some parts suppliers have taken a more proactive approach to dealing with their quality issues while keeping costs under control.
By finding a reliable and trusted quality services provider that is willing to perform a “Self-Imposed Containment” at a reasonable cost, some parts suppliers have avoided the disaster of a mandated containment while focusing on their quality issues. The rewards are more time and resources to devote to correcting the issues that cause them grief, and a steady stream of information and data fed back to them for continuous improvement. The time spent in a self-imposed containment is substantially less than a mandated containment, and the costs are lower too.
