The current situation and dilemmas of enterprise quality management
In today's business environment, many enterprises have introduced ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) and MES (Manufacturing Execution System). They thought that with these advanced management systems, they could significantly improve production efficiency and product quality. However, the reality is not as expected. The product qualification rate of enterprises has always been difficult to reach a satisfactory level. The quality risk is like the Sword of Damocles hanging high, constantly threatening the development of enterprises. Customer complaints are pouring in like snowflakes, giving the enterprise management a huge headache.
This phenomenon is not an isolated case but a common situation that most enterprises face in quality management. When delving deep into its root causes, we'll find that quality data is scattered across various systems like loose pearls, and the quality modules in these systems are like tools that haven't been finely polished, severely lacking in professionalism.
Analysis of incoming material quality problems
The proportion of production halts caused by unqualified incoming materials
In the factory's production process, the issue of incoming material quality is a hidden danger that cannot be ignored. In different industries, due to the differences in product characteristics and production requirements, the proportion of factory shutdowns caused by unqualified incoming material quality also varies greatly. Take the discrete manufacturing industry, which needs to purchase a large number of components, as an example. The situation is particularly severe. In some enterprises, this proportion may be as high as 50%, or even over 60%.
Enterprises may as well conduct statistical analysis on their own data in this regard, and the results may surprise people. Take BMW for example. Statistics show that 80% of its customer complaints are actually caused by the quality problems of the materials supplied by suppliers. This is sufficient to show that the quality problems of incoming materials have become a key factor affecting the enterprise's product quality and customer satisfaction.
Consequences of non-conforming incoming materials
Unqualified incoming materials are like a huge boulder thrown into a calm lake, which can trigger a series of chain reactions and plunge the entire factory into chaos. After the quality department discovers that the incoming materials are unqualified, it will first notify the production planning, logistics, and procurement departments. The production planning department will determine the latest arrival time of the materials based on the delivery time given by the sales department. Then, the logistics, procurement, and quality departments will respectively contact the supplier and require it to reship the materials within the specified time.
In most cases, to prevent Party A from halting production and failing to deliver goods to its customers on time, suppliers will actively cooperate and spare no effort to solve the problem. However, before reshipping the goods, suppliers must figure out the root cause of the problem; otherwise, the goods sent may still be sub - standard. At this time, the quality personnel of both Party A and Party B will work overtime to conduct investigations in order to resume production quickly. They will also cooperate closely with the production department, R & D department, and laboratory department to jointly formulate a temporary solution. According to this temporary solution, the supplier may need to repurchase raw materials and carry out re - processing and production.
However, even if the supplier finally reships the goods, the problem is not completely solved. If the buyer's production line has sufficient capacity, the situation might be relatively easier to handle. But if the production line capacity is insufficient, the enterprise may need to arrange the production of some semi - finished products in advance to ensure that they can be immediately installed when the replacement of sub - standard raw materials arrives, saving working hours and ensuring on - time delivery.However, since these semi - finished products are not packaged and cannot be stacked, if the warehouse space is limited, they may have to be placed in corridors, meeting rooms or even offices. Moreover, measures need to be taken to prevent them from getting dusty. Even worse, if there are more than two models in a batch of goods, proper identification must be made for differentiation, which will result in numerous labels covering the products.
One can easily imagine the chaos that must have reigned in the factory at that time. Moreover, the normal work order was completely disrupted, and almost all departments were involved, including production, planning, warehousing, logistics, procurement, sales, quality control, and technology. To ensure on - time delivery, various departments held frequent coordination meetings. It would be fine if the products could be shipped on schedule. However, once the delivery was delayed, the sales department had to inform the customers. If the buyers' clients got involved, they might require the enterprise to provide a situation report every 24 hours. Overtime work and customer fines were also inevitable.
Exploration of solutionsWe are conducting an exploration of solutions to this problem
Facing such severe incoming material quality problems, the key to solving them lies in reducing or avoiding the occurrence of problems, that is, implementing effective prevention. Common preventive measures include recruiting more SQEs (Supplier Quality Engineers) and incoming material inspectors, strengthening supplier evaluation, selecting high - quality raw materials, enhancing pre - product certification, increasing the sampling ratio of incoming materials, strengthening the statistics of incoming material quality, promptly tracking product changes, and notifying suppliers in a timely manner when there are changes in incoming materials.
These measures can indeed improve the quality situation to a certain extent. However, the resources of enterprises are limited, and they cannot blindly rely on traditional practices. It's like a carriage pulled by four horses can run faster than one pulled by a single horse. But even if a carriage is pulled by 100 horses, it's impossible for it to reach a speed of 100 kilometers per hour. Relying on traditional methods cannot fundamentally solve the problem. Enterprises need to find more efficient solutions.
The necessity of a professional Quality Management System (QMS)
To solve quality management problems quickly and effectively, enterprises often rely on systems. So, can the quality modules in traditional ERP systems and the MES systems that more and more enterprises have already implemented or are planning to implement meet the requirements? Unfortunately, the answer is no. The quality management modules in these systems have many fatal flaws.
First of all, the function of quality data analysis is relatively weak. Take Bosch, the world's number one automotive parts company, as an example. The ERP system they use is SAP, but its quality module is only used for data recording. For subsequent analysis, the data needs to be exported and manually statistically analyzed using Excel. It's easy to imagine how low the efficiency is.
Secondly, the interface is unfriendly. Take the interface of the SAP quality module as an example. Frontline employees strongly dislike it, making it difficult to promote and implement. Even if it is forcibly promoted for a period of time, the implementation of the quality module will ultimately fail because frontline employees refuse to use it.
Furthermore, the modules are not professional and even contain errors. For example, in the financial module, it may be feasible to only perform a unique check on the supplier code because financial staff will carefully verify it when making payments. However, on the production front line, production workers are used to recording suppliers by their abbreviations. If a uniqueness check is not conducted on the supplier abbreviations, it will lead to data chaos, and many ERPs have this problem.Another example is the Kingdee K3 system. Its quality module stipulates that the number of defective points cannot exceed the number of inspected products, which seems quite ridiculous in practical applications.Also, in some companies, the incoming material inspection is divided among different parties: the warehouses at different locations are responsible for inspecting the outer packaging and certificates of conformity, the IQC is responsible for dimension inspection, and the laboratory is responsible for life - span testing. But the Oracle ERP lacks a data entry status display. As a result, when people in these three places are dealing with a large number of incoming material inspection records, they are in complete disarray. When submitting reports, they are not clear whether the other two places have completed their tasks. It is even less organized than the previous method of using paper transfer forms.In addition, some MES experts' understanding of quality management is only limited to the SPC control chart, which is extremely absurd in the eyes of professional quality personnel.
In summary, currently, the quality modules in ERP and MES only scratch the surface and are highly unprofessional. They are completely unable to meet the urgent needs of modern enterprises for quality management, quality control, and quality prevention. This is also the reason why more and more enterprises are starting to implement QMS (Quality Management System).
In addition, although ERP almost covers every module of enterprise management, it is currently in the decoupling stage. Modules such as supply chain, warehousing and logistics distribution, customer service, sales channel management, order management, after - sales management, project management, human resources management, and quality control have gradually been split from ERP and are now handled by more professional independent software.On the other hand, there are relatively few MES products, and most of them are project - based, presenting a handicraft workshop - like form. They mainly rely on selling labor to operate. Comparing the global sales of relevant products in 2017, CRM (Customer Relationship Management software) reached 39.5 billion US dollars, HCM (Human Capital Management software) reached 20 billion US dollars, while MES was only 9.2 billion US dollars. This also reflects some of the problems with MES from the side.If you want to gain a deeper understanding of the problems with MES, you can refer to "How Can Chinese Industrial Management Software Break Through?" and "Why Does Siemens, Which Already Has a Quality Module in Its MES, Still Acquire Quality Management Software (QMS)?"
Characteristic requirements for incoming material quality management software in modern enterprises
Since the quality modules of ERP and MES cannot meet the needs of enterprises, what features should a quality management software have to meet the requirements of modern enterprises for incoming material quality management? This requires consideration from multiple aspects such as data integration, analysis capabilities, interface design, and professionalism.It needs to be able to effectively integrate the quality data scattered in various systems, and have powerful data analysis functions to provide enterprises with accurate quality information and a basis for decision - making. The interface design should conform to the operating habits of front - line employees to facilitate its popularization and use. At the same time, the software should have a high degree of professionalism to avoid problems such as data chaos and unreasonable regulations, and truly help enterprises achieve efficient quality management, quality control, and quality prevention.
I. Efficiently monitor the quality of incoming materials and provide risk warnings
In today's production and trade environment, the monitoring of incoming material quality is of crucial importance. There is a system that can be regarded as a powerful assistant for quality monitoring. It has powerful functions that enable us to monitor the quality of incoming materials efficiently and quickly. All you need to do is input the data of each incoming material inspection into this system.
Once the data is input, the system will start to work its magic. It conducts in - depth analysis of this data through advanced analytical algorithms, and then realizes the early warning of quality risks. In the actual production process, incoming material quality problems may trigger a series of chain reactions, such as production delays and unqualified products. The early - warning function of this system is like a sharp - eyed "sentry". It can send out signals when problems are still in their infancy, enabling us to take timely measures and avoid greater subsequent losses.
2. Accurately mine key data
This system is like a highly skilled "gold prospector" that can find the crucial 20% in the vast ocean of data. It can sort suppliers from multiple dimensions, including sorting by non - compliance and sorting by severity.Through the non - compliance sorting, we can clearly identify which suppliers have relatively serious non - compliance issues with the incoming materials, so that we can make reasonable decisions in subsequent cooperation. The severity sorting allows us to further understand the severity of the problems. For those suppliers with serious problems, we can strengthen control or consider replacing them.
In terms of products, the system can perform tasks such as sorting non - qualified products, calculating the pass rate, and ranking defects. The pass rate of all products allows us to grasp the overall quality level of the products. The pass rate of similar product collections helps us compare the quality differences among different types of products. Whether it is for all products, a collection of similar products, or a specific product, the defect ranking can enable us to precisely identify the key points of quality problems.
In addition, the system can also generate CPK, boxplot charts, etc. for a certain parameter. These professional charts can intuitively display the distribution and changes of data, providing strong support for our decision - making. Meanwhile, it can compare the quality of the same product from different suppliers and conduct statistics for any specified period, enabling us to comprehensively understand the quality situation from different time dimensions and supplier perspectives.
III. Ensure the authenticity of sellers' quality data
In business transactions, the authenticity of quality data is of utmost importance. This system can ensure the authenticity of the sellers' quality data to the greatest extent. If buyers can get the cooperation of suppliers, they can also authorize suppliers to log in to the system and enter their shipment information. In this way, buyers can learn about the quality status of the products in advance before receiving them, and whether there are any changes between product batches.
Buyers can also compare their own quality inspection results with those of the suppliers. In the actual quality inspection process, due to differences in measurement methods, measuring tools, etc., there may be deviations in the inspection results. Through this comparison, we can avoid misjudgments on quality caused by measurement differences and ensure the accuracy and reliability of quality data.
IV. Achieve a win - win situation for sellers and buyers
Sellers and buyers can achieve a win - win situation through this system. A more efficient approach is that buyers can authorize suppliers to view the incoming material inspection results and trend charts. Suppliers generally have a strong desire to know the buyers' evaluation of their product quality, as this is related to whether they can serve the buyers better and avoid product returns.
Under the traditional model, due to primitive statistical methods, backward communication modes, and low efficiency in data retrieval, buyers usually only send emails to notify suppliers when unqualified products are found. This approach is not only inefficient but also likely to lead to the accumulation and expansion of problems. With this system, suppliers can promptly compare their own test results with those of the buyers to check for consistency, identify problems in advance, and take measures to make improvements.
In this way, buyers can save a great deal of human and material resources and don't need to communicate and handle issues only after they arise. Meanwhile, suppliers can significantly reduce the risk of being fined for product returns. This approach is not only highly efficient but also a crucial part of supply - chain quality prevention, which can promote the stability and development of the entire supply chain.
V. Make quality information transparent and reduce procurement costs
When selecting suppliers, quality data is a crucial indicator. This system can make quality information transparent. Buyers can obtain a quality comparison of the same product provided by different suppliers within just 10 seconds. Through the intuitive display of data, it is clear at a glance which supplier's products have good quality and which have poor quality.
In the traditional procurement process, we may rely more on the reputation of suppliers and past cooperation experiences. However, such information is often inaccurate and incomplete. Now, with the quality data provided by this system, we can select suppliers in a more scientific way, avoid a series of problems caused by choosing suppliers with poor quality, and thus reduce procurement costs.
6. Ensure on - time delivery of incoming materials to guarantee the buyer's shipment
In the production process, the on - time delivery of incoming materials is crucial for buyers to ship products on schedule. A great deal of production chaos and the failure to ship products on time are largely caused by unqualified incoming materials. As one of the most important modules of the MES, the APS scheduling module's scheduling and the proper execution of the production plan rely on the stability and accuracy of incoming materials.
If the quality of incoming materials is unstable, it will inevitably lead to scheduling chaos, greatly reducing the effectiveness of the Manufacturing Execution System (MES), which is particularly evident in the discrete manufacturing industry. This is because the production process in discrete manufacturing is relatively complex, involving the assembly of multiple components and multiple steps. If there are issues with the incoming materials, the entire production process may be affected. Therefore, ensuring the quality of incoming materials and on - time delivery is the key to ensuring the smooth progress of production and the timely shipment to buyers.
VII. Conclusion
Although the functional modules of ERP and MES cover a wide range, they may not be in - depth and professional enough in some aspects. It's like we can't use an encyclopedia to learn advanced mathematics; instead, we need specialized books on advanced mathematics. In the field of quality management, there are many professional QMS products.
If you search for QMS on the U.S.-based website , 191 related products will appear. Moreover, many QMS products are specialized ones focusing on a specific niche industry or a particular function. In recent years, some quality management software products focusing on quality management functions have gradually emerged in China as well.
Some of these software programs are project - customized. They are developed according to the specific requirements of customers and can meet the customers' personalized needs. Others are product - type software. They have a very in - depth understanding of certain industries, are clear about the customers' pain points, and are highly targeted. These software programs can not only help customers efficiently manage and control quality, but also greatly assist in product development and cost - saving in quality management. I will introduce them to you gradually in the following articles.