I. Early Years: The "Extensive Survival Law" under the Imbalance of Supply and Demand
In the early days of reform and opening up, China's market economy was in a stage of wild growth dominated by sellers. There was a shortage of products in the market and limited choices for customers. "Being able to deliver goods" was the core competitiveness of enterprises. For example, in clothing factories in the Pearl River Delta, even if half of a batch of T-shirts were scrapped due to uneven dyeing, the remaining half could still be sold to distributors at a price twice the cost because consumers were rushing to buy "new styles" and distributors were waiting to stock the goods. No one cared about "quality defects."
At that time, the "quality management system certification" was still a "foreign concept": The logic of business owners was straightforward. They thought, "Selling products is more important than anything else. Doing those documents and forms is just a waste of time." Employees' understanding was even simpler. They believed, "Just make the products. Filling out forms is not as important as operating the sewing machine." Even customers had never heard of "ISO 9001". The gap between supply and demand was so large that "whether there is a system" was not even within the scope of decision-making.
II. Later: The Traps and Costs of "Formal Norms"
As the market becomes saturated and the buyer's market arrives, customer demand has upgraded from "having goods" to "having qualified goods". For example, home appliance enterprises have started to require that the defective rate of suppliers' products be lower than 5%; otherwise, the entire batch will be rejected. The prerequisite for supermarkets to accept products is "having a quality certification certificate" - at this time, "certification" suddenly becomes the "key to business". Without a certificate, one can't even enter the door of customers.
However, the certification market soon went astray: In order to make quick money, consulting companies came up with "general templates" - regardless of whether you are in the food, machinery or service industry, the system documents all have the same set of stereotyped content such as "Quality objective: Customer satisfaction ≥ 90%" and "Non - conforming product control: Identification, isolation, review". In order to obtain the certificate, enterprises don't even consider whether the documents fit their own processes and simply copy the templates directly. The audit process is even "simpler" - you can get through by filling in the "inspection records" and "training sign - in sheets" retroactively.
As a result, the phenomenon of "two separate layers" is widespread: The document states that "a full range of inspections should be carried out on each batch of raw materials", but in reality, in order to rush the work, the workshop directly puts the uninspected raw materials into production; The document requires that "customer complaints should be responded to within 24 hours", but in reality, the customer service staff saves the complaint emails in a folder and then forgets about them; Employees spend two hours every day filling out various forms, but no one thinks these documents can solve practical problems - the system has become "a decoration on the wall".
Bosses soon found the problem: After spending tens of thousands of yuan on getting the certification, the product rejection rate was still 20%, and there were still three customer complaints every week. The certification was just "a show for customers" and didn't improve the quality at all. Even worse, employees were distracted from doing practical work because they had to deal with forms.
III. Now: In the era of lean management, effectiveness is the lifeblood of the system
In today's market, it's no longer about "who can do it", but rather "who can do it more accurately, more stably, and more economically". Customers' requirements are extremely precise:
JIT precise delivery: For example, automobile parts need to be delivered 15 minutes before the assembly line starts. Being 1 minute late may cause the production line to stop, resulting in a loss of tens of thousands of yuan.
PPM-level defect rate: A maximum of 1 defective product is allowed per million products (for example, the defect rate of mobile phone screens should be lower than 50 ppm).
Zero defects: For example, in medical device enterprises, any defect in a single part may lead to patient safety issues, so they must "do it right the first time."
The source of a company's profit has also changed - it's no longer about "selling more", but "wasting less". For example, two companies in the same industry produce the same mobile phone cases. Factory A has a scrap rate of 1%, while Factory B has a scrap rate of 0.5%. Then, for every 1,000 pieces produced, Factory B can earn the profit from an additional 5 pieces. In a market with transparent prices, "scrapping one less" is the core of competitiveness.
At this time, the customer's review logic has also changed: instead of looking at the "certificate cover", they check "whether the system really works". For example, they check the "SPC control chart" (Statistical Process Control) in the production workshop to see if it can give early warnings of defects; they check the "root cause analysis report" of customer complaints to see if the problems are really solved; they check the "incoming inspection records" of suppliers to see if they can control the upstream quality. Only the systems that "can solve practical problems" can pass the customer's "on - site review".
IV. Present: The Core of Lean Management - "Compliance + Effectiveness"
For today's enterprises, if they want to thrive, they must understand one principle: The system is not "to meet the standards" but "to suit themselves".
- For enterprises engaged in medical devices, the system documents should focus on writing about the "sterile environment control process" and the "raw material traceability mechanism".
- For catering enterprises, the "Standards for food ingredient procurement and acceptance" and the "Specifications for kitchen operation flow lines" should be emphasized.
- For software companies, they should focus on writing about the "requirement change management process" and the "requirements for test case coverage". Only a system that "fits their own industry, organization, and products" can truly improve quality.
Meanwhile, the changes in the business environment are forcing enterprises to upgrade. Large customers (such as Apple and Tesla) have entered the "substantial stage of total quality management" - they not only manage their own quality but also that of their suppliers; they not only manage the production process but also the entire process including R & D, logistics, and after - sales service. In order to focus on core business, enterprises have started to outsource non - core processes (for example, entrusting logistics to professional companies and outsourcing IT maintenance to service providers). However, outsourcing is not "shifting the blame" - you need to have a complete supplier management system: evaluate the quality capabilities of suppliers, regularly review their production processes, and set an indicator of "incoming material defect rate ≤ 50ppm". Otherwise, the problems of suppliers will become your problems.
V. Junpin Consulting: Build a "useful system" to help enterprises solve practical problems
We've seen too many small businesses' confusions: they want to establish a quality system but don't know where to start; they can't afford expensive consulting firms and can only use templates; they've established the system, but no one knows how to use it, and it ultimately becomes a "decoration."
The core logic of Junpin Consulting is very simple: The essence of the quality management system is to "inherit experience through documents and prevent problems through processes." If documents are just for show, the quality culture cannot be passed on; if processes are mere decorations, improvement activities cannot be sustained; if tools are misused, for example, using the SPC control chart to manage the turnover rate of a restaurant, it won't work at all.
Our approach is very practical:
Build a system using the "process approach" (the core requirement of ISO 9001:2015): Help you sort out each core process from "R & D → procurement → production → after - sales service", clarify the "input (e.g., the input for R & D is customer requirements), output (e.g., design drawings), responsibilities (e.g., the R & D manager is responsible), and assessment indicators (e.g., the design change rate ≤ 10%)" for each process, so that the system can truly fit your business.
Provide public - welfare guidance for small enterprises: Our consultants are all "practical experts" who have worked as quality managers in the manufacturing and service industries for more than 10 years. They won't give you templates but will teach you "how to write inspection processes using the 5W1H method" and "how to solve customer complaints using the PDCA cycle", and help you turn "abstract standards" into "specific operating steps".
Our philosophy: The rigor of the military industry and the gentlemanly cooperation. We don't make money by "selling certificates", but by "helping you solve problems". We don't do "one-off deals", but build "long-term gentlemanly friendships" with our customers.
Finally: Want to create a useful system? Come to us
If you are a small business and want to establish a quality system that "avoids formalism and truly solves problems";
If you already have a system, but the problem of "two parallel tracks" is severe, and you want to make the system "come alive";
If you want to know how to apply the "process approach" in your own enterprise;
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Junpin Enterprise Management Consulting (Zhuhai) Co., Ltd
Military-grade quality control and a gentlemanly friendship with partners.