Ask yourself these six questions.
If your company is experiencing any quality issues, it may be time to investigate a better QMS solution. A leading QMS solution can help centralize quality processes, ensure compliance and reduce risk. If your level of confidence in the following areas is not high, you could very likely improve your operations by adopting a best-in-class QMS solution.
Does your company need to improve its quality processes? It’s important to have a QMS solution that allows you to build a comprehensive continuous improvement strategy and streamline operations through automation. Manual processes are highly prone to human error and can cost an organization valuable time. An efficient QMS solution that enables a paperless environment provides a critical competitive advantage than should not be overlooked.
Is your company faced with evolving industry regulations? Many manufacturers feel it’s a daunting task to keep pace with compliance and regulatory requirements. Failure to comply with these standards can cost a company money, or worse yet, result in a lapse in safety. An effective QMS solution introduces accountability into the organization and can help a company employ processes to ensure conformity throughout the product lifecycle.
Regulatory standards such as ISO9000 / AS9100 / QS / IPC Standards / OSHA / Mil Spec Requirements / change on a regular basis. Many QMS solutions are designed to specifically address industry requirements. For example, ITAR requirements, Federal Acquisition Regulations on counterfeit parts, ISO Audits & Certifications, Government Audits, and Supplier Audits. It’s important to work with a QMS solution vendor that has experience within your industry and is actively engaged with relevant legislators and associations.
Are you dealing with disparate systems within your organization?
Information often exists in silos. A best-in-class QMS solution can present a single source of truth by presenting up-to-date compliance information across the enterprise. Quality processes can be managed in one environment to ensure consistency and readiness. This combined offering helps companies close the loop on quality processes and effectively synch quality and manufacturing data for a true picture of the enterprise.
It’s important to choose a QMS solution that is easy to use and implement, yet configurable to meet a company’s individual needs. Ensure the system integrates seamlessly with your ERP through a bi-directional interface. This integration will leverage the information within your ERP to communicate purchase order lines, receivers, routings, supplier status, approved parts-to-supplier and more.
Does your company have a need to configure complex products? The need to configure complex products is a key requirement for most highly regulated manufacturers. However, configuration management, a powerhouse component of any top-tier QMS solution, is missing from most ERP systems. This functionality will generate complete configuration records for companies that require advanced configuration management and provide complete product genealogy of every part, subassembly, and final assembly. Companies can also create an audit plan with a configurable checklist to ensure success.
Do you need to gain control of your company’s supply chain quality? As your organization grows, your supply chain is likely to follow. This can introduce additional risk to product quality. Supplier issues can cost a company money or bring harm to its customers. Without proper oversight, the quality of supplied parts and components can slip through the cracks. An effective QMS solution helps identify supplier related costs and data and hold suppliers accountable for poor quality products.
Is your company reliant on international suppliers? Counterfeit parts in the supply chain has become a big problem for companies using suppliers outside of the US. Managing the supply chain through every tier is a critical step to mitigate the growing burden of risk. Using a QMS solution that will allow you to map your supply chain and indicate primary and sub-tier supplier relations will help build a standardized approach to managing supplier information. As a result, companies can more easily identify counterfeit parts within their supply chain. The testing process will identify non-authorized material and will trigger a nonconformance to improve the quality of the end product.
An effective QMS solution will allow you to navigate your toughest quality challenges and consistently deliver high quality products to your market. As always, when making an investment in your organization’s quality you should consider the potential return.
TIP Technologies is a leading QMS solution provider whose highly respected software is used by some of the world’s largest corporations and their supply chains. Learn how to determine the ROI of a QMS solution or contact us for a demo of our TIPQA Quality Management solution today.