Dissertation - quality in supply chain management

Chapter 1
Introduction

The period of 1990s was an era in which the globalization of markets intensified the
competition among the firms. Due to this reason,the companies were forced to expand their
business to new geographies to gain competitive advantage from new markets, availability of
raw material, access to a large pool of trained professionals,etc. This change in turn led the
companies to integrate the contribution of different partners and suppliers to aide their
business which was possible owing to their capabilities in producing and delivering high
quality products which in turn made them an important part of final product. Thus,the supply
chain began to take center stage as a means to respond rapidly,correctly and profitably to
market demands. If all relevant information is accessible to any relevant company,every
company in the supply chain has the ability to help optimize the entire supply chain rather
than to sub-optimize based on a local interest.This will lead to better-planned overall
production and distribution,which can cut costs and give a more attractive final product,
leading to the better sales and better overall results for the companies involved.Incorporating
SCM successfully leads to a new kind of competition on the global market,where competition
is no longer of the company-versus-company form but rather it takes on a supply-chain-
versus-supply-chain form.
Maintaining the performance of the whole supply chain at a high level requires
integration,cooperation, communication,participation,and sharing of information between
supply chain partners.
Across worldwide,most of the organizations use supply chain, therefore, the various
number of studies have been conducted in order to explore this vast field. Moreover,its
interlinking with the quality management perspective is still very limited. It is worth
mentioning here that, in the present competitive world, the dynamics of market does not
allow any deviation in quality of end product. Therefore, the importance of quality
management is universally espoused by the researchers and practicing managers working in
this area. It has been found by the authors that the focused approaches in evaluating quality
management issues within inter and intra organization supply chain contexts are
indispensable. During review of the open literature available in this area,the authors
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investigated that in present scenario there are number of quality related issues (either at the
suppliers end or at manufacturers end) in supply chain management which needs immediate
attention of the researchers. In this context the quality of supply chain itself can provide a
path breaking solution at different levels of supply chain management.Moreover, this concept
may be applied to address the problems such as product recall,delay in delivery of products
etc. regardless of type of industry.
1.1 What is supply chain??
Supply chain management (SCM) is the management of the flow of goods. It includes
management of the flow as wells as storage of raw materials,work-in-process inventory, and
finished goods from point of origin to point of consumption. Interconnected or interlinked
networks, channels and node businesses are involved in the provision of products and
services required by end customers in a supply chain. Supply chain management has been
defined as the "design, planning,execution, control,and monitoring of supply chain activities
with the objective of creating net value,building a competitive infrastructure, leveraging
worldwide logistics, synchronizing the supply and demand and also measuring the
performance globally.”
SCM draws heavily from the areas of operations management,logistics, procurement,and
information technology,and strives for an integrated approach.
In the current buyer‟s market with global hard competition, enterprises cannot respond
rapidly to the customers „demand through traditional operation mechanism. Thereupon,a new
kind of operation mechanism, i.e.supply chain management, emerges as the times require. In
supply chain circumstance,the majority of enterprises,especially some excellent enterprises,
rely on their suppliers more and more heavily. The product quality and manufacturing
process of suppliers has great effect on the quality of final product of core enterprise. It
means that the emphasis of research and practice of TQM has transferred from enterprise
focus to supply chain focus.Not only the high quality of product and service but also the high
level of quality control of the whole supply chain system ensures the competition advance.
The essence of competition advantages are not pursuing product quality and process quality
simply,but the performance of the whole supply chain system. Therefore,the establishment of
quality management system of supply chain based on the management ideas of ISO9000 will
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promote the involvement of all the members and facilitate the implement of quality control of
the whole supply chain system.
“A supply chain consists of all stages involved, indirectly or directly, in fulfilling a
customer‟s request. The supply chain not only includes the suppliers and manufacturer,but
also transporters,warehouses, retailers, and customers themselves” (Chopra and Meindl,
2006).
Customers have so much of the choice now-a-days from an enormous and vast field of
competitors that delays in supply mean delays for the customers who are probably unwilling
to wait when they can obtain the same or similar substitute product elsewhere.
Based on the above mentioned facts it is highly observed that the supply chain
management has become very important and critical aspect to the profit making of any
organization. But, the quality management issues have also impacted the performance of
supply chain in one way or other. Therefore, one must understand the meaning of quality
management.
1.2 What is quality?
The quality definition as specified by Joseph Juran, “Quality is the fitness of use” i.e. it is
the value of the goods and services as perceived by the supplier,producer and customer. The
measure also pertains to the degree to which products and services conform to specifications,
requirements and standards at an acceptable price. Some of the definitions of Quality,
provided by quality gurus are as follows:
 Quality is conformance to requirements (CROSBY).
 The efficient production of the quality that the market expects (DEMING)
 Quality is what the customer says it is (FEIGENBAUM)
 Quality is the loss that a product costs to the society after being shipped to the
customer (TAGUCHI)
 The totality of features and characteristics of a product or services that bear on
its ability to satisfy stated or implied needs of the customers (ASQC)
 A quality system is the agreed on companywide and plant wide operating
work structure, documented in effective, integrated, technical and managerial
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procedures for guiding the coordinated actions of people, the machines, or the
information of company in the best and most practical ways to assume customer
quality satisfaction and economical costs of quality. (FEIGENBAUM)
 BSI EN ISO 9001: 2000 defines the term “quality” as the “degree to which a
set of inherent characteristics (distinguishing features) fulfils requirements” (BSI,
2000) whereas Crosby (Oakland, 1993) described quality as “conformance to
customer requirements”.
Quality has taken on a whole new level of utmost importance for the today‟s
manufacturers. However, maintaining a high-quality level in a global, complex supply chain
has become increasingly challenging. The brand damage that has resulted over the past few
years due to low quality products has been substantial. With steadily increasing quality
standards, the IT systems supporting production processes must be capable of continuous
improvement. As new processes are created, they must also be managed and measured,
causing a ripple effect of challenges.
No longer is it sufficient to simply identify a quality problem. It must now also be possible
to take immediate corrective action to contain any potential fallout from a quality issue. With
today's tight production schedules and Just-In-Time inventory strategies, a quality problem
along the supply chain left unchecked can quickly balloon into a very serious issue - one that
significantly impacts brand integrity and the bottom line.
For example, in the automotive industry, the complexity involved in making an
automobile is unprecedented. Vehicles have a vast range of options from Bluetooth
capabilities, to automatic parking and voice-based commands. The software required to
activate these new options is highly staggering, with base models requiring up to one-and-a-
half million lines of code per vehicle. Naturally, this involves coordinating with multiple
suppliers for the procurement of highly specific electronic components.
This added complexity has made quality control more difficult. Increasing the no. of
quality checks along the supply chain may improve product quality. However, it could also
slow down production, resulting in increased labor as well as inventory costs in an
environment that calls for higher speed and efficiency.

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Chapter 2
Literature review
As competition in the 1990s intensified and markets became global, so did the challenges
associated with getting a product and service to the right place at the right time at the lowest
cost. Organizations began to realize that it is not enough to improve efficiencies within an
organization, but their whole supply chain has to be made competitive. The understanding
and practicing of supply chain management (SCM) has become an essential prerequisite for
staying competitive in the global race and for enhancing profitably
Effective supply chain management (SCM) has become a potentially valuable way of
securing competitive advantage and improving organizational performance since competition
is no longer between organizations, but among supply chains. This research conceptualizes
and develops five dimensions of SCM practice (strategic supplier partnership, customer
relationship, level of information sharing, quality of information sharing, and postponement)
and tests the relationships between SCM practices, competitive advantage, and organizational
performance. The results indicate that higher levels of SCM practice can lead to enhanced
competitive advantage and improved organizational performance. Also, competitive
advantage can have a direct, positive impact on organizational performance.
Ashwini Sharma, Dixit Garg and Ashish Agarwal(2012) in their paper have attempted to
study the existing literature on supply chain management and quality management. They
found out that out of the papers reviewed, only 8% of them have focused on quality
management in supply chain. Here the main focus was the improvement in quality of product
and not on the supply chain quality. Acc to them, “Supply chain management is key focus
area in the current scenario of global competitive market. In this market the company or
organization having the quality in supply chain will only survive. It has been observed that
quality in supply chain has not been focused in the literature related to supply chain
management.”
Supply chain management is an approach to integrating suppliers, manufacturers,
distributors and retailers, such that products are produced and distributed at the right
quantities, to the right location, at the right time, with the mutual goals of minimizing system
wide costs and satisfying customer service requirements (Simchi-Levi et al., 2008).
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In other words, supply chain management synchronizes a firm's processes with its
suppliers and customers with the goal of matching the materials, services and information
with customer demand (Krajewski et al., 2010). Critical supply chain processes include
product design, production, delivery, support, and supplier-customer relationships. To
succeed in today's environment, managers need to integrate their goals effectively to compete
in the dynamic, global economy and focus on the final customer as the driver for
improvements.
Supply chains compete based upon cost, quality, time and responsiveness. Supply chain
improvement tools include, but are not limited to process improvement tools of flow charting,
flow diagrams, service blueprints, process analysis, process re-engineering, link charts, multi-
activity analysis, backward chaining, and Gantt charts.
Quality is one of the most important factors for companies in their relationship between
suppliers and customers. In fact, quality is so critical that today's executives question whether
their companies should be participating in global sourcing as many global suppliers are not
able to meet quality requirements (Brockwell, 2011). Positive relationships between quality
management and supply chain management exist. To begin, quality management
improvements in reducing process variation directly impact on several supply chain
performance measures. With continuous quality management improvement, defects and
therefore, process and production variation, are reduced. In turn, as consistency in the supply
chain improves due to the variation reduction, cycle times are reduced (the time between two
successive replenishments) and on-time delivery improves (Flynn & Flynn, 2005).
SCM was initially related to the management of inventory within a supply chain. This
concept was later broadened to include the management of all functions within a supply
chain. According to Chopra and Meindl (2001), supply chain management involves the
management of flows between and among stages in a supply chain to maximize total
profitability”. This definition suggests that SCM involves management of the flows of
products, information, and funds upstream and downstream in the supply chain. SCM also
entails making decisions about the locations of production facilities, which products to
produce, how to produce them, and finally, how to distribute these products (Sila et al.,
2006).
In the quest for competitive advantage, organizations, consultants, practitioners and
academics have attempted to organize and integrate supply chain management (SCM)
concepts and practices. The areas of Supply chain which has been researched predominantly
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includes Supply chain Performance, Supply chain collaboration, Supply chain Integration,
Supply chain agility, Supply chain Network design etc. As a result, it has been discovered
that this subject requires radical thinking because the vastness of the topics is neither well
defined nor easily implemented. SCM involves challenges such as developing trust and
collaboration among supply chain partners, identifying best practices that can facilitate
supply chain process alignment and integration, and successfully implementing the latest
collaborative information systems and Internet technologies that drive efficiencies,
performance, and quality throughout the supply chain (Carol J. Robinson, Manoj K.
Malhotra, 2005).
Empirical quality management (QM) research has evolved over the last 20 years.
Empirical research has defined and measured QM practices (e.g., Ahire et al., 1996; Flynn et
al., 1994; Nair, 2006; Saraph et al., 1989; Sila and Ebrahimpour, 2005). Numerous studies
have investigated the relationships among QM practices and various aspects of a firm‟s
performance (e.g., Adam et al., 1997; Ahire and O‟Shaughnessy, 1998; Dow et al., 1999;
Kaynak, 2003; Samson and Terziovski, 1999). As competition moves beyond a single firm
into the supply network of multi firms, focus is shifting from management of internal
practices alone to the management of external firms. Quality managers must integrate their
firms‟ practices with those of customers and suppliers (e.g., Flynn and Flynn, 2005; Kannan
and Tan, 2005; Robinson and Malhotra, 2005; Sila et al., 2006). Integrating QM and supply
chain management (SCM) will be important for future competitiveness (Flynn and Flynn,
2005; Matthews, 2006; Robinson and Malhotra, 2005).
Quality assurance in supply chain management related to different kinds of goods and
services have been researched by (Manning et al. 2007; V. John Peters 1999; Braglia and
Petroni, 2000; Sroufe and Curkovic, 2008) in order to align the supply chain with quality
assurance to derive the models which can be adopted by the organisations to assure the
quality.





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Chapter 3
Research methodology

3.1 Objective:
1. To find out the functions of supply chain management which are practiced in
the company to maintain the quality in supply chain
2. To find out the areas of supply chain that are currently being focused by the
companies to enhance the quality in supply chain
3. To find out the areas of improvement.

3.2 Research design:
To carry out the research, exploratory research design is used where research has been
carried out using the data from primary as well as secondary source of information.
Secondary information is collected from a number of research papers published by different
people. Primary research is done by collecting data from various companies.
3.3 Sampling Technique:
The sample has been collected from the field of real estate companies which are involved
in construction businesses intensively requiring supply chain management in order to acquire
the materials of construction and continue their operations. Thus supply chain is an integral
part of these companies as their efficiency in construction will entirely be dependent upon
how well they manage their supply chain to acquire the raw material for construction.
Sample is collected randomly from the companies in different regions of Delhi-NCR.
3.4 Sample size:
A sample of 20 companies is collected to continue this research.
3.5 Tool used for data collection:
Data is collected from companies with the help of questionnaire which contains a total of
28 different questions that are capable of covering all the areas related to quality in supply
chain management. Questions are related to the various supply chain practices that are
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performed by various organizations and the respondent needs to answer those questions on
the basis of these functions being practiced in their organization. They have to rate those
questions as to how much level these functions are being practiced in the organization, 1
being not practiced and 5 being highly practiced.
3.6 Limitations:
1. Due to time constraint, sample size is small.
2. Many prominent companies in real estate were reluctant to share their data due
to their company‟s policy.

























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Chapter 4
Data Analysis and Interpretation
A total of 27 questions were asked from the respondents on various aspects of supply
chain management issues in their company. Each question has distinctive response from
different companies and based on this response, a graph has been plotted based upon which
data will be analysed.
Q.1 Creating SCM teams with members from different companies.

As seen from the above graph, majority of companies (more than 45 %) believe in creating
SCM teams with members from different companies. This not only facilities in managing the
supply chain network efficiently but also it helps in synchronizing different SCM companies
which helps in saving cost as well as time.
Q2.

As seen from above graph, only 10% of the companies do not focus on extending
membership beyond immediate suppliers and customers. Rest, 50 % companies believe in
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extending membership up to a certain level. This shows they won‟t hesitate to change their
supplier if the supplier doesn‟t fulfil their needs, although it happens less. Around 40 % of the
companies believe in extending membership beyond immediate suppliers and customers.
This shows their approach of building long term relationships with their suppliers and
customers, thus, enjoying various advantages of supplier and customer loyalty as well as high
margins.

Q3.

As seen from the above graph, we can say that no company(0 %) is fully ready to share
sensitive information to their suppliers because there is a risk of information getting leaked to
their competitors. Though they are willing to share certain information at medium and
moderate level which helps the supplier to understand what is expected out of him and
therefore, they could perform their duties well and maintain quality in supply chain.






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Q.4

A majority of company opts for involving all members of supply chain in
product/service/marketing plans (around 85 %) as shown in the above graph. This in turn
helps the company in understanding the customers better and realising their needs and thus,
in turn helping the company to design their products accordingly. Involving all members of
supply chain is a great way of knowing what actually the customer wants and thus it will help
in improving the product.
Q.5

The above graph shows the varying level of companies as to how much they involve
supplier participation in designing the product


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Q.6

Above graph shows that around 60 % of the companies generally involves less of supplier
and buyer in making the product. The involvement is only up to a certain level which implies
that company generally rely on a team of experts in making the product, though they make
take crucial inputs from both the buyer and the supplier.
Q.7

Creating compatible communication/ information system has become the basic necessity
of any organization with their supply chain members because a well-established
communication system helps in improving the relations with supply chain members, as well
as it helps in enhancing the quality in supply chain through fast and efficient delivery.
Around 80 % companies are in favour of establishing an efficient communication system,
which only supports the importance of information systems in maintain the supply chain.

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Q8.


for an organization to maintain quality in supply chain, first of all they need to focus on
improving the integration of activities across supply chain. The more efficient the integration,
the more effective will be the supply chain because it will help in synchronizing all these
activities, thus, reducing the wastage in time and money. With more than 90% of companies
focusing on improving this integration to some extent or the other, it shows how much
company have realized this important factor in improving the quality of supply chain.
Q9.

Establishing frequent contacts with supply chain members is really important for the
company in order to build long term and effective relationship as well as seeing that
efficiency of supply chain is maintained because frequent contact with the members will help
in explain what is expected of them. A lapse in communication may result in
misunderstandings happening between the members and the company.
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The results from the survey emphasises that most of the companies (90%) believe in
establishing frequent contacts with the supply chain members because they have realized the
importance of keeping supply chain members in touch.
Q10.

The above bar graph shows how much the companies believe in providing the training to
suppliers on quality aspects. Quality is a major issue for any company. Every company wants
to maintain quality because every sub-standard quality product not only increase the cost and
time of production but also may result in losing of trust from customer‟s point of view. In
order to maintain this trust, they need to maintain the quality of product. Hence they should
clearly communicate this demand to their suppliers and if necessary, they should also provide
training so as to tell what those members, what is expected of them. As clear from the result,
most companies provide training to suppliers on quality aspects. Though some companies do
not provide much training to the suppliers, this implies that the suppliers are very efficient in
realising the quality needs of their customers and hence, do not require much training.






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Q11.

In cooperation with suppliers with respect to process design, we see moderate response
from the companies. Some are highly in favour of this, while some don‟t focus much. The
reason behind this is that companies generally like to design their process in their own way in
accordance with the goals and objectives as well as rules and regulations of their company.
Though it may be highly beneficial for the company if they include suppliers also in
designing their process.
Q12.

Time is one of those factors of supply chain which adds value to the product. Hence, it is
important to reduce the time taken in the movement of goods in supply chain network. Here
response time is of considerable importance. Faster the response, more efficient will be the
supply chain network. The companies now a days have realized the importance of this factor
and hence, as it is clear from the graph, majority of companies focus on reducing the response
time across the supply chain.
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Q13.

It is very important for any organization to communicate customer‟s future strategic needs
throughout the supply chain to let them know what is going to happen in future and what is
expected of them. As clear from the results, majority of the companies ( 70%) communicate
the customer‟s future strategic needs throughout the supply chain network.
Q14.

In today‟s era, IT has drastically changed the way the organizations used to work in the
past. It not only has simplified the work but also has led to increased efficiency, increased
quality levels and therefore increased satisfaction level. As the time is progressing, more and
more companies are upgrading their machinery as well as process and using more and more
IT in their day to day work. Even the results are in accordance with this fact and more and
more companies are shifting towards IT driven work in order to enhance the quality as well
as efficiency in production.
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Q15.

JIT as a principle is a concept of just in time inventory system. It involves keeping zero
inventory and relying on supplier‟s distribution ability to provide the raw material in time. As
clear from the graph, very few companies (only 40%) rely on JIT principle in managing their
inventory. The reason for such a low interest may be attributed to the poor infrastructural
developments (roads) and inefficient mode of transport. JIT as a principle is highly successful
in foreign and thus it helps foreign companies to save a lot of money and man power in
managing the inventory and thus reducing the overall costs.
Q16.

A supplier will work efficiently if it gets the full support from the organization to whom it
is supplying the material. As it is clear from the graph, to a certain level, companies
participate in the quality efforts of supplier. They are ready to help the supplier in every
possible way to enhance the quality.
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Q17.


Businesses run on trust. More the trust, smoother will be the road of their success. Hence
trust is an important factor which every organization realises and tries to instil it in all the
stakeholders including the supply chain members. As clear from the result, majority of the
company‟s (90%) focus on developing a greater level of trust among supply chain members
which helps in getting the right quality of work from them.
Q18.

As seen from the result, companies prefer quality over price in selecting any material.
Though it may add extra cost to the company but the quality they get is beneficial in the long
run. For some companies though it may be otherwise due to financial and resource
constraints, but mostly prefer quality over price.


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Q19.

Here we get the moderate result because companies have a lot of option when it comes to
getting supply due to high competition in the market. So only about 35 % of companies
consider supplier‟s capability when designing products. Rest of the companies generally
don‟t take it into consideration. The reason may be attributed to less involvement of suppliers
in the designing process.
Q20.

The businesses today are integrated systems in which all the people are connected and
inter-related with each other. If one suffers any problem then this has effect on all other
connected to the system. Thus it is important for the organizations to tackle these problems
together. As clear from the result, companies do help supply chain members in solving all
those problems which create hindrance in their smooth working.


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Q21.

When supply chain members contribute so much to delivering the quality of their product
to the organizations, then it is also the responsibilities of these organizations to fulfil the
needs of supply chain members so that they may way better satisfaction with their work and
they in turn may contribute more. Interpreting the results, around 40% of the companies are
somewhat committed to fulfilling the needs of supply chain members. Though the number of
companies who are highly committed are 50 % but this is low and should be enhanced for
developing better relations with the supply chain members.
Q22.

While selecting any supplier, an organization checks for the past record of that supplier in
delivering what they promise. It is very important because it helps in developing trust and
understanding. Moreover if an organization selects any supplier on the basis of the past
record then it is more likely that the supplier will be reliable for the organizations. So from
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the result we find that companies (80%) show their keen interest in knowing the quality
records of supplier.
Q23.

Keeping supplier informed regarding any process change helps the supplier in adjusting to
the needs of the organization according to the changes as suggested to them. If the company
doesn‟t inform the suppliers about the changes in process then it may lead to confusions,
delays in order fulfilment and also dip in quality. Hence company should inform the suppliers
about any changes in process. As seen from the result, majority of the companies do take
effort in keeping the suppliers informed regarding any process change.
Q24.

Establishing long-term relationships has various advantages for the company. The
advantages includes mutual trust, increased efficiency in working together, discount benefits,
fast delivery etc. As seen from the result, companies focus more on developing long term
relationships with the supply chain members.
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Q25.

The result here is mixed because companies not only rely on suppliers for demand
forecasting but also use more advanced statistical tools and techniques for demand
forecasting.
Q26.

As clear from the graph, this is a major function which is used by the companies to
maintain the quality in supply chain. Thoroughly inspecting the incoming supplies will help
in detecting the defects in materials and thus maintain the quality of goods purchased.




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Q27.

More than 90% of the companies select the suppliers based on quality record which helps
in ensuring that quality is maintained in supply chain.

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Chapter 5
Findings
1. More than 50 % of companies believe in creating supply chain member teams
in order to fulfill its supply chain needs. However, 25 % of companies put moderate
effort and another 25 % put low effort in creating the supply chain member teams.
2. Around 50% of the companies moderately believe in extending membership
beyond immediate suppliers and customers and 40% of the companies believe highly
in extending their membership beyond immediate suppliers an customers.
3. Only 40 % of the companies are willing to share their sensitive information to
suppliers and res of the companies either moderately share there sensitive information
or sharing is very less.
4. Around 85% of the companies involve all members of supply chain in
product/service/marketing plans either moderately or very highly.
5. Only about 30 % of the companies involve their supplier‟s participation in
product design and rest either moderately or very less or not at all participate in
product design.
6. More than 80 % of the companies believe in creating compatible
communication/ information systems for supply chain members.
7. More than 85% of the companies highly believe in improving integration of
activities across supply chain.
8. Around 90 % of the companies believe in establishing more frequent contacts
with supply chain members.
9. Around 70 % of the companies believe highly in providing training to
suppliers on quality aspect whereas 30% of the companies take less effort in doing
that.
10. Only about 50% of the companies cooperate with suppliers with respect to
process design and rest either moderately or very less cooperate with suppliers in
process design.
11. 95% of the companies believe in reducing response time across the supply
chain.
12. Around 55% of the companies highly and 15% of the companies very highly
communicate customer‟s future strategic needs throughout the supply chain.
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13. Only 40% of the companies practice JIT in their operations at high level. Rest
of the companies either use at medium rate or at low.
14. More than 75% of the companies use it enabled operations, logistics and
production.
15. More than 80% of the companies participates in the quality effort of the
supplier.
16. More than 90% of the companies believe in creating a greater level of trust
among supply chain members.
17. Around 65% of the company‟s emphasis quality instead of price in supplier
development.
18. Only about 35% of the companies consider supplier‟s capability when
designing the products.
19. Around 65% of the companies believe in joint problem solving with supply
chain members.
20. Only 55% of the companies are highly committed to fulfilling the needs of
supply chain members.
21. Around 80% of the companies make effort in knowing supplier‟s quality
record.
22. Around 80% of the companies make effort in keeping suppliers informed
regarding any process change.
23. Around 90% of the companies believe in establishing long term relationships
with suppliers.
24. Only about 50% of the companies cooperate with suppliers with respect to
forecasting and production planning.
25. 100% of the companies make effort in quality inspection of incoming supplies.
26. 90% of companies select suppliers based on quality records.

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Chapter 6
Conclusion
 Companies make a lot of effort in maintaining the quality in supply chain
network.
 They include the supply chain members in various activities related to
production, process design, forecasting etc
 They make effort to create compatible information/system for supply chain
members.
 They believe in making frequent contact with suppliers and keeping them
informed about any changes.
 They believe in building trust and long term relationships with the supply
chain members.
 They make effort in quality inspections of the incoming supplies leading to
better quality across the supply chain.
Recommendations
 Companies should focus on extending membership beyond the immediate
suppliers and customers.
 Companies should be more willing to share their information to the supply
chain members.
 Companies should involve more participation from supply chain members in
product design.
 Companies should include JIT as a principle for managing the inventory.
 Companies should consider supplier‟s capability while designing the product.

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References
Research papers
1. Ashwini sharma, dixit garg, ashish agarwal (2012), “QUALITY
MANAGEMENT IN SUPPLY CHAINS”, International Journal for Quality research.
2. Guangshu Chang, Zhengzhou Institute of Aeronautical Industry
Management(2009), “Total Quality Management in Supply Chain”
3. Roaimah Omar, Suhaiza Zailani & Mohamad Sulaiman, “SUPPLY CHAIN
QUALITY MANAGEMENT (SCQM): NEW EVIDENCE FROM MALAYSIAN
COMPANIES”.
4. Lynn A. Fish, “Supply Chain Quality Management”
5. Gyaneshwar Singh Kushwaha, Prof. Deepak Barman, “Impact of Supply
Chain Quality Management on Competitive Advantage and Organizational
Performance”
Links
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supply_chain
2. http://www.qualitydigest.com/inside/quality-insider-article/managing-
supply-chain-quality-and-risk-era-globalization.html
3. http://www.intechopen.com/books/supply-chain-management-
pathways-for-research-and-practice/supply-chain-quality-management
4. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305048304001343
5. http://www.intechopen.com/books/supply-chain-management-
pathways-for-research-and-practice/supply-chain-quality-management

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Questionnaire

Q. What functions of supply chain management are practiced in your company to maintain
the quality in supply chain?
1=not practiced; 2=rarely practiced; 3=somewhat practiced; 4=moderately practiced;
5=highly practiced
1. Creating SCM teams with members from different companies.
2. Extend membership beyond immediate suppliers and customers
3. Participates in the sourcing decisions of suppliers
4. Willingness to share sensitive information
5. Involving all members of supply chain in product/service/marketing plans
6. Supplier participates in product design
7. Co-making product with supplier and buyer
8. Creating compatible communication/information systems for supply chain members
9. Improving integration of activities across supply chain
10. Establishing more frequent contacts with supply chain members
11. Providing training to suppliers on quality aspects
12. Cooperate with suppliers with respect to process design
13. Reducing response time across supply chain
14. Communicating customer‟s future strategic needs throughout supply chain
15. IT enabled operations, logistics and production
16. Practicing JIT principles in our operations
17. Participates in the quality efforts of supplier
18. Creating a greater level of trust among supply chain members
19. Emphasis quality instead of price in supplier development
20. Consider supplier‟s capability when designing products
21. Joint problem solving with the supply chain members
22. Committed to fulfill the needs of supply chain members
23. Knowing suppliers‟ quality records
24. Keeping suppliers informed regarding any process change
25. Establishing long-term relationship with suppliers
26. Cooperate with suppliers with respect to forecasting and production planning
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27. Inspection of incoming supplies
28. Selecting suppliers based on quality records