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Major Hurdles and the Cost of Poor Quality that Companies face based on TQM

Continuing quality improvements in any process result in customer satisfaction that as a

well leads to an external quality improvement. Besides, the continuing quality improvements of a

particular process also result in a product having fewer defects leading to an internal quality

improvement. Management leadership stands out as a significant factor when implementing

TQM in companies (Pratt). However, there are various challenges that manufacturers and service

providers encounter while undertaking continuing quality improvements. For instance,

ineffective and poor leadership is a significant hindrance to successful implementation in this

process, an aspect that has been found to have resulted in most of the failures witnessed in the

TQM implementation process (Murray).

Lack of resources and funding is also another challenge that companies face when

implementing continuing quality improvement. Besides, having acts of disobedience and

insubordination among a company’s workforce is also a big challenge in the overall

implementation of TQM. Poor employees’ morale and status is also a key factor that hinders

continuing quality improvement in any organization (Pratt). Poor planning and quality can also

affect the implantation of continuing quality since effective planning is usually directly related to

organizational success (Murray). Therefore, underdevelopment and business failure can be

termed as some of the costs of poor quality since these aspects always lead to the loss of

customers and eventually financial instability in an enterprise.

Best Practice with Retailers in Supply Chain Management

Strategic sourcing helps an organization in shifting their focus by only looking at the

purchase price for them to understand the TCO (total cost of ownership) of a particular product

or service. This approach makes more business sense for retailers since the cost for acquiring
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products and services is lower at the TCO, and the others are included in the business operation,

transportation, and warehousing, among others (John Chrzanowski). Thus, identifying the TCO

entails having a look at the entire procurement and consuming process of a product or service, an

activity that can only be accomplished when there is input and cooperation from both the retailer

and the buyer.

As an advantage, establishing a TCO in business is a goal that is essential to the supply

chain management team that helps embrace and perpetuate all the business processes. However,

it becomes a challenge when it comes to convincing the entire business leadership or

management team to prioritize value over price (John Chrzanowski). On that note, there are other

businesses that have opted to focus on cost reduction, an approach that they expect to later

translate to price reduction. Besides, the procurement team requires more partnerships with

suppliers for an accurate TCO to be determined.

Best Practice with Retailers in Procurement

Leveraging technology is one of the best practices that the procurement team applies in

their daily operations in order to remain relevant in business. Procurement requires reliable

information whereby decisions and other supplier negotiations are based (Smith). Thus, parties in

production and retailing require access to contractual data in the procurement process to be

informed of how optimal order quantities are calculated in obtaining the best discounts.

Technology in tender processes helps retailers place an electronic barrier between the

procurement team and the suppliers, making the tender procedure more effective. Procurement

teams can as well supplement various ERP systems that, as a result, helps businesses to meet

their required needs. However, the implantation of technology comes with a high cost for

retailers compared to any other approach (Smith). New systems have to be brought in, an aspect
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that also takes more time besides cost-related factors. The technological implementation also

required retraining of employees for proper application to happen.

Response to a Post

Your analysis of responsiveness on quality issues is indeed outstanding. However, you

could have included the most critical aspect that entails market dominance. Superiority in quality

management assists an organization in dominating the market and gaining a competitive

advantage as well. Being proactive, of course, helps a company in building its reputation, an

aspect that also assists in keeping it from costly customer-related protests and product recalls.

Therefore, it is essential not to view quality reactional responses as damages to an organization

but should be perceived as an investment into a company’s long-term success since it empowers

an entrepreneur in excelling over other competitors.

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References

John Chrzanowski, Senior VP Operations & Admin. "12 Key Elements of Total Cost of

Ownership". Supplytechnologies.Com, 2021,

http://www.supplytechnologies.com/blog/12-key-elements-of-total-cost-of-ownership.

Accessed 29 July 2021.

Murray, Martin. "How The Implementation Of TQM Method Will Lead To Success." The

Balance Small Business, 2021, https://www.thebalancesmb.com/total-quality-

management-tqm-2221200. Accessed 29 July 2021.

Pratt, Mary. "What Is Total Quality Management And Why Is It Important?” Searchcio, 2021,

https://searchcio.techtarget.com/definition/Total-Quality-Management. Accessed 29 July

2021.

Smith, Peter. "Procurement Today – More Complex But More Interesting." Supply Management,

2021, https://www.cips.org/supply-management/opinion/2019/october/procurement-

today--more-complex-but-more-interesting-/. Accessed 29 July 2021.