Collins Omondi BBM/2375/17

Total Quality in supply chain management CAT

BBM 445

Date of submission 15/7/2021

LEC, MR. TONNY LUKOSE

Explain the benefit of having a QMS in small business

1. it ensures superior quality products and services

Quality management methods such as Total Quality management or Six Sigma have a common goal to
deliver a high quality product. It is essential to create superior quality products which not only meet but
also exceed customer satisfaction. Customers need to be satisfied with the brand. Business marketers are
successful only when they emphasize on quality rather than quantity.
2. Quality management is essential for customer satisfaction which eventually leads to customer
loyalty.
It is important for every business to have some loyal customers. You need to have some customers, who
would come back to your organization no matter what,
Customers would return to your organization only if they are satisfied with your products and services.
Make sure the end-user is happy with your product; a customer would be happy and satisfied only when
your product meets his expectations and fulfills his needs. Understand what the customer expects from
you, find out what actually is the customers demand and Collect relevant data which would give you more
insight into customer’s needs and demands.

Customer feedbacks should be collected on a regular basis and carefully monitored. Quality management
ensures high quality products and services by eliminating defects and incorporating continuous changes
and improvements in the system. High quality products in turn lead to loyal and satisfied customers who
bring ten new customers along with them.

3. Quality Management ensures increased revenues and higher productivity for the organization.

Implementing Quality management tools ensure high customer loyalty which intern lead to better
business, increased cash flow, satisfied employees, healthy workplace and Quality management
processes make the organization a better place to work. Remove unnecessary processes which merely
waste employee’s time and do not contribute much to the organization’s productivity. Quality management
enables employees to deliver more work in less time.

4. Quality management helps organizations to reduce waste and inventory.

It enables employees to work closely with suppliers and incorporate Just in Time Philosophy.

Quality management ensures close coordination between employees of an organization. It inculcates a

strong feeling of team work in the employment product.

5. Quality management ensures increased in revenue and higher production for the organization
By implementing quality management tools it ensures a high customer loyalty, which lead to better
business, increased cash flow and satisfied employee, healthier workplace

Benchmarking
Benchmarking is a way to measure business and team success by comparing a process or the
organization as a whole to other internal processes or to competitors. Benchmarking helps you
understand industry norms and analyze how your company stacks up. You can also compare a process
within one department to that of another to evaluate productivity or efficiency.
Benchmarking allows you to continue to improve the business or business functions by creating a
specific standard for performance.

Various types of bench marking an organization should take to

remain competitive.
1. Internal benchmarking
Internal benchmarking is pretty straightforward. You compare a process or task to a similar process or
task within the company. This requires the ability to track metrics for these two comparable systems or
departments so the KPIs can be assessed and compared.
This type of benchmarking is effective because it helps set and meet standards across the board,
establishing consistency and ensuring that each department is as efficient as possible .

2. External benchmarking
External benchmarking is comparing an internal process to that of a competitor or even several other
organizations. This approach can be a little trickier because it requires access to industry data or specific
company data, which may not be available unless the other organization has agreed to share it with you.
External benchmarking is extremely valuable. You can better understand where your business fits into
the wider market and identify areas of weakness that you should be focusing on.

3. Competitive benchmarking
Competitive benchmarking is a type of external benchmarking that solely focuses on comparing your
own processes and metrics to those of direct competitors. This form of benchmarking is significant
because you can identify exactly why a competitor is succeeding or what drives customer satisfaction in
your industry.

4. Performance benchmarking
Another important form of benchmarking is related to business performance. By tracking metrics and
KPIs within the business, teams can continue to compare past outcomes to current standards,
continuously updating the standard for improved performance.

This type of benchmarking is focused on improving key business functions over time, since the idea is
that benchmarks will continue to be raised and strengthened.

5. Strategic benchmarking
Strategic benchmarking is typically external and specifically analyzes how other companies got to be
successful. What kind of business strategies do they employ? For example, what is successful about their
marketing campaigns?

Benchmarking the way you strategize can help you learn from what has worked for winning businesses
in and out of your industry. This is especially helpful for new businesses or startups .

6. Practice benchmarking
This form of internal benchmarking relates to the practices and processes of your business. This requires
you to have procedures in place to gather and analyze business data, like how employees and teams are
completing their tasks or using certain technologies.

Process mapping is one way to start practice benchmarking, and you can quickly identify and address
any performance gaps in the company.

The milestone Kenya has made in quality management.

During the 1990s Total Quality Management (TQM) became diffused to Kenya. The overarching logic of
privatization due to Structural Adjustment Programs prepared the ground for far-reaching changes in
management practices. TQM became exhorted as a new way of manufacturing. This new management
concept was presented as a crucial part of new corporate success and put strong emphasis on
empowerment of employers, customer service and charismatic leadership. Interviews with top and
middle management in a range of Kenya companies showed willingness for mimetic learning but it
turned out that translating the concept into specific new practices by way of new routines remained a
complex matter. Although this management concept sometimes became part of the dispositional
practice of managers a new habitual Company practices could be better characterized as improvisation
on quality improvement.

The challenges to successful Total Quality Implementation in Kenya

firms today.
1. Over-Reliance on Theory
Firms no longer strive to put theory into actual practice; the theory itself is useless as it is not an end
but rather a means to an end.
The firm’s over-dependency on theory alone poses a clog in TQM’s progressive wheel.
Firms should practice TQM, which will make the organization more effective and allow it to achieve its
goals. Ultimately, the firm’s value will increase. 
2. Excess Documentation
A lot of documentation may be necessary for its functionality. However, when the emphasis on
documentation becomes too much, that said functionality is threatened and affected. It has been
discovered that employees and even the top management can sometimes get overwhelmed with the
excess documentation, which makes them disillusioned with the whole process. The result of these
challenges is that the TQM process no longer serves its goal.
Paperwork in itself is useful for the overall efficiency and effectiveness of the process. However, it
should not be the focal point of the TQM process. The TQM process is not aimed at creating excess
documentation. Documents are to be used for communication, proof of the result, and for knowledge
management within the organization.
3. Managing by Department
Isolating the work of quality control to one single department is a part of the old business paradigm. It
dictates that only the department of quality control or quality assurance is tasked with safeguarding
the accurate manufacturing of the firm’s products. 
But today holds that the organization must have a more integrated approach. Every department should
see itself as a part of the whole, with the whole being responsible for producing a quality product. 
Creating a culture of quality within the whole firm will produce creativity and productivity. This culture
must be exemplified and clearly communicated, from the top down, to be sufficient for change.
4. Tight Bureaucracy
When a firm’s total quality management regime is proving to be too rigid, problems are sure to arise.
One of the downsides of this rigidity is the inability to adjust when necessary. This can ultimately affect
the organization’s effectiveness and its ability to accomplish goals. 
TQM requires a free-flowing organizational structure to be implemented successfully. When the firm’s
structure is too rigid, the overall effectiveness of TQM will be restricted.
The business world and they are constantly evolving.  It is expected of the firm to evolve alongside them,
the evolution of a very rigid firm is a task that proves very difficult, static and backward firms cannot
exploit the various new emerging opportunities in Total Quality Management practice.
5. Supply Chain Complexity
Globalization has been a blessing and a curse to the manufacturing industry. It has made it possible for
firms to expand where production costs are lower, and where the raw materials and qualified workforce
they need are in greater supply. But expanding into different regions has created another problem
– supply chain issues.  
The finished products, partially-finished materials, related information, and the flow and storage of raw
materials, all must be moved from point A to point B. The logistics of getting these things from the place
of origin to the customer has become complicated and requires a higher level of oversight and
expertise. 
6. Lack of Resources

Back to the outdated belief that each department has its own responsibilities, upper management has
not been willing to allocate sufficient time and resources to quality control. Traditionally, they have not
felt responsible for fixing errors or flaws that challenge quality. They see the expenditure of time as
taking away from their separate duties and would rather relegate these to a single department.
7. Insufficient Motivation
Most times, manufacturing firms tend to make the mistake of adopting TQM practices only because of
some outward or external factors. Such factors include competitors’ adoption of TQM, a request by
customers, the pressure to evolve with the industry,  When this happens, there will be no inward drive
from the employees to ensure that the TQM process is top-notch ultimately leading to the failure of the
process.
Whatever the firm’s top management chooses to adopt should not be to the detriment of the
employees. All policies and practices taken should be done in line with the employees as they are the
ones who will be the chief executors of any project. The management always needs to keep them
motivated. 
Platforms for both intrinsic and extrinsic rewards should be provided. Some intrinsic rewards may
include a deep sense of fulfillment, while extrinsic rewards may consist of financial bonuses.
8. Resistance to Technology
Technology makes it possible for firms to improve significantly and innovate, systems, processes, and
skill sets. While employees and middle management tend to embrace the changes and
improvements, technology is often met with resistance at the higher levels. New technologies are often
viewed by upper management as consuming too much time and resources and unnecessary in some
circumstances. This resistance has created a barrier to improved quality.
Upper management and entire firms can be devoted to their legacy systems and resist change. Most
systems represent a substantial investment of time and resources for the firm, and are not easily or
willingly replaced. This is understandable. However, as we see in the cautionary tale of the steel and
automobile manufacturers in the United States, firms cannot afford to be sluggish to utilize new
technology. It is a misstep that can prove fatal to a firm. 
9. Lack of Quality Equipment
Quality equipment and quality-related production equipment represent a substantial financial
investment for a firm. This equipment must be reliable and well-maintained. While many companies are
quick to spot problems and deficiencies, they are not as ready to invest in quality equipment. Dedicated
teams may prioritize and see to the repair, refurbishment, and replacement of equipment promptly.
Firm finances must be allocated for these needs ahead of time so that resources are not wasted. While
companies expect the best from the shop floor, they need to be willing to provide up-to-date and
efficient equipment. The cost of poor quality to a firm cannot be compared with the costs of quality
equipment.
10. Non-Compatibility with Company Policies
For a total quality management process to achieve its intended goals, it must be a strategic and best fit
for the company. Such a strategic fit is achieved when the company goals, objectives, and policies are in
tune with the TQM process. No matter how ‘ready to use’ a TQM process may seem, if it is not in line
with the firm’s policies, then it is already bound to fail. 
The company needs to establish the best way to achieve its TQM goals, and it should be aligned with
company policies. Some TQM models, such as ISO 9001, have been criticized on the grounds of
being too result-oriented and leaving out how such results can be achieved in line with the company
policies and objectives.
11. Lack of Employee Engagement and Communication
To cultivate a positive company ethics, employees must feel included and
informed. This communication must also be reciprocated, with plenty of employee input. This level of
engagement goes toward a productive and creative work environment. 
Connections between employees and management are crucial as a firm progresses, to provide
company cohesion and success. Communication cannot be left to one person but should be considered
the work of everyone. When communication lines are neglected, even the most well-meaning initiatives
can be misunderstood leaving employees feeling as though something has been done to them and
not for them. 
One survey concluded that while companies attempt to make positive changes, their success was limited
because they failed to involve the employees. Corrective actions, training needs assessments, and
continuous improvement initiatives, all need employee buy-in, so must be adequately communicated
from start to finish. 
Methods of communication can include monthly meetings, posting results, newsletters, etc.
12. Lack of Training and Development

There is often a rush to get new employees working, so training is minimal and brief. This presents
problems over time as many employees can feel inadequately trained for their positions. This lack of
confidence may or may not be shared with management. There can be a fear of reprisals, like a
reprimand for not remembering everything from the initial training, or losing the position altogether. 
Trainings should be documented and demonstrate all that is required for the tasks, with considerations
for past experience and expert level. They should include full job descriptions, how to perform the job,
and practical opportunities. The employee should feel comfortable asking follow-up questions, and
possibly, have a mentor assigned. 
Training and continual opportunities for further development must be part of the firm’s operation
system.