What Is Supply Chain Management? “Quality”

What is “Quality?”

I venture to say that there is no adequate, concise definition. It is a subject that has commanded thousands of volumes of scholarly work.

By virtue of the fact that quality is an entirely subjective concept, quality can manifest in infinite ways.

One of the better attempts at a definition that I have encountered is “Quality is that which the customer says it is.” And getting one’s head around that descriptor is a little like trying to eat jello with a pair of chopsticks.

Module 11 of the excellent “What is Supply Chain Management” series, produced by ASU and the W. P. Carey School of Business, discusses, very briefly, the importance of Quality and the role of supply change management in pursuit of Quality.

Supply chains are tasked with producing high quality products and services on a consistent basis, thus supply chain management is an entire exercise in quality management. In this module well illustrate the enormous task of developing, managing, and improving quality. In addition, youll see why world-class supply chain managers are in fact world-class quality managers.

As I watched this video, I could not help but think of the struggles of Canadian business icon RIM, makers of the famous Blackberry communications device.

A short decade ago, RIM, and the Blackberry, were at the vanguard of personal communication device technology around the world. Due to rapid changes in consumer perceptions of what makes quality in this market, Apple has assumed a position of leadership, while RIM struggles to maintain relevance.

Brian Bloom writes for itWorldCanada this week:

Research in Motion Ltd. CEO Thorsten Heins gave the world a closer look at its anxiously awaited BB10 operating system Sept. 25 at Blackberry Jam Americas in San Jose.  Meanwhile, the company said it had expanded its developer toolkit.Heins emphasized the ease of use and fluidity of the BB10 operating system, saying it provided “insight and information with a single glance, with more than just the traditional screen…a seamless flow.”

The troubled mobile handset vendor has repeatedly said that user experience and seamless integration across applications will differentiate the company’s products from iOS and Android-based devices The new operating system will allow people to be “more productive and efficient,” Heins said. (Read more…)

This is the 11th installment in Arizona State University’s twelve-part introduction to supply chain management video series developed by Eddie Davila, Jeff Hough, Randy Cates, Dawn Feldman, Dan Ichikawa, Ian Schmoel, and Matt Hardy. ASU, the W. P. Carey School of Business, and the Supply Chain Management Department are proud and happy to share this video series with supply chain management departments, supply chain instructors, career specialists in high schools and universities, as well as industry leaders in an effort to inspire a new generation of supply chain management professionals across the country and around the world.

For more information, visit W. P. Carey’s SCM Web site at http://wpcarey.asu.edu/scm or send an e-mail to wpcarey.scm@asu.edu.

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