Operations Management: An Integrated Approach, 5th Edition

THE SUPPLY CHAIN LINK

The theme of this chapter has been measuring variation of key quality characteristics of the product or process in order to ensure a high level of quality. We learned that variation in the production process leads to quality defects and contributes to product inconsistency. We also learned how leading companies, such as Intel, make minimizing product variation a priority. For this reason, Intel has implemented the “copy-exactly” program, where the production process must be the same at every facility. This concept of minimizing product variation also has to extend to other members of the supply chain who are responsible for supplying component parts or delivering the product to the final customer. A product is only as good as the quality of its component parts. Just as variation between production facilities contributes to product inconsistency, so does variation between suppliers, retailers, or distributors. To minimize product variation, precise standards of quality control must be implemented and SQC tools used by others in the supply chain. These standards must be consistent across the supply chain. To help achieve this, many com panies today are using ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 certification as part of the supplier selection process. This helps to determine process capability up front and avoid long-term acceptance samp ling needs. These standards are especially ...