Global Supply Chain Management: Quality Strategy

Global Supply Chain Management
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Global Supply Chain Management
According to Soltani et al., 2011, Global supply chain quality management (SCQM) combines and coordinates total quality management to supply chain management and extends their vision above their firm to manage quality into the supply chain for long-term success. Firms operating in a global market require this supply chain quality management due to stiff competition experienced. The firm should ensure their suppliers are high performers and top-quality for the firm to compete well globally (Kuei et al., 2011). The paper will discuss the problems and causes contributing to low quality in the supply chain, recommendations, and changes required for the supply chain suppliers to be successful.
Several problems contribute to low quality in the supply chain. One of the problems is the supply of faulty raw materials. As specified in both M-case and H-case, the collection of low-quality raw materials leads to low-quality products. Therefore, it will affect the cost of products and services and jeopardize its revenue and long-term survival in the market. It leads to a loss of trust among all the stakeholders, which seriously damages the firm's survival. The management highly blamed the workers working at the production plant if low-quality production occurred, and they faced severe punishment that installed fear among workers. In the case of high-quality products, they praised the managers. It was not so encouraging to the workers since quality is a responsibility of everyone from top to bottom (Soltani et al., 2011). Poor quality management is another problem that leads to low quality in the supply chain since the management was the primary source of planning and executing quality. It occurs if a firm employs inexperienced personnel with poor control and management skills.
Poor control skills include faulty guarantee dates, which causes the products to worsen before the specified dates. Several failures occur after the products leave the manufacturing firm. One of them is Poor transport facilities that damage the quality of the product before it reaches the retail shop from the manufacturing facility. M-case and H-case applied manual inspection strategy. This strategy may lead to low-quality products since it increases the cost of production, which is unnecessary for a well-functioning mechanism (Soltani et al., 2011). The relationship between supplier and buyer was vague and complex, and this affected the quality of production. Still, a closer relationship with the focal suppliers supported a more fruitful and beneficial economic outcome for all partners involved.
Due to problems experienced that caused low-quality products throughout the supply chain, some recommendations are made to make the firm viable for a long time. They include selecting suitable partners, ensuring there is cooperation among the workers and the management, and promoting loyalty to the buyers. As indicated in M-case, it is achieved by introducing direct control and close monitoring of the workers that announced the attainment of quality objectives and achievement of unity and uniformity among all stakehold...