From small family-run companies to tech giants, the business world is changing at an unrelenting pace. Amid a constantly evolving economic landscape and sometimes dizzying technological advances, one thing remains constant: the need to maintain the highest level of quality which endures over time.

Whether manufacturing a product, carrying out a process or providing a service, ensuring superior quality is how organizations set themselves apart in today’s complex business environment. But managing intricate quality processes across global supply chains, production sites and product portfolios can be extremely challenging without the right tools. To remain competitive, organizations must ensure they carry out rigorous quality control, checking they are meeting customer requirements and living up to industry standards.

That’s the job of quality management. Essentially, quality management must deliver consistent product quality, compliance and transparency across all stages of production. While this can be complex, there are tools available to help you achieve these goals. Among the many existing solutions, quality management system software can be a useful tool to manage your quality operations and build an effective, safe and ethical supply chain.

Let’s explore how.

Why quality management matters

We all know the importance of quality, but how do we define it? Perhaps the most often-quoted statement is that of Henry Ford: “Quality means doing it right when no one is looking.” In essence, “quality” describes how well a product or service meets its designated requirements. Therefore, it is underpinned by skillful execution, a commitment to excellence and intelligent planning.

In exploring how quality management software can help, it is important to distinguish between two related, but distinct, terms:

• Quality management: This takes place during the pre-implementation or planning stage, laying the groundwork as quality standards are established, responsibilities are assigned, specifications are determined, meetings are scheduled and metrics are defined to determine how well the project will perform.
• Quality control: This takes place during the project implementation stage as responsible parties ensure that outputs align with planning and assess performance against the specifications established during the quality management phase.

In other words, quality management and quality control are symbiotic aspects of the same process. While quality management dictates all quality assurance methods, quality control brings them together, like two seamlessly operating cogs in a wheel.

What is quality management software?

Often referred to as QMS software, this integrated management solution provides businesses with a platform or digital tools to help answer vital questions such as: “Is every product the best that it can be?” and “Can we prove our product meets industry standards?” This software centralizes and automates the often repetitive tasks and documentation needed to rigorously capture, analyse and act on data relating to quality management.

Establishing a robust enterprise quality management software makes it easier for businesses to monitor, measure and improve their quality standards. By turning data into intelligence and actionable insights, they can move from reacting to quality events to making predictive and, eventually, proactive quality management decisions.

To do this, QMS software acts as a centralized hub for managing product and service quality, integrating end-to-end traceability, communication, data management and real-time insights across an organization’s operations. It encompasses workflows, analytics and best practices, providing complete visibility and control over interdependent activities: quality planning, assurance, control and improvement.

At its most powerful, QMS software can help transform a business. The right tools turn an organization which is passively accumulating data, and struggling to maintain consistent high quality, into one that turns data into actionable information.

This article first appeared on the ISO website and is published here with permission.