Yes

by Barry Marcus

Created on: June 12, 2008   Last Updated: September 05, 2010

Quality is one of the main criteria in any buying decision. Do you return to a supplier that provides a sub-standard service or to a restaurant if the service was poor? The problem may not even be the initial product but the service provided when the product is returned. Quality is of prime importance for any business. The quality of the product, the quality of the service and the quality of the after-sales service are major reasons why a customer will buy from one supplier rather than another.

The traditional generic strategies were cost or quality leadership. These were thought to be mutually exclusive. But over the last thirty years a major paradigm shift has taken place. In the twenty-first century quality counts and a business that sells low quality goods or services is generally doomed to failure.

W Edwards Deming was a key influence in achieving the transformation of manufacturing processes and standards. His methods helped Japanese industry to become a dominant world player. The methods promoted greater efficiency coupled with statistical controls that by and large eliminated manufacturing defects and their cause as and when they occurred. A Japanese car was delivered to the customer at lower cost and with fewer defects than the US or European equivalent. This was a recipe for success and the west was forced to follow suit. The old division between quality and cost became a thing of the past. Companies such as Toyota demonstrated that it is possible to be both a cost and quality leader.

The production methods and process controls introduced by Deming and other management gurus have resulted in huge gains in efficiency and the elimination of defects. Electronic goods produced to high standards are sold at ever decreasing prices. The world's cheapest car - the Tata Nano - is produced to high standards at the price of a toy.

Quality is measured not only by the absence of defects but by the overall finish of the product, its durability and reliability. Although many low cost goods are of a high quality, there are often more expensive goods that have additional features, more luxury and so on. A Toyota Corolla is a high quality car, but the Lexus offers much more in terms of luxury, features and status.

The days of buying 'cheap rubbish' as opposed to buying a quality product are almost gone. A business that markets inferior products is unlikely to stay in business for long. There is too much competition for that to happen. A failure in quality can often mean a failure of the business. Poor service drives customers away no matter what they charge. Repeat business is out and word gets around!

Quality does not mean that everyone will like the product. One company that comes to mind is a global fast food company that has opened branches on a franchise basis in every corner of the globe. A burger from this chain is identical whether purchased in New York, London, Tokyo or Johannesburg. Everyone knows what to expect. I first tried their products in London in 1976 and have been recovering ever since. I tried the product again in 2003 in Johannesburg to be reminded why I had not returned. Strangely, other people enjoy these burgers and return time and again. This product certainly does not meet my criteria of quality food. But the company has a policy of strict quality control and a regular customer will get exactly what they expect every time anywhere in the world. Dare I mention MacDonald's, and can a Big Mac really qualify as a quality product?

There is a subjective quality to quality. One man's meat is another man's poison, but the poison must at least be manufactured to a certain standard. And perhaps there is still a dichotomy of cost versus quality leadership. Perhaps this varies according to the type of product.

Electronic goods, appliances and motor vehicles have to be of high quality for the manufacturer to survive. Food and clothing are a little different. These are market segments where you get what you pay for. But the overriding trend in business is towards quality products accompanied by quality service.

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