The most fundamental quality control principle which is true for any Zimbabwean company is that when the management gets committed to controlling a manufacturing process, the quality of that process starts to improve as well.
When quality problems on products manufactured in and exported from Zimbabwe arise, they often affect profitability of the exporting venture, affect brand image on the export market and results in lost sales and costly product returns. All exporters should be conscious of problems which can result from the quality of their export product. The awareness of such problems triggers commitment towards improving the quality of the export product. What is the starting point in implementing quality management for your export product/s?
SMEs may adopt the most traditional kind of quality control, which is performed on exports which is carrying out final random inspection before shipment. After finishing production and when the export product is ready for shipment, inspectors randomly inspect batches of products to check conformance to the specifications and requirements. This process is also applicable to those exporters who are not really into production of the products they export; those who simply buy locally or internationally and then sell into their export markets. The final inspection may assist in boosting the confidence in own product quality, though the sample may miss at least one defective product unit. Remember that if one product gets to export market it may result in the loss of future sales! Nonetheless, final random inspection remains an efficient way to significantly improve confidence level in the quality, but they have to be designed and operated with professionalism.
Other quality management measures the SME exporter may adopt include performing inspections during production cycle (in-process inspections), meaning that the inspections are done at the end of each production stage of a given product. Performed by all shop floor employees at the factory site and during the production cycle, in-process inspections minimise the reaction costs in case of non conformities as they may usually cover a 100 percent check. In-process inspections are also carried out when loading the product i.e. verifying product quantities and the sealing of the containers so that, at destination, the receiver is almost guaranteed that his shipment would be delivered unspoiled.
It is often advisable to get the services of a professional partner who has the capability and experience to help set-up and operate a simple or very complex quality management system for your export market in a cost efficient way. If such efforts are to receive credibility in export markets, they should earn certification under ISO Quality Management Principles e.g. ISO 9001:2008. The rationale for encouraging SMEs to earn such certification is that some export markets insist on dealing with certified suppliers for the sake of quality of their own products. Those SMEs who are keen to get assistance on setting up the quality management systems in Zimbabwe may get into touch with the webmaster of this blogsite, who can assist at very reasonable cost.
Zimbabwean SMEs are therefore advised that they should take export quality issues seriously. Defective goods or incorrect consignments to international customers are expensive to deal with, and often in losing market shares.
When quality problems on products manufactured in and exported from Zimbabwe arise, they often affect profitability of the exporting venture, affect brand image on the export market and results in lost sales and costly product returns. All exporters should be conscious of problems which can result from the quality of their export product. The awareness of such problems triggers commitment towards improving the quality of the export product. What is the starting point in implementing quality management for your export product/s?
SMEs may adopt the most traditional kind of quality control, which is performed on exports which is carrying out final random inspection before shipment. After finishing production and when the export product is ready for shipment, inspectors randomly inspect batches of products to check conformance to the specifications and requirements. This process is also applicable to those exporters who are not really into production of the products they export; those who simply buy locally or internationally and then sell into their export markets. The final inspection may assist in boosting the confidence in own product quality, though the sample may miss at least one defective product unit. Remember that if one product gets to export market it may result in the loss of future sales! Nonetheless, final random inspection remains an efficient way to significantly improve confidence level in the quality, but they have to be designed and operated with professionalism.
Other quality management measures the SME exporter may adopt include performing inspections during production cycle (in-process inspections), meaning that the inspections are done at the end of each production stage of a given product. Performed by all shop floor employees at the factory site and during the production cycle, in-process inspections minimise the reaction costs in case of non conformities as they may usually cover a 100 percent check. In-process inspections are also carried out when loading the product i.e. verifying product quantities and the sealing of the containers so that, at destination, the receiver is almost guaranteed that his shipment would be delivered unspoiled.
It is often advisable to get the services of a professional partner who has the capability and experience to help set-up and operate a simple or very complex quality management system for your export market in a cost efficient way. If such efforts are to receive credibility in export markets, they should earn certification under ISO Quality Management Principles e.g. ISO 9001:2008. The rationale for encouraging SMEs to earn such certification is that some export markets insist on dealing with certified suppliers for the sake of quality of their own products. Those SMEs who are keen to get assistance on setting up the quality management systems in Zimbabwe may get into touch with the webmaster of this blogsite, who can assist at very reasonable cost.
Zimbabwean SMEs are therefore advised that they should take export quality issues seriously. Defective goods or incorrect consignments to international customers are expensive to deal with, and often in losing market shares.
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