Quality Planning for the Manufacturing Supply Chain

Abstract

Quality as a supply chain performance measure has not been adequately explored in either the supply chain or quality management literature. Planning for quality in the manufacturing supply chain requires a context, and begins with documented customer needs. An original schematic model depicting the interrelationship between strategic production planning and strategic supply chain planning provides this context. Another result is a listing of the departmental customers for the manufacturing supply chain and their respective needs. The quality requirements for each supplied part or module, derived from these needs, should become critical criteria in supplier selection and other sourcing decisions when starting up a new plant. Although supply chains are being created today using planning processes that focus primarily on logistics and production planning, driven by cost and schedule considerations, the authors argue that there is a need to formally “plan quality in” as well.