Quality Control

What is quality control?

Quality control is the process of ensuring that physical products comply with standards and regulations that protect consumers and customers from the harm that may be caused by defective products. 

While manufacturing companies usually use quality control during production, it can also benefit retailers and logistics companies. Products can be damaged during transportation or expire while in storage, which can be avoided using quality control. 

Types of quality control

Depending on the use or industry of a company, one of the two types of quality control will be utilized.

• Mandatory: Quality control is mandatory in highly regulated industries such as chemicals, pharmaceuticals, or food and beverage. Companies from these industries must comply with regulations specific to each sector or face steep penalties and even the risk of going out of business. 
• Optional: Companies may choose to monitor quality even when it’s not required by law to maintain high customer satisfaction.

Benefits of using quality control

The main advantages of using quality control are: 

• Protect consumers: Quality regulations and standards are meant to protect consumers from the harm that may be caused by defective products, from expired food to improperly calibrated equipment, which may cause physical harm.
• Improve product quality: Other than compliance, quality is critical for companies to ensure that their products are safe, easy to use, or environmentally friendly.
• Avoid product recalls: Non-compliant products often need to be recalled, especially in industries such as food and beverage, electronics, and consumer goods. 
• Increase customer satisfaction: High product quality usually translates into higher customer satisfaction, which may generate more sales and improve loyalty.

Impacts of using quality control

The following could be positively or negatively impacted by quality control: 

• Product quality: Quality control has a positive impact on product quality and can also enhance the product development strategy of the company.
• Customer experience: Quality control usually positively impacts customer satisfaction but can have the opposite effect when it’s not implemented or followed correctly. 
• Profitability: Monitoring quality and implementing corrective actions can be costly, which may impact profitability. At the same time, low quality may impact sales, thus reducing revenue and profits.

Basic elements of quality control

The format for quality control in quality management systems (QMS) can vary, but a complete quality control will include the following elements:

• Standards and regulations: Companies need to know which laws and standards apply to their industry, region, or type of company. 
• Workflows: Quality control processes are implemented using workflows that define who is responsible for each step of the process.
• Inspections: To track quality, companies need to plan and perform inspections on a regular basis. This helps them identify potential issues before they occur, thus reducing the risk of noncompliance.
• Corrective actions: To address quality issues, companies need to define corrective actions and plans to implement them. 

Quality control best practices

In order to make quality control work, follow these best practices:

• Focus on what matters most: With so many regulations and standards for quality control, companies need to focus on the ones that are the most important to their customers or mandated by regulatory bodies. 
• Clearly define quality control processes: It is critical for all stakeholders to understand clearly how they’re involved in the quality process.
• Perform inspections regularly: Testing for quality should be done frequently to avoid noncompliance and identify potential issues before they are too difficult to address.

Learn more about inventory and how to best manage it to streamline your supply chain and enhance product excellence.