The importance of SAP Quality Management Systems
Author: Tony Shehab, Senior SAP Consultant
It never ceases to amaze me that organisations often put SAP quality management at the bottom of the list of modules to implement within their integrated SAP solution. The reasons given for this often include statements like “It costs too much for very little benefit” or “We do just fine with the external systems we have for quality management now” and even “our vendors provide us with quality certificates, so why do we need to manage it?” Often these statements could not be further from the truth!
The thing about SAP Quality Management (QM) is that to implement it, may seem as though you are adding to the overhead expense of your SAP Solution and not reducing costs in a tangible manner elsewhere. However, what you are attempting to do with SAP QM is to reduce the cost of poor quality (some of which carries hard costs) including; vendor returns, customer returns and satisfaction, shipping costs, loss of production, rework and scrap due to defects and defective materials, inefficient processes and poor practices. Not to mention decreasing the risks of breaching government and regulatory compliance or serious injury to someone.
The primary benefit of SAP QM to other external quality systems is integration! What does it cost to run and interface external systems with other systems, or for that matter to run around with reams of paper and spreadsheets? SAP QM is integrated within Logistics to plan, inspect, record, control and manage quality for inbound, internal and outbound processes and materials. With it you can schedule and plan calibrations and checks or tests associated with measuring and other equipment, or monitor the quality of Shelf life managed materials. It speeds up positive release, reduces mistakes, quickly compiles quality reports and lets you output certificates.
SAP QM also provides the integrated management of Corrective Preventative Actions (CAPA) through the use of Quality Notifications. With SAP Workflow of the reporting of incidents, deviations and defects, through the assignment and scheduling of tasks for the investigation, correction, prevention and improvement processes to completion. Quality Notifications can be used across the full Supply Chain for Quality Problems, but can also be used for recording and managing Safety and Environment incidents and problems, or even as a company suggestion box!
If you hadn’t considered it before as an essential part of your SAP Solution contact Extend’s SAP QM Experts and discover that SAP QM is not expensive, but it could be priceless!
