Every business should make it their mission to fully understand the costs of quality. More specifically, you should understand the cost of poor quality (CoPQ). This will help you understand the opportunity you have to to delight your customers and directly improve your bottom line.
The costs of poor quality generally fit within four main categories:
Internal failures - these are costs which you spot internally e.g. defects, out of specification products etc.
External failures - these failures are generally spotted by your customers and can lead directly to brand damage. Direct costs also include: replacement, warranty claims and potential customer fines.
Appraisal costs - these costs relate to resources you put in place to spot quality issues as they happen. They will include: quality control checks, raw material inspections etc.
Prevention costs - these costs should be built to reduce the likelihood of quality issues happening in the first place - maintenance plans, staff training, quality planning etc.
Managing the cost of poor quality within your business is critical if you are to have a sustainable, profitable business. If you would like to discuss this further and explore how I can help you map out your current CoPQ and then support you in planning to improve this, please get in contract through email or phone.
Good luck & best wishes,
Trevor