Plant Services - September 2007 - (Page 9) FROM THE EDITOR Quality fade Not just a Chinese phenomenon B y now you’re probably familiar with the concept of Before shipping product, the supplier is to take a sample quality fade, defined by Paul Midler as, “the deliband send it to a third-party testing laboratory to make sure erate and secret habit of widening profit margins the product is safe. To get around quality problems, the through a reduction in the quality of materials,” in his excelsupplier pre-tests 10 samples. “Nine of these samples failed, lent treatment of the subject, “Quality Fade: China’s Greatbut one passed. The supplier took the one test result marked est Business Challenge” (http://knowledge.wharton.upenn. ‘passed’ and sent it off to the customer.” edu/article.cfm?articleid=1776). It’s credited as the common A load of plywood was rejected, so the supplier mixed a cause behind recent cases of melamine in pet food, lead portion of it with good product in later shipments. paint on toys, self-destructing tires and poisonous personal Purchasing companies see many quality problems as mihealthcare products imported from China. nor compared to the difficulties involved in rectifying them. As founder and president of outsourcing and supply chain They are more likely to overlook a product flaw than a late management services firm China Advantage and a 15-year delivery. If they insist that substandard goods be replaced at veteran of dealings with thousands of Chinese factories, the supplier’s expense, the supplier threatens to terminate Midler should know what he’s talking about. He describes the relationship or raise prices. Their threats to change supin unflattering terms how Chinese politics pliers are empty because they have not cultiand economics lead to management attitudes vated an alternative supplier. A load of that drive quality fade. When the supplier offers its most sincere Anti-outsourcing individuals and groups apologies and promises that it won’t happen plywood was have leapt on the concept as further reason rejected, so the again, purchasers simply close their eyes and to abhor Chinese imports and the compahope for the best. supplier mixed a nies that deal in them. But, does quality Often, factory expansions are privately fifade happen only in China? How much dif- portion of it with nanced. “Many factories hope to pay off inferent are the political and economic drivers, good product in vestments in as few as three years…the more a and results, in the rest of the world? I often later shipments. supplier invests, the quicker it raises prices.” thought of situations I’d seen or heard of There’s a sense of urgency, a feeling that right here in the United States as I excerpted one must work fast before the window of opMidler’s comments: portunity closes. “For factories, that means taking shortcuts “The initial production sample is fine, but with each sucon quality. Many factory owners can’t see beyond the next cessive production run, a bit more of the necessary inputs purchase order.” are missing.” Manufacturers “unfortunately subscribe to the view that In a case where the cardboard boxes used for packaging business is about increasing one’s share of the pie rather than a product suddenly started collapsing during shipment, “the growing the pie over time. They often focus on extracting supplier blamed sub-suppliers for replacing an acceptable profit through short-term maneuvers.” cardboard box with ones that were inferior.” I don’t think the symptoms and causes of quality fade are A purchasing company designed, patented and engineered exclusive to China. Do you? the key components of a high-rise building construction system designed to support many tons of concrete. “It knew exactly how much each part was supposed to weigh, and yet the level of engineering sophistication didn’t stop the supplier PAUL STUDEBAKER, CMRP from making a unilateral decision to reduce the specifications.” EDITOR IN CHIEF When one delivered part measured less than 90% of its repstudebaker@putman.net quired weight, the supplier claimed a “production error.” (630) 467-1300 ext. 433 September 2007 www.PLANTSERVICES.com http://www.plantservices.com/voices/from_the_editor.html http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=1776 http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=1776 http://www.plantservices.com
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