Knowledge based Supplier Quality Management System for Automobile Industry

Abstract – A large industrial products component manufacturer was challenged to reduce supplier quality issues in response to changing market dynamics. The manufacturer faced increased competition in their core product segments and needed to reduce their overall costs and improve product quality to stay ahead. After a detailed analysis, the manufacturer identified supplier quality as one of the three key operational improvement opportunities. Supplier quality management has emerged as one of the leading business practices in the past few years. World-class manufacturers are making significant investments in systems and processes to improve supplier quality. This paper briefly outlines some of the best practices implemented by such manufacturers in supplier quality management.