Quality Improvement Implementation - Kudler Foods

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a. Outline the steps of your quality management process improvement and implementation plan.
Kudler Fine Foods is a gourmet grocery store that has experienced significant growth and is now focused on expanding its services, improving the efficiency of its operations, and increasing the consumer purchase cycle. It should pursue a quality improvement process to decrease its manufacturing and operating costs and improve operating margins. For this we have selected the improvement process in customer services. Let us discuss the improvement process.
a) A description of the chosen process
We have selected customer service process for the improvement. One of the most important elements in creating a successful business is having happy, satisfied customers that keep coming back and it also leads to word of mouth advertising. Customer service which is "the behaviors and attitudes of a company and its personnel toward customers, during all interaction and communication with them" (Swartzlander, 2004, p. 1) is the heart of an organization. As today's consumers are becoming more price conscious, technologically advanced, demanding and convenience driven. Thus, the key for success in today's tumultuous marketplace is exceptional customer service as this allows an organization to prosper in this highly competitive marketplace. (Kotler, 2003)

b) An "As-Is" flow chart of the process to be analyzed.
We will use a flowchart which is a diagram that using graphic symbols to show the flow of the steps in a process. At the beginning of the process improvement efforts, an "As Is" flowchart helps the team and others involved in the process to understand how it currently works. The team may find it helpful to compare this "As-Is flowchart" with a diagram of the way the process is supposed to work. Later, "the team will develop a flowchart of the modified process again, to record how it actually functions. At some point, the improvement team may want to create an ideal flowchart to show how you would ultimately like the process to be performed." (http://quality.dlsu.edu.ph/tools/flowchart.html, 2006).

For operations, the "As Is" flow chart will start with the order of the customer which will be dependent on the customer demand, ends at distribution of the product. This is necessary to identify the bottlenecks and inefficiencies in the operations. After identifying these processes, recommendations can be given to Kudler with respect to improving efficiencies by comparing the process with best practices in the industry.
Organization's vision is to provide total customer satisfaction to its consumers by minimizing defects, improving quality and reducing costs. Here the organization is responsible for ensuring that product should be as per requirements of the customers. It aims to satisfy all the stakeholders such as Customers, Public, Suppliers, Employees, Government, Channel partners, Media etc. In order to achieve all these goals and its strategic vision to excel in its industry, it needs to serve customer in a better manner

b. Define the variation you have identified in your selected process and explain how identifying and controlling variation is integral to TQM.
"Quality" is continually evolving, an emerging consensus includes Continuous Improvement and Learning: Continuous improvement and learning refers to both incremental and "breakthrough" improvement, and applies to both the individual and organizational levels. Improvement and ...