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eAl beAuty comes
from iNside
Total Quality Management (TQM) is not practicable for many companies
in a fast-moving business world with expectations of short-term
profits. They cannot conceive of quality as a corporate philosophy. It has always been clear to HAVI Logistics
that a company’s external image results from the quality of its work. After all, a good character is attractive or,
in other words, real beauty comes from inside.
tQm Is tHe nAme given to the thorough
and continuous activity of recording, inspecting,
organizing and monitoring all
areas of a company, which introduces quality
as a goal of the system and guarantees
it in the long term. However, TQM is not an
independent system of management, a standard
or a law. TQM means striving to make all
the company’s products and services market
leaders. This is done with the aid of all the
existing parts of the management system –
such as quality management, environmental
management, safety management and human
resources management – quality techniques
and methods for initiating a company-wide
improvement process. TQM requires
the full support of all employees if it is going
to bear fruit.
sInce our compAny wAs founded in
1981, TQM has been an integral part of HAVI
Logistics’ corporate culture. TQM – actually
a child of the 1940s – did not reach European
shores until 1988. It was invented in the
USA by “William Edwards Deming”. But after
the end of the Second World War no one
bothered to pay it any attention because the
focus was on maximizing production volume
in view of the reduced global production
capacities after the War. In war-torn Japan,
on the other hand, Deming’s work met with
more success. Here, Total Quality Management
rapidly became a highly regarded ma-
Cover Story
nagement philosophy; as early as 1951 the
first Japanese company won the “Deming-
Award” for especially high quality standards.
In the decades that followed, the Japanese
Quality checks throughout the whole supply
chain are part of our corporate culture and influence
the daily activity of all the staff.
conquered larger market shares all around
the world with their high-quality, keenly priced
products. They were so successful that
even US companies looked at what Japan
was doing and discovered Deming’s quality
philosophy. It was finally applied by renowned
companies in the USA in the 1970s and
1980s. Then at the end of the 1980s TQM
finally also arrived in Europe.
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tHe mAIn prIncIpLes of tHe tQm-
pHILosopHy IncLude:
■ Quality is based on the wishes of the
customer.
■ Quality is achieved with input from the
employees at all units and levels.
■ Quality comprises several dimensions
that have to be operationalized by app-
lying certain criteria.
■ Quality is not a goal but a never-ending
process.
■ Quality refers not only to products, but
also to services.
■ Quality requires active participation and
hard work.
The fundamental idea is that quality management
should not be restricted to the technical
functions for ensuring product quality,
but to the relationship between the company
and its customers. The top priority is customer
satisfaction, which can only be achieved
in the long term through sustainable development
of the company itself.
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