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16
Cover Theme
Quality & Service
Interview with Lukas Curschellas
Quality: An Unchanging Part
of the HAVI Logistics World
A quality management system geared to sustainability and continuity has
to be carefully developed, implemented and controlled. This in turn requires
particular structures within the company, such as an internal steering committee
and one or more quality control offi cers who coordinate our quality
management activities. To fi nd out more, alphabet interviewed Lukas
Curschellas, Operations Manager at HAVI Logistics Switzerland, who has
been responsible for implementing our Europe-wide quality management
scheme since 2010.
alphabet: How does our quality management
compare with that of the competition?
Lukas Curschellas: Compared with
other logistics service providers in the
food service industry, we are clearly in the
passing lane – especially when it comes
to customer satisfaction. We have often
been a step ahead of the market and developed
and defi ned quality standards
that only became enshrined in law much
later, or were introduced by other companies
years afterward to improve their competitiveness.
alphabet: Can you give us some examples?
Lukas Curschellas: Yes, one would
be the probe thermometer connected to a
portable printer. Under HACCP, the temperature
of the goods in the supply chain
is measured at several critical control
points. For this we developed an international
standard for all HAVI Logistics companies:
a thermometer that transmits its
measurements to a portable printer via an
infrared connection. The printer creates
labels indicating not only the temperature
measured, but also the date and time of
the measurement. Our corporate history
contains numerous examples of the introduction
of such quality standards.
alphabet: Since when have quality
management and the development of
standards been part of the HAVI Logistics
strategy?
Lukas Curschellas: The topic is as
old as HAVI Logistics itself. If there's one
aspect in our HAVI Logistics world that
never changes, it's delivering goods of
the highest quality. We regard it as our
responsibility to preserve the high qual-
ity of the products entrusted to us all the
way from the suppliers to the customers,
thus satisfying our customers’ high quality
standards.
alphabet: How do you organize and
implement quality standards?
Lukas Curschellas: Food safety is our
top priority. One very important aspect is
to defi ne and communicate goals. This
gives us a common understanding of the
objective and how to achieve it. However,
regular checks are equally important; they
enable us to recognize when we have
made errors or are on the wrong path –
at a much earlier stage. Furthermore, a
successful quality management system
throughout the company needs to be
backed up by an information concept –
this creates transparency. Circulars, notices,
departmental meetings, employee
newspapers and Intranet pages all support
and promote transparency for our
customers, partners and employees. “Do
good and then talk about it!” – The same
applies to realizing quality management:
“Talk about it and inform others.”
alphabet: How can individual employees
contribute to its implementation?
Lukas Curschellas: Quality management
is a joint task for everyone in the
company. Therefore it is important that
all of us are involved in carrying out the
measures and activities. Knowledge and
expertise are fundamental to this. HAVI
Logistics’ employees receive training in
the basics of quality management and in