3 - Jacobs University

Certainly companies want to work only with suppliers which are quality capable. Thus for example
the Volkswagen quality criteria for contract awards described in Formel Q-capability (2008)
include the following requirement: ”In order to ensure the quality of the components/modules/systems
the companies of the VOLKSWAGEN GROUP [require] the supplier to [produce] the components/modules/systems
in an A-rated [(quality capable)] production site” (p. 9). Even though
quality of final products and services is a straightforward way to measure quality capability of production
processes, making conclusions about the quality capability of a particular supplier based
on its quality performance, however, is rather reactive. Quality performance can be measured only
after the start of mass production. Something, what companies definitely want to avoid, is to receive
parts with low quality during the series production of a particular product. Such situations
would unbalance the overall business process and are therefore quite undesirable. For that reason,
it is important for companies to be able to assess the quality capability of their suppliers before
signing a contract. To do that, however, they need an alternative method, which allows them to
determine the quality capability of a particular supplier in a proactive manner.
To this end one particularly important aspect of business relationships is standardization. Given
the complexity and size of the automotive supplier network, coping with the challenges posed by
modern-day production requires establishing and maintaining well-structured systems for quality
management (QMS) and quality engineering. The latter were originally developed by companies
in an individual and informal manner, e.g. Ford’s Q101, GM’s Supplier Performance and Evaluation
Report (SPEAR) (Hoyle, 2005, p. 100). It was not before the appearance of the first quality
standards that the development and maintenance of quality management systems was formalized
and the individual implementation steps were well-documented.
Nowadays a number of international quality standards provide guidelines for the effective implementation
of a quality management system (e.g. ISO 9000, 2005; ISO/TS 16949, 2009), which
assures the quality of an organization’s products. Certification according to quality standards such
as the ISO 9001 or ISO/TS 16949 (which builds upon ISO 9001 and is of particular importance
for the automotive sector) serves to build trust in the business relationships. Companies use such
certification to show that they are quality aware, to provide proof of the effective implementation
of a quality management system, and to assure their clients that they work on the continuous
improvement of their products. This makes certified companies preferred business partners. Moreover,
even though the use of standards is of recommending character, nowadays to enter business
without a quality certification is almost impossible in a vast number of industries.
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