2023 Quality Management Trends

2023 Quality Management Trends
April 25, 2023 isowebseousr
2023 quality management trends

Now that we’re well on our way through the year, it’s worth considering what 2023 quality management trends and issues have risen to the fore – or remain top priorities for businesses to navigate.

We’ve mostly emerged from the pandemic years. But there’s no shortage of challenges for businesses. As always, we believe strong quality control is one of the keys to long-term success.

Quality management and inflation in 2023

Globally, inflation and tough economic conditions are top among business concerns for 2023. Just about every country in the world has been experiencing “brutal” inflation rates.

Many nations are experiencing double-digit inflation, with the global rate at 9%. In the US, inflation hit 7% in 2022 – the highest in four decades.

However, despite soaring prices and tough economic environments, the importance of quality has not diminished and the trend doesn’t appear to involve reducing quality budgets.

According to the 22nd Annual Spending Study by Clear Seas Research and Quality Magazine, 98% of US manufacturing businesses say quality is as important as ever – or more so. For some, the quality of importance has risen significantly – 18% say it is much more important.

Of businesses surveyed, more than 50% planned to increase their quality budgets and only 9% reported the intention to cut theirs.

The main takeaway from the study is that quality initiatives must tie clearly to financial business goals, reducing expenses and/or enabling better productivity and profitability.

Continued focus on supply chain disruption and third-party management

The COVID-19 pandemic enforced many changes to the way businesses are run. Online interactions with third parties became, and remain, the norm.

This and other factors, especially supply chain disruption, reinforced the importance of collaborative business relationship management. Surviving uncertain times is only possible if a business has healthy relationships with suppliers, partners, distributors and retailers.

Unfortunately, the supply chain disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic is set to stay in 2023. Existing and new geopolitical conflicts, inflationary pressures, recessionary environments, and climate change weather events are compounding the disruption.

As a result, there will be key supply chain trends to manage:

  • skepticism about cross-border trade co-operation
  • cyber criminals ramping up activity
  • key material access turmoil
  • changing shape of manufacturing footprints
  • morphing retail and distribution supply chains
  • acceleration of supply chain technology investments
  • scrutiny of scope 3 emissions.

To manage these supply chain trends, small and medium businesses must have three things in place.

  1. Capability: a mature supply chain planning capability in order to successfully address supply chain risks and opportunities.
  2. Agility: an agile and responsive supply chain that can manage the unexpected and deal with disruptions appropriately, efficiently and profitably.
  3. End-to-end forward-looking visibility: digital capabilities that give your business “control tower” visibility on key real-time indicators; maneuverability within your supply chain; and real-time collaboration with supply chain partners.

Evolving management of risks posed by a hybrid workforce

The hybrid workforce that we now have brings opportunities. However, there are associated risks that must be managed and mitigated in order to reap those opportunities.

Businesses increasingly understand what the risks are and how to adapt risk plans to address them. A 2021 PwC Survey found the risks associated with hybrid workplaces and remote working that concern company leaders the most, in descending order, are:

  • innovation opportunities
  • different treatment of onsite versus remote workers
  • impact of hybrid work on revenue growth
  • effective cybersecurity measures
  • sufficient technology tools to support hybrid work.

Risk plans must continuously be assessed, adapted and monitored to identify and manage new risks posed by a hybrid workforce.

Quality management and talent shortages

The labor market is experiencing greater stability. Pandemic-related job shifts have slowed, labor participation rates have improved and immigration channels reopened.

Unfortunately, a serious talent shortage persists, particularly in the entry-level (16 to 24) and leadership (45 to 54) sectors, and finding skilled workers is an ongoing issue for manufacturing businesses. This is mainly due to demographic shifts in many developed economies.

The outlook doesn’t look set to improve. Business leaders must be cognizant of this and connect the workforce to mitigate the impact of talent shortages. They must make informed decisions and take essential actions.

1. Use flexible, dynamic work arrangements to attract and retain broader employee groups.
2. Use an inclusive, differentiated culture to counteract wage inflation and skill shortages.
3. Take an expansive view of organizational resilience and employee wellbeing by creating a common sense of purpose and culture.
4. Accelerate robotics and AI by creating a world of collaboration between people and machines.
5. Offer non-traditional skills development to expand the skilled labor pool.
6. Create compelling employee engagement and experiences to avoid “quiet quitting”.
7. Meet employees’ needs and focus on their experiences to retain staff.
8. Connect the workforce through digital technology, including access to training and documentation, the ability to collaborate in real time with colleagues (including remote) and instant visibility into output metrics.

Merging of environmental health and safety (EHS) and quality functions

Many quality professionals increasingly have a role in environmental health and safety (EHS). A dual role is particularly common in certain industries, such as the food & beverage, consumer goods and chemical sectors.

Typically, quality and EHS solutions are separate tools that work together. But, as quality and EHS roles merge, professionals want a single software solution that handles both quality and EHS.

Broad adoption of cloud-based QMS software

The pandemic has increased the urgency for companies to manage risk and move forward with digital transformation. Companies are broadly adopting cloud-based QMS software. As remote audits become increasingly important, this is invaluable.

These investments alleviate a range of challenges, especially those related to supplier management. Companies are looking for a QMS solution with a supplier portal that handles documents, audits and supplier scoring.

Role of quality in managing cybersecurity risks

Cybersecurity is an increased concern for almost all businesses, especially those that have transitioned to hybrid workplaces.

For quality professionals, these risks can’t be ignored in quality systems, processes or audits, which call for strategic, risk-based thinking.

isoTracker’s cloud-based QMS

isoTracker offers a modular quality management software system that helps businesses address key quality management trends in 2023.

Our software is cloud-based and centralized, offering secure remote access from anywhere in the world. The digital QMS solution, which is practical and transformative, can:

  • help supply chain management with a supplier portal that handles documents, audits and supplier scoring
  • help manage cybersecurity risks
  • support a hybrid workforce
  • reduce expenses and enable better productivity and profitability
  • connect the workforce through technology, including access to training and documentation
  • enable collaboration in real time
  • give instant visibility into output metrics
  • handle quality and environmental health issues.

It’s quick to set up, intuitive and affordable for small to medium companies.

Contact us to find out more or to discuss your company’s needs. Alternatively, go ahead and sign up for a free 60-day trial of isoTracker’s quality management software.

Get a free trial now

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Cloud based quality management software

Manage compliance for ISO 9001/13485/14001/17025/22000/45001 & IATF 16949.

 

Contains document control, training, complaints, audit, non-conformance, risk & CAPA modules.

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