Applied Statistics for Supplier and Supply Management, 1994 Process & Product Quality Conference Proceedings

P. A. Daisley <>

Every housewife knows that the quality of the food she prepares depends on the selection and control of what goes into the pot. Had she worked in a paper mill however, her control effort would have been quite different. Our industry puts much of its control emphasis on the test properties of the paper. To the housewife we would seem to behave as if we can put anything that happens to be available into the pot, then fiddle the cooking to compensate. Worse still, we seem to accept that whatever our failures, we can put their results back as well, adding to the uncertainties. Though an exaggerated view, this does remind us that control of inputs is self evidently, a priority for quality achievement.

“Certainty” is very demanding. Making sure when we are surrounded by uncertainties is difficult even when we are fully informed. It is virtually impossible if we lack essential knowledge of our materials and their effects. Since many of the issues affecting our success are beyond our control or influence, we need to take full advantage of those aspects that we can control to improve the probability of success and reduce the risks of failure. More selective evaluation, better use of the available data, more pertinent analysis can lead to responsive action and control. This kind of progress to fact-led management of inputs cannot nake for certainty of being right but it can give our process a chance! Though the need to control inputs is obvious to all, the perception of its importance is supported inadequately with real evidence. We ought to be tracking the quality effects and consequential costs of inputs.

As humans evolved from dependence of their food, on hunting and gleaning, they acquired the skills of cultivation to secure their provisions. In many businesses today, purchasing does not seem to have made this progress. Let us not criticize the Buyer, who has to make decisions on the basis of ample facts on delivery and purchase price but rarely has evidence of the effects on quality and subsequent costs to the business.