Total Quality Management in the Furniture Industry, 1993 Polymers, Laminations & Coatings Conference Proceedings

Total Quality Management was introduced into Henredon Furniture Industries by Coopers & Lybrand Management Consulting Services based in Boston, MA. The process through which a TQM System was introduced to, and ultimately deployed

throughout, this highly reputable manufacturer of home furnishings is addressed in the following paragraphs. The basis of the company’s reputation, which was acquired over a period of forty five years, stems from a commitment to tasteful styling, manufacturing craftsmanship, mass inspection and repair, and unquestioning warranty support. By the end of the 1980s expansion had ended and profitability was declining. One plant out of nine had recently been closed and another was on the verge of closure.

It had become clear that the traditional approach to counteracting lower profits due to a decline in revenues was not working. Short term measures to cut costs, such as layoffs, purchasing from the lowest bidders, reducing goodwill visits to customers, and eliminating training and education, were not consistent with the company’s image or its founder’s vision of Quality. Top Management understood that such measures directly contradicted the wishes of the first President to make “a better product at a lower cost,” but was uncertain as to the correct course of action.