For this article, we define quality as consistently producing what the customer wants while reducing errors before and after delivery to the customer. More importantly, however, quality is not so much an outcome as a never ending process of continually improving the quality of what your company produces. TQM emphasizes detecting potential problems before they occur. During the design phase of product or service development, input from customers, marketing, and those and assemble or produce the final product is vital. Cooperate with your Suppliers and Customers Another element of TQM emphasizes cooperating with suppliers of products and services to the organization, and a focus on customer satisfaction.
Many organizations treat suppliers with indifference, and often with hostility.
Instead of having many potential suppliers, each competing to give the organization the cheapest price, TQM emphasizes a different relationship. In an organization that implements TQM, vendors are treated as business partners, with all parties working to deliver a quality product. Companies choose suppliers based on consistently delivering a quality product or service. This means that for an organization to succeed, its suppliers must implement TQM as well. A key philosophy in dealing with customers is that it is they who define what quality is.