Within the body of knowledge of many quality and other industry certifications, such as ASQ’s Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence, there is a focus on strategic planning and the successful creation and integration of a unified vision and values.

Per ASQ:

The vision statement is future focused and paints a vivid picture of where you would like the organization to be or what you would like it to accomplish in the long term. Values reflect core behaviors or guiding principles that guide the actions of employees as they execute plans to achieve the mission and vision.

Benefits: A clear vision helps in aligning everyone towards the same future state or objective, providing a basis for goal congruence. Values make clear behaviors that are expected of everyone.

Forbes Insights issued a report after a global study of more than 2200 senior executives and quality professionals. The report indicates that a “clearly stated quality vision and values, and unequivocal leadership are key components to a successful culture of quality that can help organizations drive results.”

Read the full report here: “Culture of Quality: Accelerating Growth and Performance in the Enterprise”

With this, Pro QC has recently completed regular strategic planning activities that resulted in a refresh of the vision and values of the organization.

We are proud to announce our vision:

“To nurture the trust of our customers and our team through dynamic interactions, creative supply chain solutions, and integrated partnership.”

In addition, we have committed to the following defining values:

Excellence 

• Client satisfaction is our priority.
• We work as a team.
• We have pride and ensure quality in everything we do.

Trustworthiness

• We hold ourselves to a high standard.
• We are reliable and demonstrate strong ethics.
• We earn trust by acting with integrity and dependability.

Passion

• We are proactive.
• We offer support.

We’re interested in hearing from others. Share your vision and values, or comment regarding ours.

Written by: Stephen Moglia, Business Development Manager

Sustainability, green fashion, circular economy: we hear and see those words almost everywhere now. They multiply with the growing interest of consumers and companies for the environmental impacts of the industry. In fact, the textile industry has become the second most polluting industry in the world, right after oil, as stated at the sixth edition of the Copenhagen Fashion Summit last May. Globalised, complex, including a wide range of techniques, the textile industry affects the planet on many different levels, including very sensitive areas such as water, air pollution, chemicals, electricity consumption or waste. Being aware of the impacts of production processes has now become essential.

Moreover, damaging the environment also has an impact on humans, whether it is the workers, the consumers or people leaving nearby a factory. Cotton illustrates this in a tragic way. It is a very affordable fabric, widely used to make inexpensive clothes. To boost the production and fight the worms that attack the plants, a lot of farmers worldwide use pesticides. Those pesticides contain extremely toxic substances such as metals (aluminium, nickel, lead), barium or ethion that was banned in Europe. Farmers, in contact with those chemicals can get more cancer, liver and kidney diseases. The chemicals also cause freshwater pollution affecting a wider range of people. Hopefully more and more farmers are turning to organic cotton that is more respectful of the environment and uses no such pesticides. (Article Reference)

Another example is chrome tanning that was also banned from Europe for being too toxic. This tanning is faster, easier than other techniques. However, the leather is weaker and doesn’t last as long, thus creating more waste. Chrome is a heavy metal and damages the environment in the same kind of way pesticides do. It infiltrates the water and in contact with the skin can also have an impact on the consumer’s health. (Article Reference)

Brands, then, have a responsibility: choosing well where they source their materials and where they out-source the production. The consumer, getting information easily on internet is more and more aware of those issues, which reflects in its purchasing choices. Sustainability concerns have only been increasing since the 1990s and in 2015, 66% of global consumers were willing to pay more for environmentally sustainable products. It damages the image of brands to be involved in environmental or social scandals. On the contrary, sustainability can be a real marketing opportunity. Showing concern, sharing the origin of the materials, revealing « who made [the] clothes » attracts customers, reassured that the product they are buying is safe for themselves and the planet. It is part of the « look good, feel good » trend when buyers don’t want to feel guilty wearing their favourite sweater. (Article Reference)

Transparency is trendy, however it is not always easy for brands to control their supply chain. How can a company based in Europe, or North America be sure of the quality of the products they buy in Asia? How can it know in which conditions clothes were made and with which means? The information given by the factories can be altered or fake, a website, mails, phone calls, those are only words and chosen images. It is also tricky for brands to plan a visit of the factories of their suppliers and manufacturers. When knowing someone is coming to check on the working conditions or on quality, it happens often that companies adjust their installations only for a day, adding fake security signs, changing displayed products or hiring more people to show wealth.

This is when audits can be extremely useful. The information obtained is more accurate and real. For environmental responsibilities, audits are made according to the ISO 14000 environmental standard, covering energy usage, renewable energy, greenhouse gas emissions, materials and waste reduction, life cycle management, supplier’s supply chain activities and more. ISO 14000 audits can be combined with SA8000 for social responsibility for a more thorough inspection, helping brands to have a better control on their supply chain and with time, to select their most reliable partners.

These audits can be applied to various fields such as footwear, garments, accessories, textiles, bags, soft toys, electrical & lighting, gifts, home & garden, hardware, furniture, industrial & construction, sporting equipment & fitness, toys, assemblies & molds, maintenance solutions, automotive parts, and medical devices.

Review an example report ISO 14001 here.

How does your organization ensure sustainability and environmental stewardship?

(Image Source)

Written by: Daniel Ben-Ezra, Pro QC Country Manager 

Many companies are looking for alternatives to China these days with regards to their supply chain. Most often the driver is costs. We’re seeing an increasing number of clients contemplating a shift, or already being in the process of implementing one towards other Asian nations with regards to their manufacturing base. This post is the first of a series discussing alternative options to China, and starts with Thailand.

Despite not being a low-cost production base, Thailand is seen as a viable option by many companies to set up a manufacturing unit or to source from. This stems from its reliable business environment, well-developed logistics infrastructure, vast natural resources and existing functional industrial base. The government of Thailand is also taking active steps towards improving the country’s position by pushing investments in technical equipment, allocation of SEZs along its borders, and developing cluster structures.

As share of GDP, major product categories produced in Thailand include food items, metal and construction materials, rubber, plastics, electrical appliances, cars and related components, jewelry and handicrafts. Coupled with its natural resources and easy connectivity with other ASEAN countries (notably Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam), Thailand makes a strong case for itself as alternative to China for specific product categories.

A downside to manufacturing in Thailand is that its labour pool is relatively expensive and unemployment stands at low rates. In order to tackle this, the Thai government has come up with the strategic decision of allocating 10 SEZs (Special Economic Zones) in the years coming. Planned along the borders, companies locating themselves within these zones would be able to enjoy low-cost, easily-commuting workers from areas such as Tak and Kanchanaburi (bordering Myanmar); Sa Kaeo and Trat (Cambodia), Mukadahan, Chiang Rai, Nong Khai and Nakhon Phanom (Laos); and Songkhla and Narathiwat (Malaysa). Other incentives to attract FDI include infrastructure creation, fast processing of licensing and permission applications and creating one-stop service centres with customs checkpoints. Additional incentives are planned for companies active in specific sectors, which include tax reductions, low or zero import duties for parts & materials exported afterwards, low interest loans and more.

Similar to China’s Made in 2025 initiative, Thailand 4.0 is a key element in the government’s mid to long term strategic development plan. It aims to create the foundation for production of high value added products and services, and focuses extensively on technology and innovation. Despite hefty competition from China specifically in that regard, manufacturers are moving into Thailand also for risk diversification and access to the ASEAN market.

Pro QC’s team of quality engineers are based in Bangkok and surrounding areas, from where we are able to provide nationwide coverage. For those companies looking to explore possibilities in Thailand with regards to their supply chain, we offer a variety of solutions. The careful screening of vendors is naturally a highly critical process that will influence subsequent developments. Popular services in this regard include our Supplier Verification and Quality Process Audits. Sample reports can be downloaded here.

A question that comes up often when sourcing abroad is determining what the living wage is and how well suppliers stack up.

Article 23 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that “everyone who works has the right to just and favorable remuneration ensuring for himself and for his family an existence worthy of human dignity.” And, it’s even noted that Plato and Aristotle discussed the concept as they both argued for “an income that considers needs, particularly those that ensure the communal good.”

How are Living Wages calculated?

“A living wage is the minimum income necessary for a worker to meet their basic needs. This is not the same as subsistence which refers to a biological minimum. Needs are defined to include food, housing, and other essential needs such as clothing. The goal of a living wage is to allow a worker to afford a basic but decent standard of living. Due to the flexible nature of the term ‘needs’, there is not one universally accepted measure of what a living wage is and as such it varies by location and household type.”

Social Accountability International identifies the Living Wage calculation as follows:

To verify wages for suppliers, auditors check records over a period of time and conduct employee interviews. Applicable standards include SA8000, ISO 26000, various or organizational-specific such as WalMart or the Electronics Industry Citizenship Coalition.

Social Accountability International posts Living Wage Reports for various areas within China, Africa, Vietnam, etc.  View the SAI page here. 

Within the United States, MIT provides Living Wage estimates based on states here. 

To learn more about supplier social audits and view example example reports, visit Pro QC’s website.