Quality Management System and After-Sales Service: Techniques, Tools, and Structure

The Quality Management System and the After-Sales Service

The QMS is a management system for a customer-focused organisation that involves all employees in a continuous process of improvement. They integrate quality in all activities of the company. It is necessary to set up quality standards, procedures, and work practices. The goal is to maintain a competitive advantage, evaluate a company's performance, and achieve business excellence. Every company that has passed the quality audit and is registered for ISO9000 gets a certificate. This certificate guarantees a quality standard and transmits confidence in the product and services offered by the companies that use them.

In the After-Sales Service Quality

Internal quality: the technical and operational aspects of the product. External quality: assessment by the customers of the after-sales service.

To Manage Quality in the After-Sales Service Department

Planning: Define the characteristics of the after-sales service, e.g. response time of repairs and handling of complaints, deadline for works of installations, etc. Define indicators to assess performance and levels to be attained in each service to measure the efficiency and effectiveness of the after-sales service. Define and design the process for the performance of each service. Define the resources, materials, and facilities we need. Define the organizational structure: specify the responsibilities and functions of each worker. Implementation: Carry out everything planned. Train staff. Acquire the necessary resources. Implement the designed procedures. Use documents and records for each service. Control: Control the process and the result. Measure the actual performance. Compare the actual performance with that planned. Act accordingly: Assess and if necessary correct and prevent to avoid deviations. Improvement: After reaching the planned levels, set more ambitious goals. The new goals will mean redefining requirements, resources, the organizational structure of the after-sales service, and training.

Techniques and Tools for Quality Management

Brainstorming: Technique to analyze business problems, aimed at developing creativity and finding innovative solutions. Ideas are written down, combined to be improved, and then they are valued. Value Analysis: It is used to design or redesign a product or service at minimum cost so that it maintains its competitive edge. The aim is to reduce costs and increase customer satisfaction. Structures Trees: It is a diagram used to identify all actions required to achieve a goal or project. Cause-and-Effect Diagram: It is a diagram used to organize and represent the causes of a problem. It helps to identify and sort and display possible causes of a problem. Flowchart: It is a graphical or visual representation of the sequence of steps in a process. Each step is represented as a symbol and it depicts the nature and flow of the steps in a process. Data Recording Method: Data collection and analysis to be able to find a solution. It is used in combination with other tools. Graphs and Histograms: Graphs are a visual representation of data, identifying and comparing data. They organize and sort the data clearly and accurately. For example, the bar graph, the sector graph. P-Charts or Control Charts: It is a statistical tool used to monitor the performance of a process. Benchmarking: It allows companies to compare themselves with others, to identify their comparative strengths and weaknesses and learn how to improve.

Structuring the After-Sales Service

Customer Service: Functions: Receive and address incidents. Discriminate calls. Manage incidents. Technical Support Service: Assisted self-repair: help over the phone, chat, video conference, etc. On-site repair: expert will do the repair on customers' premises. Repair shop: repair on the suppliers' premises. Other Departments: Transportation. Delivery times and quality in service are essential. Warehouse. To store components and parts. Follow-up customer satisfaction about the solution.

Management Tools of an After-Sales Service

Database of customer. It needs to be updated to be effective. Telemarketing: It's quick, efficient, and profitable. Correspondence: To send out catalogues, magazines, invitations, samples, etc. Websites and Email: Very useful to send emails, suggestions, questions, etc. Personal Visit: This is the most expensive method, but it allows the customer to feel valued.