Quality Management & After-Sales Service Excellence

Posted on Feb 12, 2025 in Other subjects

Quality Management System and After-Sales Service

The QMS is a management system for a customer-focused organization that involves all employees in a continuous process of improvement.

Quality in After-Sales Service has two components:

  • Internal Quality: The technical and operational aspects of the product.
  • External Quality: Assessment by the customers of the after-sales service.

Managing Quality in After-Sales Service: Key Actions

To manage quality in After-Sales Service, the key actions are:

  1. Planning (what to do, how to do it, and what to use in the process)
  • Define the characteristics (e.g., response time of repairs).
  • Define indicators to assess performance and levels to measure efficiency/effectiveness.
  • Define the process for the performance of each service (document it).
  • Define the resources, materials, and facilities needed.
  • Define the organizational structure (responsibilities/functions).
Implementation: Carry out everything planned.
  • Train staff.
  • Acquire the necessary resources.
  • Implement the designed procedures.
  • Use documents and records for each service.
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 deviations.
Improvement. After reaching the planned levels, set more ambitious goals. The new goals will mean redefining resources and the organizational structure.

Techniques and Tools for Quality Management

  1. Brainstorming: Technique to analyze business problems/develop creativity/solutions. A group of five to eight people bring ideas spontaneously. Ideas are written down, combined, and then valued.
  2. Value Analysis: Used to design a product or service at minimum cost and increase customer satisfaction.
  3. Structure Trees: A diagram used to identify all actions required to achieve a goal or project.
  4. Cause-and-Effect Diagram (Fishbone Diagram): A diagram used to organize and represent the causes of a problem.
  5. Flowchart: A graphical or visual representation of the sequence of steps in a process.
  6. Data Recording Method: Data collection and analysis to be able to find a solution. It is used in combination with other tools.
  7. Graphs and Histograms: Visual representation of data, identifying and comparing data. They are good for making decisions. For example, the bar graph, the sector graph.
  8. P-Charts or Control Charts: A statistical tool used to monitor the performance of a process.
  9. Benchmarking: Allows companies to compare themselves with others, to identify their comparative strengths and weaknesses, and learn how to improve.

Structuring the After-Sales Service

An after-sales department should have:

  1. Customer Service: Receive and address incidents/Discriminate calls/Manage incidents.
  2. Technical Support Service (experts, trained staff)
  • Assisted self-repair (chat, video conference)/On-site repair/Repair shop.
Other Departments or Services Involved in the Structure
  • Transportation: Times and quality in service are essential.
  • Warehouse: To store components.
  • Follow-up customer satisfaction about the solution.

Management Tools of an After-Sales Service

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