Quality Management definition

Quality management is concerned with ensuring consistency across a business process by maintaining product/service quality and formalising the means needed to achieve it. Quality improvement is also a major part of quality management.

The most commonly recognised family of quality management standards are ISO 9000. ISO 9001 outlines the requirements organisations must adhere to comply with ISO 9000 and includes: a focus on the customer and on leadership within the organisation, a system approach to management, management of key activities as processes, continual improvement, involvement of people at all levels, evidence-based approach to decision-making and mutually-beneficial relationships with suppliers.

Businesses aiming to make their supply chains more sustainable will often demand quality assurance from their suppliers and partners, often in the form of ISO 9001 certification. According to the International Organization for Standardization, there are over one million companies across the globe certified to ISO 9001 standards.