Quality Improvement essays

Quality Improvement essays Goodyear is the leading tire manufacturer in the U.S. With a number of different brands, Goodyear has a tire for almost all types of cars, trucks, agricultural vehicles and off-road vehicles. This paper evaluates the need for quality improvement in the raw-material supplier, distribution and marketing of the tires in the U.S. Production and manufacturing are important areas where traditionally quality management has been emphasized and stressed. In recent times however there is an increasing trends by organizations to also improve the quality of their supply and distribution channels with the aim of improving customer satisfaction. In the organizational setting, quality is often defined based on the need of the customer and how an organization meets this need. Product performance and perception play an important role in identifying the perception of quality that a customer might have. Satisfying customer needs has created a new need for managing customer relationship and providing the desired service. The customers for Goodyear Tire Company are identified as follows: The Original Equipment Tire Customers (OEM): This includes the car manufacturers who constitute approximately 25-30% of the total tire consumption. (Kerin and Peterson, 2004) The tires manufactured by the company are used on a variety of cars manufactured by GM, Ford, Chrysler, Mazda and Toyota to name a few. The demand for tires from this type of customer depends on the automobile industry, which in turn depends on the volume of cars sold. Goodyear considers the OEM customer very important, as, if customers were satisfied with the quality and the performance of tires on their vehicles they were more likely to replace their tires with replacements from the same company. Auto manufacturers also prefer...