QS 9000 as a Stepping Stone to TQM a Study in Indian Auto Component Industry

Abstract

Post liberalization in the nineties, Indian economy transformed with an influx of multinational automotive companies into India. The entry of these foreign auto companies changed quality standards and impacted the complexity of the parts required by OEMs. The component manufacturers embraced the practices of Total Quality Management (TQM), Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) and lean manufacturing practices . The journey towards TQM was propelled by the vision to become global. One of the strategies that Indian component manufacturers adopted to become part of the global value chain was the QS 9000 certification. This paper is an attempt to understand the impact of QS 9000 certification on TQM implementation. It ascertains the role that QS 9000 certification plays in transforming organizations with respect to the critical success factors of TQM implementation. The analysis is based on data collected for a specific study on TQM among auto component manufacturers in Chennai. Data pertaining to the level of critical success factors was examined prior to and post certification, to draw conclusions.