Question: While there is widespread evidence to support the view that effective quality management practices can lead to improved organisational performance, some would argue that the importance of quality to logistics systems has not been fully realised.
In the last decade the growing importance of quality management has been a widely debated topic. Much empirical evidence links an organisations quality management practices to improved organisational performance therefore greater surplus. Due to increasing global competition, competitive priorities have shifted from simply cost to quality and flexibility (DeMeyer, Miller, Nakone, and Ferdows, 1989), as a result logistics is applied as one of the key business processes in delivering value and quality to the customer and in gaining a competitive edge. Some authors argue that the importance of quality in logistics systems has not been fully realised. it is this papers view to support that contention, and will provide evidence to illustrate how although there are obvious benefits of increasing quality in logistics, lack of managerial support, training, and funding are the critical reasons why many would argue there is a lack of focus on quality in logistics systems. By assessing whether Quality management practices lead to improved organisational performance, analysing the role of quality in logistics, and further providing organisational and empirical evidence, one will come to understand that although many organisations attempt to apply quality practices in logistics, lack of support from upper management, and being relatively new in application are the reasons why some would argue the importance of quality in logistics has not been fully realised.
Some writers have asserted that TQM provides a unique approach to improving organizational effectiveness, one that has a solid conceptual foundation and, at the same time, offers a strategy for improving performance that takes