Quality Hold or Non-Quality Hold?

At times, a manufacturer is forced to put a product on quality hold owing to some issues getting identified or getting reported on the product from the field.

When the above happens in just a few weeks of the product getting launched, it speaks volumes about the lack of necessary product quality measures before the product is allowed to ship.

This has direct and immediate business impact on the sales figures for the period the product stays on "quality hold".

The term "quality hold" is an interesting one.

It means a product is put on hold due to quality.

Whereas, the product is actually put on hold due to lack of quality or due to non-quality.

It would be better to use the term "non-quality hold" rather than "quality hold".

From a business point of view, quality holds come at a cost.

In addition, there is an impact on the market reputation of the manufacturer.

This has a lot to do with the pressure on manufacturers to design, build and ship new products as well as frequent and continuous product improvements and innovations.

The business pressure leads to short-cuts being taken or crucial aspects getting ignored.

That may result in faster delivery, but at times, not a good one.

Organizations need to carefully assess and balance out the time to market pressure against the need to have good quality of the product that eventually gets shipped.

Quality holds are never a desirable situation for any manufacturer.

In several instances, it is possible that the issues getting identified or getting reported on the product from the field may not lead to any visible product failure in the short run.

However, in case any issue comes to the notice of the manufacturer it has an obligation to act upon it with high degree of urgency.

Hence quality holds.

It would be preferable to never have a quality hold or rather non-quality hold happen.

Business should, at no time, be forced to hold itself from continuing to ship and sell products due to quality hold.

The reason is very simple.

Every quality hold is nothing but essentially a business hold!