As consumer preferences and organizational standards continue to evolve, the importance of quality management has continually increased. For producers to ensure consumer confidence and better internal efficiency, they must enhance their focus and invest in quality management systems.

In widening this focus, they must also understand the greater impact quality management can have on the business and its bottom line. Food manufacturers should consider these three key benefits of prioritizing quality management.

Customer Health and Satisfaction
The quality and safety of products has always been a priority for consumers, who are educating themselves more to make the proper decisions before purchasing. A recent study from DNV GL found that 55% of consumers want to know more about the safety of their food product choices ahead of buying them, and 68% are willing to pay more for products whose information is verified by a third party, food quality, or safety certification.

Product quality affects company success, and if maintained properly across the production process, it can establish a formidable brand reputation across the market. Maintaining robust quality management systems ensures products remain safe throughout the supply chain, all the way to the consumer’s possession.

The end result of this assurance? A healthy and satisfied customer, who will be eager for their next purchase with the brand—creating greater demand for their products and services.

Brand Reputation
A positive brand reputation is essential to healthy and satisfied consumers. Creating and maintaining a high and authentic reputation is vital for any business in terms of customer engagement, customer loyalty, and overall success.

This is seen in statistics from Stackla; 86% of consumers stated authenticity is a key factor when engaging with brands, and 81% said they need to be able to trust the brand in order to buy from them. Transparency, trust, and authenticity with customers can be achieved by providing high-quality products with the help of optimal quality management systems, especially those verified by a third-party.

Additionally, consumers will identify a brand by their own experiences, and can even assign it to a few key principles that will impact future decisions. At JBT’s A&B Process Systems, for example, we’ve made a concerted effort to have current and prospective customers assign safety and quality to our business. This was the result of growing our focus on bettering internal quality processes and adjusting the standards we followed. That strategic pivot has paid major dividends in our reputation with customers and the same tactics will have similar payoffs for other companies as well.

Reduced Production Costs
Not only do quality management systems greatly aid producers in providing the best possible products for their customers, they can also be a game changer for internal successes, such as cost reduction. The first major reduction payoff here comes in reducing overall waste.

Implementing well-defined processes and following them as instructed enables companies to measure waste across the production line and identify how and where to focus their waste-reduction efforts. Without these systems in place, measurement and estimations can become a guessing game for leadership and quality management teams. Less waste means less time needed for equipment to create the quota product number, ultimately saving energy, electricity, labor, and more.

Quality management systems can also improve employee efficiency and equipment longevity, and even allow for smaller inspection and testing budgets—greatly aiding businesses’ goals of creating the most optimal products while decreasing budget spend.

In today’s market, it’s become a necessity for brands to prioritize quality management or quality control to better their products and business efforts. Those who don’t increase the likelihood of product contamination and recalls, potential failures of their own internal processes and machines, and losing consumer confidence.

For producers to have relevance and a solid market share in their current business landscape, quality management systems and following quality guidelines are a must.