The LD2 group has grown rapidly over the past five years by acquiring a number of smaller kitchen accessory manufacturers and kitchen suppliers and fitters. As a consequence of this method LD2 has 'inherited' many dissimilar systems which it has continued to operate. LD2's technology now lags far behind that of its competitors, many of whom are experimenting with online trading. A number of quality and other problems within the group have now become apparent including:

• incompatibility of software;
• complex reconciliation of systems output being performed;
• stock shortages leading to contract delays;
• late management reports, and
• payroll and invoicing errors due to faulty data entry and calculation.

Describe the main approaches to quality  that are available to LD2.

LD2 requires to consolidate its business by simplifying and improving the quality of its operations by executing a group wide quality programme. The group has a number of distinct alternative approaches to quality that it may wish to consider.

Quality control

Quality control is an approach involving:

• Establishing quality standards for a service or product,
• Designing a process to deliver the service or product to the required quality,
• Measuring the quality of the service or product,
• Comparing actual quality with planned quality
• Taking remedial action where quality does not meet standard,
• Reviewing the standard originally set and making adjustment if essential.