Greater demands on resources and tighter controls on cost affect more than just manufacturing processes. Management is under greater pressure to deliver better margins, greater revenue, and increased cash flow to support product research and improve shareholder value.

These demands affect all industries. What we have seen in the electronics and high-tech industries is a lot of growth—in-house growth through R&D, and growth through acquisitions or divestitures. As a result, companies have inherited myriad systems, processes, and cultures that are necessary but must be harmonized. Operational efficiency plays a large role in controlling costs, which can in turn free up more R&D funding for the ever-increasing expectations placed on product life cycles.

Given this complexity, what can you do to gain a competitive advantage? Before we answer that, let’s first discuss the fundamentals of a quality framework.

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