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So is the firm's customer service unit. When a customer calls about a merchandise issue, the service people enter it into the “Questions to the Buyer” system, which alerts rebuyers and the quality control team.

These measures have allowed Touch of Class to catch problems even before items are stocked.

	FROM THE TOP DOWN

One thing's for sure: “To have a successful quality assurance program, the organization must be committed to it long term, be willing to react and make changes, and communicate the value, purpose and metrics of the program to its employees and/or affected parties,” says Randall Brough, supply chain manager at LifeWay, a marketer of Christian products and services.

Wayne Teres, president of Teres Consulting, which specializes in distribution and fulfillment, agrees.

“Quality has to come from the top, and everybody has to buy into it,” he says. Teres feels that accountability and communication go together.

“If somebody is making errors, you want to know who that somebody is, so you can counsel that worker and [get him or her] to improve,” he says.

Teres also believes in charts that show how people are doing. “If you're looking at picking errors or packing errors or inventory accuracy, charts are very meaningful, because whatever gets measured gets managed,” he says.

Finally, Teres also stresses that quality control should start right at the receiving dock, because that's where merchandise first touches your business. “You want to stop issues before they get into the building or past the dock,” he says.

For Tegtmeyer, a successful quality assurance program consists of four basic things: “The first is you have to have a goal. Number two is to have some type of incentive program. The third is automation.” And the fourth, she says, is to always look for “new ways to do things better and faster.”

Jennifer Lonoff Schiff is a freelance business writer based in Wilton, CT.

	TIPS FOR SHIPPERS

Want to create a successful quality assurance program? Follow these suggestions:

• Create vendor guidelines. These should include things like product specifications and how items are going to be packaged and shipped. The guidelines should also clearly list what is acceptable and what is not, and what the corrective action procedure is, so if there are problems, you know who will handle or pay for correcting them.

• Hire the right people.

• Set worker expectations upfront by telling new hires how many errors are acceptable — is it one in 100, two in 100, three in 100?

• Give employees the tools they need to do a good job, even if it's just a calculator.

• Train all new employees, assigning them a mentor, if possible — and start them off picking or packing the easiest or simplest products and orders first.

• Have more experienced workers pick and pack multiline and more difficult orders.

• Regularly review employees' work — and check all new hires' work on the first day, to catch any problems right away.

• Use clearly labeled, readable signage in all of the facility's picking and packing locations.

• Identify items that are hard to pick, such as items that make up a kit, and provide check lists or some kind of system to alert and help pickers pick these items.

• Use warehouse technology, such as barcoding and RF scanners, particularly in the pick and pack areas, to help minimize errors.

• Do cycle counting, in which you go (or cycle around) to different locations in the warehouse a couple times a year and count which and how many items are there.

• Create an audit process, in which individuals are held accountable — and regularly post charts showing how many errors were made and by whom (or which area).

• Appoint one or two employees to be in charge of your quality assurance program. It's important to make sure these people are actively communicating with all areas of the company and that each department buys into the program.
  — JLS