5 Steps to Justifying an Investment in Enterprise Quality Software [Infographic]

Enterprise Quality Management Software (EQMS) implementations are no longer relegated to being the pet projects of quality executives. Rather, they're now becoming an enterprise-level decision with involvement from many other lines of business as well as IT. In addition to making a business case for why your organization may want to pursue such an investment in the first place, it's important to have a plan set out to measure the returns to that investment over time. This will not only appease management, it's also instrumental to ensuring that you get budget for your next project.

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Our recent infographic, Unlocking the Value of Enterprise Quality Management Software, delineates 5 steps for helping you justify an EQMS implementation. After providing some background information on the quality management software market, it discusses the importance of creating a metrics baseline, identifying process and technology gaps, implementing complementary EQMS capabilities, benchmarking quality improvement, and enabling a continuous improvement environment. 

Unlocking the Value of EQMS

Tweet this infographic's takeaways:

• Unlocking the value of enteprise quality management software Tweet this!
• 55% of executives say their quality metrics are not effectively measured Tweet this!
• 47% of executives say their organizations have too many disparate quality systems and data sources Tweet this!
• 27% of executives are in the planning stages of an EQMS implementation, a number expected to grow Tweet this!
• 20% of executives say their organizations have already implemented EQMS Tweet this!
• EQMS enables cross-functional communication/collaboration in ways that seemed far off not long ago Tweet this!
• Proving the value of EQMS – Step 1:Baseline key metrics like CoQ, OEE, OTD, and PiC Tweet this!
• Proving the value of EQMS – Step 2: Identify quality process and technology gaps Tweet this!
• Proving the value of EQMS – Step 3:Identify and implement complementary EQMS capabilities Tweet this!
• Proving the value of EQMS – Step 4: Benchmark quality performance relative to baseline Tweet this!
• Proving the value of EQMS – Step 5: Enable an environment of continuous improvement Tweet this!
• Quality is a journey that requires an organizational effort, not just a department or person Tweet this!

Taking the Enterprise Quality Journey

It's often best to think of quality management as a journey, one that you've got to sign on for the long haul! From speaking to experienced executives, we've heard a variety of successful and failed EQMS implementations. For those that had a successful implementation, one characteristic of these leaders stood out: each was an avid reader of current quality technology trends and spent hours and hours researching the space prior to making an investment. 

There are a number of resources for learning about quality management software available today. Among others, LNS's Enterprise Quality Management Software Solution Selection Guide has helped thousands of executives at the start of their quality journey. The guide has extensive information on the top vendors in the space, breaking each down by industry, functional, and geographic strength, in addition to a bunch of other variables. If you're considering an implementation, check out the guide here.

Those are our thoughts on how to prove the value of an EQMS implementation. What do you think? Share your own experiences in the comments section below.