Quality: An untapped source of competitive advantage

Two of the main drivers of competitive advantage are:

1. Cost advantage, which allows a company to charge lower prices than its competitors and,
2. Differentiation, which enables it to offer product features and benefits that competitors cannot easily match.

Differentiation is achieved by superior performance in respect of operations and product-related aspects that competitors cannot easily match. For example, having a faster delivery speed with more reliability or better after-sales-service, can provide you with a competitive advantage. Customers are often prepared to ‘pay-a-premium’ for a product or service which they regard as superior in respect of the dimensions of quality which they value. What are these ‘dimensions of quality’ that clients use to judge whether they are prepared to pay a premium price?

When asked "What is 'quality'?", people usually respond by saying: "It is meeting customer expectations.". This is correct. The question then is "What are these expectations?" Not all customers have the same expectations.

In the webinar we will explore :

• What is quality – some definitions from the experts
• The link between quality and competitiveness
• The  dimensions of quality – there are quite a number   
• What management actions to consider to improve your quality
• The Kaizen approach of improvement – this is a practical approach to improving quality