Building on its legacy of innovation and improvement, the quality community is well-positioned to reinforce the essentials—total quality management, continuous improvement, ISO standards, data integration—and embrace emerging, universal concepts including culture, diversity and ESG (environmental, social, and governance). At WCQI 2023, attendees will learn how quality processes and methodologies bolster their organizations’ response to risks like supply chain, economic pressures, and global volatility, and help spark a culture of excellence and a sustainable, strong foundation for success.
Supplier and Supply Chain Management
Before a pandemic disrupted the global economy, supply chains had become increasingly complex. Recently, they have only become more so, prompting both uncertainty and investment in identifying strategies that result in better supplier and supply chain risk management. From counterfeit concerns to change requests to conflict resolution, this area of focus tackles both the challenges and benefits of improving supply chain quality, offering examples of how businesses can optimize supply chain control and efficiency now to reduce vulnerabilities going forward.
Topics may include: analyzing the cost of supplier quality issues, improving supplier collaboration, and integrating supply chain quality into an enterprise-wide quality strategy.
Risk, Resilience and Sustainability Tools
Organizations that successfully mitigate the risks survive, thrive and become resilient in the process, strengthening customer relationships, supply chain partners and corporate cultures. This area of focus includes a discussion of applying risk management strategies in a current environment that includes global disruption, an evolving healthcare industry, supply chain challenges, environmental concerns and digital transformation. Attendees will review the emergence of ESG--Environmental, Social, and Governance—goals, and discuss how an array of organizational risks can be identified, measured, mitigated, and controlled within the context of a quality system.
Topics may include: ESG and social responsibility initiatives, regulations and legal requirements, industry standards and fulfillment, and compliance best practices.
Quality’s Impact on Leadership, Org Excellence, and Inclusion
Today’s quality professionals are constantly examining changes in processes and methodologies. Trends, technologies, and customer voices are evolving quickly as well. It’s essential that leaders embrace the ideas, skills, contributions from all corners of an organization to deliver products and services that meet – or exceed – business expectations. A revised approach to leadership is emerging as the quality community responds to calls for greater transparency, inclusion, equity, and commitment to organizational excellence. This area of focus examines quality’s role in establishing a culture of excellence within a team or company.
Topics may include: Industry benchmarking, team development, voice of the customer, DEI, change management, corporate culture, stakeholder engagement
Emerging Professionals in Quality: A Career Primer
For a successful career in quality there must be a fundamental understanding of industry tools and techniques, allowing one to grow professionally and add value to an organization. This area of focus underscores essential traits—passion, problem-solving, curiosity—that new and advancing quality professionals must apply to all facets of their career. Attendees will recognize the keys to staying current on emerging technologies and software, contributing to teams and organizational initiatives, and experiencing personal and professional growth in the process.
Topics may include: Essential tools and terms: fishbone, Pareto, continuous improvement, Kata, Lean, Six Sigma, software and apps, mentoring, career planning