The Top 5 Supply Chain Management KPIs You Should Track for Efficient Lab Testing Management
In today's rapidly evolving consumer market, manufacturers, brands, and retailers are expected to meet high standards of product quality and safety. Consumers demand more transparency in the products they purchase. With the increasingly diverse supply chain, this is a challenge, however, businesses that successfully assemble and analyze the data from their lab testing operations have a significant advantage to tackle the transparency challenge.
This is particularly important for businesses that deal with food and consumer products, where compliance with regulatory requirements is crucial. By implementing proper performance indicators, businesses can improve their testing processes, reduce the risk of harmful parts and ultimately improve customer safety and satisfaction.
In this article, we explore how proper indicators for lab testing operations can help supply chain professionals effectively manage product safety and compliance.
Why Should You Monitor Your Lab Testing Operations with Online Dashboards?
To make more informed decisions.
Monitoring Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) is essential for making data-driven decisions. By keeping track of these metrics, managers can stay up to date with their suppliers' performance and gain insights into the overall industry landscape.
By using a dashboard, you can keep all your testing results in one easy-to-access location. This provides you with a quick and simple way to refer to your results and monitor any trends that may emerge. Having all of your data in a single interface can save you time and help you make informed decisions more efficiently.
For instance, you can monitor the status of samples currently undergoing testing in real-time through indicators such as pending orders. Additionally, industry averages on samples failure rate by product category and test name can provide benchmark data to compare results with your peers, giving you a competitive advantage.
To foster product safety
Enhancing product safety by providing greater transparency and control is a top priority for regulatory bodies, especially when it comes to the chemical substances used in products. If your company is manufacturing products, particularly in the EU, it is crucial to monitor your testing processes to comply with REACH regulations, especially regarding Substances of Very High Concern (SVHCs). This will help you protect human health, the environment and your company's reputation.
Which Key Performance Indicators Should You Track?
When it comes to managing lab testing results, having quick and easy access to results and trends in a single interface can save time. However, selecting the right key performance indicators (KPIs) to track can be a challenging task. To help you with this process, we’ve thoughtfully selected these top 5 indicators that can provide the highest return on the time you invest and have a positive impact on your operations.
Samples failed
Samples failed refers to the proportion of samples that do not meet the testing criteria. High numbers of sample failures may indicate the presence of poor-quality products in the marketplace, which can negatively impact customer satisfaction. Identifying recurring issues with specific lots or suppliers can lead to corrective actions such as supplier audits, revised quality control protocols, or additional vendor education.
To illustrate, suppose a lab manager notices a 20% failure rate in plastic toys, pinpointing a recurring flaw in design. As a result, an immediate review and redesign can be carried out, enhancing product safety and consumer trust.
The desired outcome is to identify patterns leading to sample failures and implement preventive measures to improve product quality and customer satisfaction.
Test Turnaround Time
Test Turnaround Time refers to the duration between receiving a sample and issuing the test report. Faster turnaround times can give businesses a competitive edge by reducing the time to market for products. Regularly monitoring this indicator enables laboratories to identify any delays and improve the process.
For instance, if you notice that the turnaround time is not meeting the desired standards, you can work together with the lab to implement necessary improvements.
Ongoing Sample Volume
The Ongoing Sample Volume indicator is a real-time measure of the workload in a laboratory, providing valuable information to prevent any bottlenecks.
If there is a rise in textile testing during a particular season, you can anticipate an increase in the number of samples to be tested. By keeping track of the sample volume data, you can avoid any delays by reallocating tests to other laboratories. This helps to ensure efficient lab operations and smooth functioning, avoiding any bottlenecks.
Supplier Performance
The Supplier Performance Metrics provide a reliable measure of the quality and reliability of suppliers, based on their products' test outcomes. These metrics allow for more strategic supplier management, such as identifying the best performers and those who need improvement or replacement.
In practice, these indicators help identify suppliers who manufacture products with high failure rates, allowing quick action to avoid returns and prevent brand damage. By sharing performance data, competition among suppliers for better quality and product safety can be fostered.
Industry Benchmarks Comparison: A comparison of lab tests against industry-wide data
The Industry Benchmark chart enables you to compare your laboratory test results with industry-wide data. By understanding industry standards and setting realistic improvement targets, you can gain a competitive edge.
In practice, you can compare your sample's failure rate against other QIMA customers for each test. As a result, you can set performance goals based on industry benchmarks to achieve or maintain a market lead.
QIMA Can Help You Enhance Product Safety through Data-Driven Lab Testing Management
QIMA provides laboratory testing management services to help ensure that your products comply with safety standards.
Our team of experts possesses the technical knowledge and expertise to assist you in creating risk-based testing programs that intelligently utilize your testing budget.
Our ISO-accredited labs in Asia, Europe, and the Americas have an industry-leading turnaround time of 3-5 days with a 99% on-time delivery rate. We check consumer products and food for compliance to ensure that they meet safety standards.
Our online platform lets you access your data and insights in the QIMA dashboard. You can preview your test results before receiving the final report, enabling you to make necessary improvements and ensure compliance.
Discover our testing capabilities for your product and industry
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