Implementing a new QMS at your business can create a good deal of value for your enterprise, provided you take the right steps in advance. What questions should you ask before buying QMS software? We’ve written down five important questions to help with the selection process and ensure that your new software solution brings real ROI while meeting your organization’s needs.
Question 1: What does your team need from new quality management software?
As a starting point, you always want to gather stakeholders and employees to develop a game plan. This “selection” committee can help identify pain points, establishing how new software can streamline processes and increase efficiencies. Bring in team members from every department and aspect of your company; restricting your team to the production floor or the C-suite will leave you with isolated and monolithic answers that don’t paint the full picture.
Ask your team what they need. Before looking at the features and functionalities of a new QMS, find out more about the challenges employees face and be part of “their world” to really understand how to improve their day-to-day. Consider why the change matters to everyone involved, whether the new QMS will disrupt their routine, and how it will fit into it. If they have experience with a QMS, what are the blanks a new solution needs to fill in? In this way, you can begin to establish a bullet list for the feature set you will need in a QMS.
Question 2: Does the QMS support mobile and collaborative workflows?
Even without the seismic shifts in business that happened in 2020 and 2021, today’s companies would still need to leverage mobile and collaborative solutions. In the context of QMS, mobility and collaboration are key to getting the most performant system. You want your production team on the floor inputting real-time data, you want managers and supervisors accessing only the most actionable data, and you want the C-suite able to drive decisions by getting a comprehensive view of all of this. Only a QMS with mobile capabilities and a UI that supports collaboration can deliver on these essentials.
Next to listing whether their QMS is mobile-friendly, many vendors offer interactive product tours for manufacturers to test the UI and understand what working with the software would be like.
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Question 3: How quickly will my team adapt and adopt?
The learning curve that comes with adoption can be a significant pain point during any software implementation. You don’t want your team taking up time and work hours to reinvent the wheel. A no-code QMS solution is the best answer, putting your company in control and allowing you to modify displays and reports, design specific workflows, and tailor the solution to your business needs. This also addresses the sizeable issue of adoption; instead of forcing your team to fit to the software, you can adapt the QMS itself to integrate more readily with your team’s methods and protocols.
Question 4: How easily does the new QMS integrate with existing solutions?
Just as your new QMS should integrate with existing workflows and enhance them, it should also integrate with your current, in-house solutions. If you’re using MES or ERP software, you want to be able to sync manufacturing data and QC data from day one. This will ensure continuity and make processes run like clockwork.
Question 5: How quickly can it deliver value?Having a realistic understanding of how quickly a QMS can deliver value is also essential. If you’ve done your due diligence and answered the questions above, you will be on track to experience ROI sooner rather than later.
How soon? A good QMS, can provide value and help you see results already from the automation of your core processes.
A bonus question: how does the QMS from AlisQI fit in the picture?
As an integrated platform for Quality Control, SPC, Document Management and QESH Management, AlisQI doesn’t only help the quality team, but it empowers everyone from the shop floor to the boardroom. It does so by automating routine tasks and delivering advanced analytics, freeing up precious time that could be used for improvement.
AlisQI works on all devices, providing users with full process visibility independent of their location. Due to its user-friendly UI, working with this software is very straightforward. And, manufacturers don’t need to worry about complex implementations or steep learning curves. The no-code QMS was designed for users that don’t have an IT background.
The system pairs also easily with ERP or MES, ensuring seamless integration and an improved data-driven approach.
Last but definitely not least. Is AlisQI a good investment? Find the answer to this question using our ROI calculator and see for yourself what value AlisQI can leverage.