That was an interesting conversation between Laurel Nelson-Rowe of American Society for Quality (ASQ) and Terry Woychowski from General Motors (GM). Terry’s words made me realize of the quality revolution that GM is implementing these days. Quality, for them, is not just product or process quality, but “Cradle to Grave” quality. Does that not sound new and refreshing? Their quality focus is end-to-end and top-to-bottom. It, indeed, conveys the passion the GM employees have towards quality.
GM not only survived the economic downturn, but also, continued to create good quality, innovative and technologically advanced products. Chevy Volt is an example. GM focused on getting the business fundamentals right. Their focus has seen a positive change on soft areas of quality such as promise to deliver, service after delivery and continuously improve through constant feedback.
Each employee at GM seems to understand how his or her work matters in delivering a quality product to the customer. Per Terry, top management officials are calling few of the GM customers every week to obtain feedback. Third-party feedback is also taken seriously as inputs for improvement. Getting to know from the customer is the best way to improve and be confident. Refined warranty terms and processes also demonstrates the confidence GM has in its products.
Entering new and emerging markets is a strategy for any automobile manufacturer of today’s world. GM is no exception. Going global, learning from the world, adjusting themselves from lessons learned across the world and developing a unified platform for products sold are trademark of their achievements. In India, GM is doing extremely good with their products such as Chevy Spark and Chevy Beat. New models and variants are available at highly competitive prices. The "Chevy Promise: 3-year zero maintenance and service cost” is unique to GM and is very popular in India. No other car manufacturer has offered such a scheme for their customers. By taking care of the 3-year maintenance cost burden from the customer, GM creates an unbelievable amount of confidence and, indirectly, conveys the high quality they ensure in their products.
GM’s mission statement is crystal clear and in action. “GM will design, build and sell the world’s best vehicles”. I am sure GM will live up to the mission statement and continue to serve the customers with best products and service.
