Customer complaints are hard to trace
Connect complaints to batch, production, supplier and inspection records.
01 · What is usually happening?
A customer reports a problem with a part from a delivery three weeks ago. Nobody can easily say which batch, which machine, which material or which operator made it.
The business ends up replacing more than needed because it cannot narrow the problem.
The question people usually ask“Which of our products is affected?”
The more useful question“Which batch, material and process were involved, and what else shipped with it?”
02 · Common causes
- 01Batches are not numbered or not recorded against orders
- 02Material lot numbers are not linked to production
- 03Dispatch records do not say what went to whom
- 04Inspection records are incomplete
- 05Complaints are noted in chat and lost
- 06No one owns the complaint from start to finish
03 · What to check now0 of 6 checked
04 · What good looks like
- 01Every batch has a number linked to the order and dispatch.
- 02Material lots are recorded against production.
- 03A complaint is logged with a photo, an order and an owner.
- 04The customer hears back by a promised date.
- 05Complaints are reviewed monthly for patterns.
05 · Where this connects
This rarely stays in one department
What it can lead to: A small problem becomes a large recall because the batch cannot be narrowed.
Start from a problem
Work flows left to right, top to bottomKEYMost important for manufacturing
These support every part of the business
Problem
Customer complaints are hard to trace
Usually connected to
How it spreads
- Quality
What it can lead to: A small problem becomes a large recall because the batch cannot be narrowed.
lamplamp could log a complaint from a WhatsApp message and photo.
Related guidesWhat should be checked before dispatch?
08 · lamp
lamp could keep this moving
lamp is not available yet. These are things it is being built to do.
- lamp could log a complaint from a WhatsApp message and photo.
- lamp could trace the batch, material and dispatch behind it.
- lamp could list other deliveries from the same lot.
- lamp could remind the owner of the date promised to the customer.
Does your business handle this differently?Tell us what we have missed: a cause, a check, or a better way of handling it.
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