Take two: Action! (On quality control)

“Feedback tells us that our delivery record scores extremely highly in terms of customer satisfaction,” says Johannes Bogren, Södra’s Technical Product Director, “but we want to get as close to 100% perfect as we can. I want to be able to walk into a customer’s warehouse and feel that our units stand out from the rest, every time. We know that our pulp is up to the mark when it leaves our line, now it’s time to take things a step further and eradicate the few issues that sometimes arise beyond our mill gate.” 

Take Care 2.0 is a new project which will look at ways to measure the quality of care a unit receives once it’s released from the drying line. “We don’t yet know the precise form this measuring will take,” says Johannes, “but we intend to start finding the most effective options. It’s vital that everyone involved in handling our units is aware of our stringent requirements and knows what is expected of them. We have had a quality-control programme running for some years across our delivery chain with great results, but as people change jobs and new staff enter the chain, we felt it was time to take a fresh look at the delivery chain and see if we can enhance our service yet further.” 

“Digital tools are a great opportunity. A unit may leave our mill correctly labelled and wrapped but occasionally arrive at its destination missing a strap or a label,” he continues. “Perhaps digitalization will mean we can track the bale all the way back to the mill and see exactly where an issue arose between our mill and the customer’s gate. It’s too early to say exactly what initiatives will come out of our research but we have enlisted the cooperation of three major customers to help us get there. They will be providing direct feedback as we look to optimise our entire supply chain.”