Unique TQM practices and logistics performance

This research investigates the impact of the unique TQM practices of customer focus, product design, and statistical process control on logistics performance. Data were collected from 104 manufacturing managers, supervisors, and quality professionals and analysed using a path analysis methodology. The analysis suggests that customer focus directly and positively impacts logistics performance. With customer focus in the model, product design, and statistical process control do not directly impact logistics performance. Of the three unique TQM practices, customer focus is identified as the most important in terms of explaining variation in logistics performance, to the point that neither product design nor statistical process control has any additional explanatory power. Manufacturing managers striving to satisfy customers should first adopt a customer focus.